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Rating Index Rating
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3.7
618 Reviews (618)
5 Stars
164
4 Stars
264
3 Stars
99
2 Stars
60
1 Stars
31
Conditions
3.7
Value
3.3
Layout
4.0
Friendliness
4.4
Pace
3.3
Amenities
4.0
69.6%
Recommend this course
469 out of 618 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
4.3
4 Reviews (4)
5 Stars
2
4 Stars
1
3 Stars
1
2 Stars
0
1 Stars
0
Conditions
4.7
Value
3.7
Layout
4.3
Pace
2.8
Amenities
4.5
StaffFriendliness
4.3
75.0%
Recommend this course
3 out of 4 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
3.7
23 Reviews (23)
5 Stars
8
4 Stars
7
3 Stars
3
2 Stars
4
1 Stars
1
Conditions
3.8
Value
3.5
Layout
4.1
Pace
3.3
Amenities
3.9
StaffFriendliness
4.4
69.6%
Recommend this course
16 out of 23 reviews
Read Reviews

About

Holes 18
Type Public/Municipal
Style Traditional
Par 72
Length 7380 yards
Slope 130
Rating 75.0

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.

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Papago Golf Course
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Course Details

Year Built 1963
Fairways Bermuda Grass
Greens Bermuda Grass
Golf Season Year round

Rentals/Services

Carts Yes
GPS No
Pull-carts Yes
Caddies No
Clubs Yes

Practice/Instruction

Driving Range Yes
Bunker Yes
Golf School/Academy Yes
Teaching Pro Yes
Pitching/Chipping Area Yes
Putting Green Yes

Policies

Metal Spikes Allowed No
Walking Allowed Yes

Food & Beverage

Bar

Available Facilities

Clubhouse

Accolades

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Reviews

3.7
618 Reviews (618)

Reviewer Photos

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Overall Rating
Recommended
Handicap
Age
Type of Golfer
Gender
Played On
Reviews 7
Handicap 0-4
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Renovated Classic Muni

The renovation done to this course has greartly enhanced it's appeal. Challenging but fair to every level of golfer. You can tell that summer has arrived in a few spots, but over all, still an enjoyable and challenging round of golf.

Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Friendliness Average
Pace Excellent
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
EO
Played On
Reviews 13
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

go for it

The course is maintained well. Great shape for Phoenix summer golf.

Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 20
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

This course has an exorbitant price.. Even though, it's HOT DEAL

papago is normal course , but very very expensive.....
Especially in the winter season....Even though, they have bad
condition fairway and golf green.... papago golf club have a
good location ,so they are very expensive........ it was an
exorbitant price

Conditions Poor
Value Poor
Friendliness Average
Pace Fair
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 3
Handicap 15-19
Skill Beginner
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Awesome Layout and gorgeous view.

The staff was great and the cart guys! Snack bar wasn't open for early tee times. This course is one on my top course in AZ. Definitely will play it again and again!

Conditions Average
Value Average
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Fair
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 1
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Fun layout and good shade trees for hot az summer

The course is a fun layout with traps placed in places that make the course a good challenge. The long par 3's keep you honest and the par 5's which begin and end each nine are very fun.
You will hit all the sticks in your bag and the view of the Papago Mountains are one of a kind.

Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Friendliness Average
Pace Good
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 30
Handicap 5-9
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Old School Golf

Even with makeover, Papago delivers old school ball striking...what you see is what you've got. Course is in good condition...not hard to keep it on the grass, but you won't. Greens were fast and true. Enough trees you might have to bend the ball a couple of times. Feels like your always playing into the predominate southwest wind. Stay hydrated, prices were reasonable.

Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Friendliness Average
Pace Good
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 81
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Top 500 Contributor

gotta love summer golf in Az.

Played Papago which is one of my favorite courses,its hard to think of this course as a muni. Conditions were great,pace of play was 21/2 hrs. Played through a foursome at the turn and had the whole back nine to myself.....gotta love summer golf.2$ domestics all day was a bonus.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 190
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Top 50 Contributor

well cared for tough course

nice putting and chipping area, golf shop area marginal, fairways very nice and sand in bunkers that are quite deep, greens putt so nice and area cared for well and seldom do they go straight, a nice lay out, but the carts need some up dating

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Friendliness Average
Pace Good
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 5
Handicap 25+
Skill Beginner
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser

The best greens ever

Pros:

-Super smooth, perfect greens!
-Beautiful scenery all around with the Papago buttes featuring prominently.
-Good course layout. Difficult and long par 3s. Bunkers are brutal.
-No neighborhoods to hit into.

Cons:

-Clubhouse is subpar. It appears to be a portable building.
-There is only one bathroom/water facility for the whole course. While the water machine is cold and filtered, it is slow!

I really enjoyed my round at Papago. It is a straight up challenge for just about anyone. I was consistently amazed at how far back the black tees were. Brush up on your sand game before your round. The greenside bunkers are deep and steep.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Friendliness Average
Pace Good
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Default User Avatar
Anonymous
Played On
Reviews 1
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser

I liked the course, nice golf staff, greens in great shape.

I liked playing Papago and enjoyed the scenery. The natural rock formations were right out of Fred Flintstone's Bedrock. We had booked a twosome that turned into a foursome the morning we golfed. The staff was very friendly and easily made the adjustment without a hitch. I bought a shirt that I needed to exchange after I got back home to Alaska and they handled it smoothly. I enjoyed the course and appreciated that it did not have gimmicky holes with lots of blind shots. The course was in nice shape and the greens were in great shape.

Conditions Average
Value Average
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 40
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser

super golf course

greens great...fairways great... would play again and highly recommend..Do need ranger for pace of play and helping keep carts from being taken in places they shouldnt be....

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Fair
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 1
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser

Average Course, Exceptional People.

The golf staff as well as the food and beverage staff were exceptional. The fact that this is a municipal golf course and there is no clubhouse make this course very average. Course itself has a municipal feel. Some of the previous reviews which lead me to play the course were just a little misleading.

Conditions Average
Value Average
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Average
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 15
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
4.0
Verified Purchaser

Papago review is..

... Great and challenging course. Wish we had some form of printed layout as we had to play blind the entire day. Our cart did not have any indicators whatsoever. Bummer. Then they had the nerve to try and charge $7.00 for a course guide.really? Will not go back because of this kind of indifference. Course is first rate however.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Friendliness Average
Pace Excellent
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 4
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser

Fair value for the area.

A decent course for the money in the area. Pace of play was fine on a weekday. Greens were in good condition. I used it as a warm up to play other more expensive courses in the area while on vacation. I would probably play there again.

Conditions Average
Value Average
Friendliness Average
Pace Average
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 36
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser

Great and challenging greens! We played Sunday pin placements

It's a shame the bunkers are so terrible when the rest of the course is of such good quality. When the traps are such an intregal part of the design feature, you would think that there would be enough pride to have sand in them.

Conditions Poor
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Poor
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 6
Handicap 25+
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser

Course has tough greens.

Course was in good condition and the greens provided a great challenge.

Conditions Average
Value Average
Friendliness Average
Pace Fair
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 8
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser

challenging with nice greens

papago had a good variety of holes which required some thought where strategy was concerned
par 3's are long
large greens that rolled true
I would definitely play this course again

Conditions Average
Value Average
Friendliness Poor
Pace Good
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 6
Handicap 20-24
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser

Nice course with very fast, challenging greens!

Nice area and course but spacing of groups was poor. To have to wait on EVERY shot at least 5 minutes really made it hard to get in a groove and shoot a good round.

Conditions Average
Value Average
Friendliness Average
Pace Fair
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Beginner
Plays Once every three months
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser

I have played this course twice now. Excellent condition. Greens are really fast!

My manager from Indiana joined me for this course. We had an excellent time on a beautiful course. He especially loved the scenery.

Course flowed well and groups were scheduled where we didn't feel pressured on either side.

The drink cart came around very regular and the young lady was very pleasant.

A great day all around.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 4
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser

One of the best muni's around

Great course that we will go back to each time we are in Phoenix. One of the best municipal courses we have played and a test of your golf skills. Best on course washrooms we have ever seen and the only one with an ice/water machine. Basic club house/proshop but it is the course you will want to play.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Friendliness Average
Pace Good
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
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Golf Packages

The Phoenician Golf Around Package

CLICK BELOW
PHOENIX/SCOTTSDALE | Enjoy lodging accommodations at the Phoenician Resort and golf at The Phoenician Golf Club, Westin Kierland Golf Club & Papago Golf Course.
the-phoenician-9.jpg

The Phoenician Golf Around Package

CLICK BELOW
PHOENIX/SCOTTSDALE | Enjoy lodging accommodations at the Phoenician Resort and golf at The Phoenician Golf Club, Westin Kierland Golf Club & Papago Golf Course.

Arizona Golf Grind Package

CLICK BELOW
PHOENIX/SCOTTSDALE | Enjoy lodging accommodations at the Courtyard by Marriott Scottsdale Old Town and golf at the Phoenician Golf Club, Longbow Golf Club, Papago Golf Club, and Eagle Mountain Golf Club.
20-3208_0256.jpg

Arizona Golf Grind Package

CLICK BELOW
PHOENIX/SCOTTSDALE | Enjoy lodging accommodations at the Courtyard by Marriott Scottsdale Old Town and golf at the Phoenician Golf Club, Longbow Golf Club, Papago Golf Club, and Eagle Mountain Golf Club.
Sunridge Canyon Golf Club

The Fairways of Fountain Hills Package

CLICK BELOW
PHOENIX/SCOTTSDALE | Enjoy accommodations at ADERO Scottsdale Resort, Autograph Collection or The Inn at Eagle Mountain and golf at Eagle Mountain Golf Club and SunRidge Canyon Golf Club
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