Papago Golf Course
About
Papago Golf Course is conveniently situated just a few minutes from downtown Phoenix though you would never be able to tell with the peace and seclusion provided by the course's location in Papago Park. The golf course sits at the base of Papago Buttes, past the rugged red rocks you can see Phoenix skyline. The course was designed by William Francis Bell, whom you may know for Torrey Pines in San Diego. The challenging layout features undulating greens framed with strategically placed bunkers and subtle but tricky mounding. Water hazards appear on a few holes as well. It's a tough but straightforward layout that is still playable for a range of skill levels. Since opening in 1963, Papago has hosted numerous events including the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship and Phoenix Open Qualifying.
Tee | Par | Length | Rating | Slope |
---|---|---|---|---|
Black | 72 | 7333 yards | 75.0 | 130 |
Blue | 72 | 6771 yards | 72.0 | 125 |
White | 72 | 6382 yards | 70.0 | 122 |
Green (W) | 72 | 5777 yards | 72.4 | 124 |
Gold (W) | 72 | 5404 yards | 70.5 | 121 |
Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Black M: 75.0/130 | 544 | 386 | 467 | 233 | 383 | 495 | 454 | 253 | 551 | 3766 | 525 | 187 | 322 | 402 | 442 | 585 | 442 | 243 | 466 | 3614 | 7380 |
Black/Blue M: 73.2/127 | 544 | 386 | 438 | 208 | 371 | 495 | 411 | 206 | 551 | 3610 | 525 | 168 | 322 | 376 | 393 | 585 | 442 | 232 | 442 | 3485 | 7095 |
Blue M: 72.0/125 W: 78.5/135 | 530 | 350 | 438 | 208 | 371 | 460 | 411 | 206 | 523 | 3497 | 505 | 168 | 304 | 376 | 393 | 545 | 420 | 232 | 442 | 3385 | 6882 |
Blue/White M: 71.0/123 W: 77.1/132 | 530 | 350 | 424 | 195 | 328 | 460 | 378 | 206 | 523 | 3394 | 505 | 148 | 304 | 376 | 360 | 545 | 398 | 214 | 409 | 3259 | 6653 |
White M: 70.1/120 W: 76.3/130 | 525 | 311 | 424 | 195 | 328 | 433 | 378 | 195 | 490 | 3279 | 491 | 148 | 293 | 365 | 360 | 508 | 398 | 214 | 409 | 3186 | 6465 |
White/Green M: 68.2/117 | 525 | 311 | 314 | 161 | 328 | 433 | 314 | 154 | 490 | 3030 | 491 | 148 | 293 | 365 | 360 | 508 | 338 | 140 | 387 | 3030 | 6060 |
Green M: 66.9/115 W: 72.5/122 | 525 | 311 | 314 | 161 | 328 | 385 | 314 | 154 | 478 | 2970 | 421 | 123 | 293 | 347 | 360 | 483 | 338 | 140 | 387 | 2892 | 5862 |
Gold M: 65.0/111 W: 69.9/118 | 427 | 266 | 314 | 156 | 275 | 315 | 308 | 154 | 421 | 2636 | 421 | 123 | 256 | 335 | 318 | 431 | 338 | 140 | 340 | 2702 | 5338 |
Handicap | 15 | 17 | 3 | 13 | 11 | 1 | 7 | 9 | 5 | 18 | 12 | 16 | 10 | 8 | 14 | 4 | 6 | 2 | |||
Par | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 36 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 36 | 72 |
Handicap (W) | 7 | 17 | 9 | 13 | 1 | 15 | 3 | 11 | 5 | 12 | 8 | 16 | 2 | 10 | 14 | 6 | 18 | 4 |
Course Details
Rentals/Services
Practice/Instruction
Policies
Food & Beverage
BarAvailable Facilities
ClubhouseAccolades
-
Golf Advisor: Top 25 College Courses in the U.S. (2020 #23)
Reviews
Reviewer Photos
-
Photo submitted by u314161622535 on 02/24/2024
-
Photo submitted by QuantumGolfx on 03/12/2023
-
Photo submitted by QuantumGolfx on 03/12/2023
-
Photo submitted by QuantumGolfx on 03/12/2023
-
Photo submitted by QuantumGolfx on 03/12/2023
-
Photo submitted by QuantumGolfx on 03/12/2023
-
Photo submitted by QuantumGolfx on 03/12/2023
-
Photo submitted by u314161194845 on 02/28/2023
-
Papago Golf Course, hole 1 Photo submitted by TimGavrichGP on 08/12/2022
-
Papago Golf Course, hole 15 Photo submitted by TimGavrichGP on 08/12/2022
-
Photo submitted by Soberhiker on 03/21/2021
-
Photo submitted by u050433218 on 05/30/2020
-
Morning T Time Photo submitted by u886178050 on 08/07/2019
-
Photo submitted by StephanJS on 07/22/2019
-
Photo submitted by BabyLama2014 on 05/02/2019
-
Photo submitted by BabyLama2014 on 05/02/2019
-
Photo submitted by BabyLama2014 on 05/02/2019
-
Photo submitted by BabyLama2014 on 05/02/2019
-
Photo submitted by BabyLama2014 on 05/02/2019
-
Photo submitted by MikeBaileyGolf on 02/21/2019
-
Photo submitted by MikeBaileyGolf on 02/21/2019
-
Photo submitted by MikeBaileyGolf on 02/21/2019
-
Photo submitted by MikeBaileyGolf on 02/21/2019
-
Photo submitted by MikeBaileyGolf on 02/21/2019
-
Photo submitted by MikeBaileyGolf on 02/21/2019
-
Photo submitted by Ienjoygolfing75 on 09/12/2017
-
Photo submitted by Ienjoygolfing75 on 09/12/2017
-
Photo submitted by Ienjoygolfing75 on 09/12/2017
-
Photo submitted by Ienjoygolfing75 on 09/12/2017
-
Photo submitted by Ienjoygolfing75 on 09/12/2017
-
Photo submitted by Ienjoygolfing75 on 09/12/2017
-
Photo submitted by u000005700701 on 03/19/2014
-
Papago Buttes! Photo submitted by Hansel4033523 on 05/11/2013
Not Great
Course was under construction and completely punched out on the greens and fairways. We had to play the back twice. Not worth playing until construction is completed.
Disappointing
Hard to believe this course was getting $150 green fees in the winter. The overall look and condition of the course was “ratty”. Poor tee boxes, fairways and greens. No cart paths and poor directions for next hole location
Will likely never play again
Resting on Their Laurels
As someone who has played and enjoyed Papago for more than 3 decades, I can honestly say it is in the worst shape I have ever seen it. The management group which runs it has not done anything to improve the course and is only operating it to make money. The Superintendent either has his hands tied by his bosses and has no money to spend on the course or he is just incompetent. The greens are in horrendous condition. They are so bad they had to paint the greens to make them appear decent when the Men's and Women's Collegiate tournaments were there this spring. Not only do they putt inconsistently, but they will not take shots. They are in such poor condition, the grain of the grass goes in every direction, so good putts may or may not even be close due to the horrendous condition of the grass. The bunkers are grossly neglected and have very little sand in them. The crews are apparently so short handed, they have nobody to rake them or add greatly needed sand to them. It is truly a travesty that Papago has gone down hill so badly. On a good note, it is a great place to hit golf balls and eat and drink at Lou's Grille. The staff is always courteous and helpful. If you are like me and you care about the condition of the golf course, I would suggest taking a pass on Papago and instead go to Cave Creek or Aguila, where the greens and traps actually receive some attention and are in much better shape than Papago.
OB sports should be fired! Corporate greed has no place in muni golf in Phoenix.
Junky condition in early May
If you’re reading reviews wondering if Papago has decent summer conditions here is your answer… no.
I played in early May which is generally a great time to play golf if your local…rates have dropped , snowbirds have cleared out, and its not too hot out yet. I don’t expect peak winter conditions in early may but most or the nicer public course still play very good (not here though).
If ASU’s team is actually playing here they deserve better . Based in the way the course looks I assume they are being hosted elsewhere. I played other nearby courses at a similar price point and they were much much better. The greens in particular are very very bad here.
Course needs cart paths
I had heard good things but was disappointed. Fairways give ball too easy access to dirt areas. I hit as many balls from off the fairway as on due to rollouts.
There needs to be paved cart paths rather than bumpy mud paths
Excellent service in the pro shop
We played this course on an extremely windy day. The staff in the pro shop provided excellent and friendly service and welcomed us as walkers - thank you! The course was challenging in the wind but the fairways were in good shape. The greens ran very true even in the wind, although fast. The only issue was the pace of play was very very slow on the front 9 so we only managed to get 16 holes in. A very good municipal course.
Visit Papago park - skip the golf course
It’s a maddening contradiction - a golf course in such a picturesque setting but so poorly designed and maintained. This course is rock hard almost the entire year, with small strips of patchy rough being the only buffer before the raw desert dirt and rocks. Worthwhile golf courses ditch these rocks extend the rough, but not Papago. If your ball happens to roll through the rock hard, inadequately watered, and unfairly contoured grass into the desert rocks, forget it. The Par 5s here are too easy and the Par 3s embarrassingly too difficult (3 of them over 195 yards from the blue tees, with one over 230 - not even from the tips!). And the finish - two Par 4s over 420 with virtually no landing area sandwiching a 230 yard Par 3? You can’t help but laugh. This is just a bad golf course - it really, really is unfortunate, though, because the views are superb.
$184 is outrageous
Every course everywhere has to aerify, I get it but GN usually let's you know before you go. Booked this time through the course via GN and the course had no such notification. The greens were in recovery but we're still in discount condition. No such luck! Fairways were cut but bunkers were thin and very pebble heavy. No way on this earth was it worthy of almost 2 hundred dollars. Go play Aguilar instead.
Not my favorite
Course was unfriendly — too much of the desert/sand and rock.
A Pleasant Surprise....!
As a rule, I avoid municipal courses as they typically are not interesting and tend to suffer from lack of conditioning. However, since ASU took over the course a few years ago, several of my friends have reported that things have changed for the better and I should give it a try. All I can say is I was very pleasantly surprised by what I found and would recommend it to anyone.
No where near worth the money
Played this course today. Paid $178 through Golf now app. We were shocked at the price having played such courses as The Raven, Lookout Mountain and Quintero on this same trip. The quality of the layout, quality of the course were below our expectations. It was embarrassing for that price. The staff, amenities were excellent but this course is lacking the same type of course layout and conditions of the affore mentioned courses. I for one and those who played with us will not return to play Papago when there are so many ultra quality courses lower or marginally more than this club in the Phoenix area.
Nice overall course.
Unfortunately they were renovating, which I didn’t know about beforehand. So I had to play they back 9 twice, with 2 temporary tees and 1 temporary green. Without this I would rate it 4-5.
Next year should be much better.
Do not play during renovations
The course is undergoing renovations and I was not told that the front 9 was closed until I arrived. We played the back 9 twice. One of the tee boxes is from the middle of the fairway and the 18th hole was in the middle of the 18th fairway while the hole is being moved. Probably a great course when finished, but pretty unbelievable that we had to pay full price for the circumstances.
Course Is awful
Course is under construction, only the back 9 is open….fairways in awful shape. My biggest problem was that we were charged full price. I would avoid at all costs until the course is back to normal.