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Rating Index Rating
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3.9
631 Reviews (631)
5 Stars
169
4 Stars
270
3 Stars
99
2 Stars
61
1 Stars
32
Conditions
3.8
Value
3.7
Layout
4.1
Friendliness
4.4
Pace
3.5
Amenities
4.0
78.7%
Recommend this course
480 out of 631 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
4.0
15 Reviews (15)
5 Stars
6
4 Stars
6
3 Stars
1
2 Stars
1
1 Stars
1
Conditions
3.8
Value
3.9
Layout
4.3
Pace
3.4
Amenities
4.1
StaffFriendliness
4.6
80.0%
Recommend this course
12 out of 15 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
4.2
22 Reviews (22)
5 Stars
10
4 Stars
9
3 Stars
1
2 Stars
1
1 Stars
1
Conditions
4.0
Value
4.0
Layout
4.3
Pace
3.6
Amenities
4.1
StaffFriendliness
4.5
86.4%
Recommend this course
19 out of 22 reviews
Read Reviews
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AI summaries based on real golfer reviews
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Course Highlights
Papago's deceptively challenging layout rewards accurate play, with well-maintained fairways, greens, and tee boxes consistently impressing returning golfers. Friendly staff and strong value make this a course worth adding to your regular rotation.

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

  • Golf Advisor: Top 25 College Courses in the U.S. (2020 #23)
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Reviews

3.9
631 Reviews (631)

What Golfers Are Saying

The 19th Hole is Great For:
Drinks 19
19th Hole Scenic Views 8
Course Challenges Include:
Bunkers 73
Undulating Greens 51
Plays Long 50
This course/club is great for:
Locals 67
Advanced Golfers 57
Walkers 56
This Course's Location is:
Convenient to the City 85
Near the Airport 76
Near Local Attractions 37

Numbers based on reviews tagged with attribute.

Reviewer Photos

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Overall Rating
Recommended
Handicap
Age
Type of Golfer
Gender
Played On
Reviews 10
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Average
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 9
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
First Time Playing
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 1
1.0
First Time Playing
Conditions Poor
Value Poor
Layout Average
Friendliness Good
Pace Average
Amenities Fair
Played On
Reviews 10
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Average
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 3
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Course has nice amenities

To me for what I paid, you get what you get.

I think one thing they need to do is for sure have a Marshall out on the course and make the pace of play go faster. No reason the course should take more 4 hours to finish..

Conditions Good
Value Fair
Layout Average
Friendliness Good
Pace Poor
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 10
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

B rating

If not on grass it is dirt. Course is fair and in good shape for August. Staff if very good. Very bumpy as most cart paths are dirt

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 5
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
2.0
Previously Played

Comically awful.

Truly, one of the most awful golf experiences of my life. I will preface this by saying unless you have a city card, stay the F away. $30 on city card makes sense. Anything more than this no way. Let alone, $90!!!!?!?. This place is notorious for overbooking. Pace was horrendous and mind numbing. Blue tees were moved back to tips on most holes. Greens were slower than Biden. Wanna know the worst part? I WAS PLAYING WELL AND I STILL QUIT AFTER 9! Overbooked to the max. One positive note, staff are the friendliest people on the planet. Nothing against those guys. Let’s just maybe work on TEE TIME SPACING!

Conditions Average
Value Poor
Layout Average
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Poor
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 8
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Previously Played

Love it

I love the lay out have played it many times. Sence it became ASUs home course it has been cleaned up. Only issue is price went up.

Still love it may not score as well as I would like but a great track.

Bunkers are the best I have played for a long time

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 3
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Fair
Value Poor
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Played On
Reviews 2
Handicap 0-4
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
2.0
Previously Played

Disappointed - I usually don’t leave reviews

This was my first time playing the course in a few years and I was excited to see some of the changes they’ve made since I believe 2022. I signed up as a single and was paired up with three others as I was expecting. I had to find the starter 5 minutes before my tee time, keep in mind I checked in 45 minutes before my tee time, and lone behold the group I was paired with was already teeing off. Pace of play was HORRENDOUS, 5 hours and 15 mins. Didn’t see a ranger out on the course the entire round and teed off before noon on a sold out Saturday. GPS told us every hole we were 5,10…45 minutes behind pace starting on the 6th hole yet we were waiting every single shot. Every cooler out on the course was empty. Lastly every green was covered with sand.

Conditions Fair
Value Poor
Layout Average
Friendliness Good
Pace Poor
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 2
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 10
Handicap 0-4
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
2.0
Previously Played

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

Conditions Average
Value Fair
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Poor
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 6
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 126
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
3.0
Top 250 Contributor
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Used cart

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.

Conditions Good
Value Average
Layout Average
Friendliness Good
Pace Poor
Amenities Good
Difficulty Fairly Easy
Played On
Reviews 27
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
2.0
Previously Played

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.

Conditions Fair
Value Poor
Layout Fair
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Poor
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 3
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 11
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Fair
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 11
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Fair
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 3
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
2.0
Previously Played

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

Conditions Fair
Value Poor
Layout Average
Friendliness Average
Pace Average
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