This Arizona city is the best in the US for golfers. Here's why

Michael Salerno, Arizona Republic
·2 min read
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Arizona is home to five of the top 25 golf cities in the U.S., including No. 1: Scottsdale.

The lawn care company LawnStarter released a study on the best cities for golfers, rating the 200 biggest cities for golf based on qualities including the number of golf courses, quality of golf courses and number of training opportunities.

Scottsdale's outstanding golfing is apparent from accolades from the likes of Golfweek, which ranked seven courses in the city among the 30 best Arizona golf courses for 2023. The highest ranked, TPC Scottsdale's Stadium course, is where the WM Phoenix Open tournament takes place each February.

There's even a newly opened mini golf amusement park, the Tiger Woods-designed PopStroke.

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How LawnStarter came up with its golf cities ranking

LawnStarter assessed the 200 biggest U.S. cities for their golf opportunities based on six categories:

  • Public course access: Cities were judged for the number of public and city courses per 100,000 residents.

  • Premium course access: Cities were judged for the number of private courses; the number of courses acclaimed by outlets like the Golf Tournament Association of America, Golf Magazine, Golf Digest and Golfweek; the number of PGA courses available for public play; and the number of golf resorts.

  • Training access: Scores were based on the number of driving ranges, indoor and virtual golf facilities, and golf equipment stores per square mile, as well as the number of PGA golf coaches and facilities offering lessons per 100,000 residents.

  • Course quality: Cities were scored based on all of the courses' average consumer rating, total reviews, average number of holes, average number of yards and average par.

  • Community: Scores were based on the number of amateur golf competitions and tournaments, as well as the number of golf meetup groups.

  • Climate: Cities were judged for the historical averages of the number of extremely cold and extremely hot days, monthly percentage of sunshine and monthly rainfall average.

How did Scottsdale fare in the survey of best cities for golfers?

Players line up their putts during the Celebrity Putt Challenge at the Waste Management Phoenix Open.
Players line up their putts during the Celebrity Putt Challenge at the Waste Management Phoenix Open.

Scottsdale ranked No. 1 for public and premium course access, training access and course quality.

It was No. 2 for golf community, trailed only by Sacramento, California.

However, Scottsdale ranked just No. 47 for climate, likely taking a hit when factoring in the number of extremely hot days. The California cities of San Diego, Escondido, Oceanside and Chula Vista tied for first place in climate.

What other Arizona cities are among the best for golfers?

Arizona tied with California for the most cities recognized among the top 25 golf cities, with five each. Those cities are:

  • No. 1: Scottsdale.

  • No. 6: Tucson.

  • No. 18: Phoenix.

  • No. 22: Surprise.

  • No. 24: Mesa.

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Reach the reporter at Michael.Salerno@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @salerno_phx.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Best cities for golfers: This Arizona city is tops in the US