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 |
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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
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Golf Advisor: Top 25 College Courses in the U.S. (2020 #23)
Reviews
Reviewer Photos
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Photo submitted by u314161622535 on 02/24/2024
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Photo submitted by QuantumGolfx on 03/12/2023
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Photo submitted by QuantumGolfx on 03/12/2023
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Photo submitted by QuantumGolfx on 03/12/2023
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Photo submitted by QuantumGolfx on 03/12/2023
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Photo submitted by QuantumGolfx on 03/12/2023
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Photo submitted by QuantumGolfx on 03/12/2023
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Photo submitted by u314161194845 on 02/28/2023
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Papago Golf Course, hole 1 Photo submitted by TimGavrichGP on 08/12/2022
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Papago Golf Course, hole 15 Photo submitted by TimGavrichGP on 08/12/2022
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Photo submitted by Soberhiker on 03/21/2021
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Photo submitted by u050433218 on 05/30/2020
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Morning T Time Photo submitted by u886178050 on 08/07/2019
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Photo submitted by StephanJS on 07/22/2019
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Photo submitted by BabyLama2014 on 05/02/2019
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Photo submitted by BabyLama2014 on 05/02/2019
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Photo submitted by BabyLama2014 on 05/02/2019
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Photo submitted by BabyLama2014 on 05/02/2019
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Photo submitted by BabyLama2014 on 05/02/2019
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Photo submitted by MikeBaileyGolf on 02/21/2019
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Photo submitted by MikeBaileyGolf on 02/21/2019
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Photo submitted by MikeBaileyGolf on 02/21/2019
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Photo submitted by MikeBaileyGolf on 02/21/2019
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Photo submitted by MikeBaileyGolf on 02/21/2019
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Photo submitted by MikeBaileyGolf on 02/21/2019
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Photo submitted by Ienjoygolfing75 on 09/12/2017
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Photo submitted by Ienjoygolfing75 on 09/12/2017
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Photo submitted by Ienjoygolfing75 on 09/12/2017
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Photo submitted by Ienjoygolfing75 on 09/12/2017
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Photo submitted by Ienjoygolfing75 on 09/12/2017
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Photo submitted by Ienjoygolfing75 on 09/12/2017
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Photo submitted by u000005700701 on 03/19/2014
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Papago Buttes! Photo submitted by Hansel4033523 on 05/11/2013
Only reason for any negative was clubhouse construction. Course was in great shape.
Same problems this place always has
This course is just play slow. No one moves anybody around the Rangers don’t do anything the staff is very friendly and nice and how do you let a five hour round happen every time I play this golf course 10 to 12 times a year it blows my mind
Slow round, aerated greens, lots of walkers
We were sitting on the 3rd tee box and 45 minutes had passed. The course has a lot of walkers and this along with 9 minute tee time intervals (instead of 10) contributes to a slow pace. 5 hour round.
Had to laugh at the message going off on our cart on the #4 tee box saying we were 10 minutes behind pace - as if there was anything we could do about that. The walkers ahead of us that were over a hole behind never got that message.
Greens were fast but they had just been punched (in February?). Tee boxes were flat which was good. Bunkers had a decent amount of sand. Not much rough if you miss the fairway, everyone was hitting off dirt/rocks which is never fun, and there were 3 single digit handicaps in our group.
Carts had GPS but did not tell you the distance from the tee. No water bottles, bring your own. There were ball cleaners which I am figuring out is a rarity in AZ. The cart paths in a lot of areas were simply dirt, which meant driving through dust for anyone who wasn't the lead car.
Plenty of doglegs and fairway bunkers. A 235 yard par 3 (#17) and a 462 yard par 4 (#18) end the round. Some nice views of downtown Phoenix and mountains. Always enjoy playing courses that aren't in residential communities.
The facility is impressive - fantastic bar and grill, driving range faced the mountains which was beautiful. Parking was a nightmare - not enough spaces for the golfers when an event was going on, people were creating their own parking spaces in the lot and down the road.
I could see it being a good value with the Phoenix City Card, especially if you can play it when events aren't going on.
Greens were punched (as of 2/21/2024) and there was no alert on website or at time of check in. Pace of round was slow and there was no marshal regulating pace. 5hr+ on middle of weekday.
Way overpriced
This course is way overpriced. Even for the twilight tee times. I will never play here again. Course is in poor shape for hosting a woman’s NCAA tournament. Max green fee for this place should be $100
Great Course
Played here twice this week. Staff was great, clubhouse / restaurant was really good. Beverage cart came around frequently. Greens and Fairways are in great shape. I like this course will be playing it a lot this year.
Cart path only notification
Not worth the money. Also when the course is cart path only they should notify you prior to booking a time or paying for the round, not when you’re getting in the cart.
Don’t go
It was a very disappointing day. The cart path is all dirt with a few exceptions around greens and tee boxes. Otherwise we swallowed dust all day. The pace of play was almost 5 hours. There was no fresh water in any of the water stations. The bathrooms were closed so we had porta potties to use. It’s definitely not worth what we paid.
Fairways were inconsistent
Greens were also inconsistent
Cart paths were a disaster
Hard to believe this course is a college staple.
Underwhelmed to say the least
I hadn’t played this course in a couple of years. I was super excited to see what renovations were made since it became ASU’s golf teams main course. I knew a bunch of money was put into it, and that’s why the prices went up. Well the clubhouse was great, so was the restaurant. Unfortunately, that’s where it stops. The course wasn’t in terrible condition, but just barely. The carts are basically cart path only, the problem with that though is there really aren’t any cart paths. The greens were 50/50. You’d have one in amazing condition, but then the next one would be in awful condition. It is definitely not worth the price tag. With so many courses in the valley, it’s better to just spend your money else where.
Coming into it's own
Been quite a while since I played the new Papago since ASU made it their home course, and I must say it's finally starting to come into it's own and realize it's full potential. The track itself has never been in question, one of the great layouts anywhere in town.
But last time I played following the arrival of the new ASU practice facility, the course was still in its rough-around-the-edges condition from years ago. That's starting to be corrected and if they keep going this way, Papago will truly become the gem it always should have been. They're cleaning up the edges around the holes and strenthening the layout even further. Green complexes are becoming world class and care of the park has improved greatly. While the greens are still recovering from aeration a couple weeks ago, it was still a treat to play and it's easy to imagine the nations best college golfers competing here each year. I'm very proud of what they are doing with Papago and very optimistic that the facility is on it's way to a true world class golf experience (and starting to be worth what they have been charging since ASU arrived!).
Grain of salt
I found this golf experience to be very enjoyable overall… sure the course wasn’t perfect but for the most part it was pretty nice especially for the price.
Lovely, but...
Pace of play sucks and no ranger to be seen. Staff super friendly though, and beautiful bar and restaurant to finish at sundown. Hard to beat the view.
Greens we're covered with sand and it irritates me to no end when courses don't say a thing about this and still charge premium rates. Big thumbs down on that.
Might play again someday, but I'll be asking specific questions about course conditions, prior. Don't book online with a call first.