McDowell Mountain GC: #18
View of the 18th hole from McDowell Mountain Golf Club
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Rating Index Rating
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4.0
1071 Reviews (1071)
5 Stars
381
4 Stars
452
3 Stars
138
2 Stars
60
1 Stars
40
Conditions
3.9
Value
3.7
Layout
4.2
Friendliness
4.3
Pace
3.9
Amenities
4.0
82.4%
Recommend this course
893 out of 1071 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
4.3
40 Reviews (40)
5 Stars
20
4 Stars
14
3 Stars
4
2 Stars
1
1 Stars
1
Conditions
4.2
Value
3.9
Layout
4.2
Pace
4.1
Amenities
4.1
StaffFriendliness
4.6
92.5%
Recommend this course
37 out of 40 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
4.1
60 Reviews (60)
5 Stars
28
4 Stars
20
3 Stars
6
2 Stars
3
1 Stars
3
Conditions
4.0
Value
3.9
Layout
4.3
Pace
4.1
Amenities
4.1
StaffFriendliness
4.4
86.7%
Recommend this course
52 out of 60 reviews
Read Reviews
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AI summaries based on real golfer reviews
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Course Highlights
Exceptionally friendly staff and a well-designed layout create a challenging yet fair experience that keeps golfers returning. The practice facility is top-notch, and the course delivers strong conditions and solid value for money.

About

Holes 18
Type Public
Style Desert
Par 72
Length 7118 yards
Slope 133
Rating 73.1

Nestled in the heart of Scottsdale, McDowell Mountain Golf Club offers a premier golf experience surrounded by breathtaking desert landscapes and panoramic mountain views. Known for its exceptional course conditions, friendly atmosphere, and signature Arizona scenery, the club blends challenging play with unmatched beauty. Whether you're here to test your game, enjoy a casual round with friends, or take in the spectacular sunsets from our clubhouse patio, McDowell Mountain Golf Club delivers a true desert golf experience that is both memorable and inviting.

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McDowell Mountain Golf Club
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Course Details

Year Built 1999
Fairways Bermuda Grass
Greens TiffDwarf Bermuda Grass
Golf Season Year round
Architect Randy Heckenkemper (1999)

Rentals/Services

Carts Yes - included in green fees
GPS Yes
Clubs Yes

Practice/Instruction

Driving Range Yes
Golf School/Academy Yes - "McDowell Mountain Learning Center"
Teaching Pro Yes
Pitching/Chipping Area Yes
Putting Green Yes

Policies

Credit Cards Accepted Yes
Metal Spikes Allowed No
Dress code Collared shirt required, no denim

Food & Beverage

Restaurant

Available Facilities

Clubhouse, Conference Facilities, Banquet Facilities
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Reviews

4.0
1071 Reviews (1071)

What Golfers Are Saying

The 19th Hole is Great For:
Drinks 61
Patio Dining 55
19th Hole Scenic Views 35
Course Challenges Include:
Bunkers 81
Undulating Greens 55
Elevation Changes 46
This course/club is great for:
Locals 70
Advanced Golfers 62
Wildlife/ Scenic Views 54
This Course's Location is:
Convenient to the City 81
Worth the Drive 45
In the 'Burbs 42

Numbers based on reviews tagged with attribute.

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Overall Rating
Recommended
Handicap
Age
Type of Golfer
Gender
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
First Time Playing
Excellent weather
Used cart

Beautifully kept and fairly easy

This course was very well maintained and the staff was very friendly and helpful.. The course was quite easy and not too challenging. A couple comments were made about the power lines and they did NOT come into play unless you pulled you shot to the extreme on two holes. Enjoyed and would return at a discounted rate.

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Fairly Easy
Played On
Reviews 15
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Previously Played

Booked a morning tee time, and ended up playing another 18 in the PM.

Booked an 8:16 tee time for a foursome on a Sunday, finished ahead of pace, and decided to play another 18 holes (as a threesome). We played behind another threesome most of the 2nd round, but still finished before 4:00 (under 8 hours for 36 holes) - above average pace for a Sunday in February. Fairways and greens were in great shape. The only criticism I have is the sand traps. Many did not have a lot of sand, and had quite a few small rocks / large pebbles. Had to move 2-3 of these little stones away from my ball a couple of times in order to avoid dings in my sand wedge. In more traps than usual because there are a number of short par-4s guarded with traps, so we were swinging for the seats whenever these holes came up. Made the course more fun, although no one reached a par-4 green off the tee.
GolfNow rate was about $120. The course's policy states the replay rate is 60% of the initial fee. Fair value for the two rounds. Enjoyable course (much more so than when it was Sanctuary). I'd play it again.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Great value option

The only upside to a cancled flight home was the opportunity to play another round of golf. Happened upon this course last minute via GolfNow. Course was in great shape and offered a challenge; setup like a rolling oasis in the desert. Fairways plush, tee boxes pristine and the greens were fast and rolled true. That said, some of the greens were littered with ball-marks although i blame the inconsiderate players, not the course. Clubhouse and bar very nice too.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 10
Handicap 20-24
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Excellent weather
Used cart

Great desert course for visitors

I was disappointed in that it would have been cheaper to call the course directly for the golf but the desert layout did impress my out of town visitor. refreshment cart made party of it. Patio sunset was awesome.

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 2
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Fair weather
Used cart

MMGC - Redesigned

Much better than the predecessor - Sanctuary. Nines have been reversed, course lengthened, sketchy areas converted to playable desert in many cases, clubhouse improved.....a facility upgrade from top-to bottom.

Leave driver in the bag on narrow holes, attack par 5s and you'll score well. I'm a 5 index and I shot my number. Even through 11 and then a couple oops.

Conditions Good
Value Average
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 2
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Excellent weather
Used cart

Good value

Played in 4 hours...nice layout...good warm up facilities...only need players to fix ball mark on greens for this to be excellent

Conditions Good
Value Average
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Poor
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 4
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
First Time Playing
Excellent weather
Used cart

ballmarks

Does noone care for ballmarks there?
ok, the players are responsible for, but a marshall looking for that would not be bad

Conditions Average
Value Average
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Fair
Amenities Good
Difficulty Fairly Easy
Played On
Reviews 4
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Awesome track

Tough and challenging course. Great shape. Will play again.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 6
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Excellent weather
Used cart

Nice track for a day out

The course is in pretty good shape, not super-tough for an average golfer. Lots of trouble in the fairways, you need to stay on the short greens. Really tough to hold the greens with anything more than a short iron, need to take 1 less club

Conditions Good
Value Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Great layout

I was very impressed with the layout and condition of the course. Staff was very friendly. The sand Bunkers were challenging

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 1
Handicap 10-14
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Excellent weather
Used cart

Nice layout.

Great desert layout and fun course with challenging greens. We were here from Wisconsin in the winter with a foursome all about 12 handicaps. We moved along well but thought the rangers were annoying driving past one about every other hole. We played in 4 hours and 15 minutes and didn't think we needed comments from the ranger.

Conditions Excellent
Value Average
Friendliness Average
Pace Average
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 4
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Excellent weather
Used cart

Mixed reviews on a good day

course was fine, but disappointed in the greens. Too many ball marks and approach shots continually bounced and rolled over greens. Pace of play was very good. They do allow workers.
Ranger telling us to keep up with the group in front of us when we were on the 17th tee and waiting on every hole was not good. We played in 4 hours.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Friendliness Fair
Pace Fair
Amenities Good
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 4
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Good weather
Used cart

Nice course, lot's of fun

A very nice golfing experience. Teed off a little before 2PM as a 2-some and had no problem getting around for 18 holes and only waited of the group in front on the last 3 holes.
Would definitely go back and give it another try for the right price.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 10
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Previously Played
Excellent weather
Used cart

Great track

This is a great desert course. With multiple tee boxes and combinations of tees ranging from 4800 - 7072 yards. Up tees have only limited carrys and back tees provide for a sturdy test with plenty of fairway bunkering.

Only negative is that the greens have a lot of pitch marks because they are soft. They look worse than they are and roll nicely.

There are power lines that run through the course but they do not effect play at all as some review would lead you to believe.

Staff was very friendly and there was a marshal to move things along. We played in 4 hours and 10 minutes and held pace all the way around.

Great value for the money.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 46
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Good weather
Used cart

Good Day

Course was in good shape. Some frost damage from cold snap last week. Fair layout. Traps are pretty deep, so much so they have long rakes. Liked the combo tees, so there are 6 possible ratings to choose from. Nice for women, not a lot of forced carries. Marshall was very helpful. Water main break closed restaurant and bathrooms, kind of a problem. Absolutely will play again.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 8
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

where is that marshal?

The course makes a big deal about its fast-play policy but it simply is not enforced. My group encountered slow play all day and several times saw three groups on the one hole. A mashal did say hello on the first tee and was never seen again. We made it round in about 4.5 hours - it felt like 9. The course itself has some good golf holes - although they do themselves no favours by setting pins in silly places - several on tops of ridges....and this does nothing to help speed up play.

Conditions Good
Value Average
Friendliness Good
Pace Poor
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
3.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Not marked well.

Course was not marked well and no GPS in the cart. Was told by staff that most players bring there own range finder. You can play similar caliber courses for lower price.

Conditions Average
Value Poor
Friendliness Average
Pace Good
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Good layout

Overall good course. Greens were fairly rough with lots of pitch marks

Conditions Average
Value Average
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 5
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Excellent weather
Used cart

great facility

golf course is fun and challenging , no point in cutting the greens down to stimp at like 10,if the avg golfer doesn't fix a ball mark properly or not at all sadly.bunkers did not have enough sand,staff was excellent especially rob <future cdn tour player> and kevin from buffalo in a tuque who spoke cdn with me being from wpg,eh oh eh,great value ,beautiful scenery,

Conditions Good
Value Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 1
Handicap 20-24
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once every three months
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Excellent weather
Used cart

Beautiful course in spite of the power lines

Yes, there are lots of power lines which take away from the view of the mountains, but the course itself is very, very nice and well maintained. Most of the time, I didn't even notice the power lines because I was looking at the beautiful course! Greens were a hard to read, but in fairly good shape. Fairways are just like the pictures on line...LUSH and deep green. We played in about 4 hours and 45 minutes only because we spent a lot of time looking for lost balls.

I would definitely recommend it. A great value.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Moderate
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