Off-season deals are par for top golf courses,
Go west — and south — to find bargains on trips to the links
“It’s a dry heat.”
That’s the cliché you hear again and again when visiting Scottsdale in the summer. But as horrible as weather that requires eight syllables to describe sounds — I recently played golf there when it was 111 degrees — it turns out to be true. The combination of heat and humidity that hits much of the country in summer is much more draining than higher temperatures here.
But why would anyone want to play golf in such extreme weather? Because it’s really good and really cheap.
The Waste Management Phoenix Open is the most-attended golf tournament in the world, and its venue, the TPC Scottsdale Stadium course, is instantly familiar to TV-watching golf fans. Golfers love to play in the footsteps of history, and the TPC Scottsdale is an ultra-desirable spot to visit on a golf vacation.
It also is one of the pricier rounds in the country, at least in peak season, when greens fees run as high as $369. But in summer, specials dip as low as $69, meaning you could play it five times for the rack rate and still have money left over for beer. This makes an out-of-reach dream suddenly attainable for many everyday duffers, and it is not just this course, but dozens of other desirable layouts across the region and around the country.
“It’s hot, but at least it’s not raining,” said Kieran Bell, a high school teacher from Upstate New York who flew out west to stretch his golfing dollars on his summer break. Bell noted that unlike many of the world’s most desirable golf destinations in peak season, the weather in Arizona is reliably dry and virtually guarantees you can play every day.
While most vacationers view Scottsdale as a place to escape from cold weather in the winter, an increasing number of hardy golf lovers like Bell are making the trip from spring through fall to play high-quality fantasy courses on a realistic budget.
There are six courses around the city that make Golf’s Top 100 You Can Play, including two 36hole facilities with both courses ranked in the nation’s Top 50, We-Ko-Pa and Troon North. Beyond that, there are dozens of acclaimed designs showcasing the unique beauty of Arizona’s Sonoran desert, making Scottsdale an epic golf destination at any time.
But in hot season — a third of the year — all are steeply discounted, with routine savings of
60%-80%, and sometimes even more if you sign up for individual course emails and take advantage of last-minute special deals.
One of the highlights on Bell’s itinerary was We-Ko-Pa, arguably Arizona’s finest public facility, which in winter commands $235 a round for either course. He paid
$125 to play all 36 holes, less than a third of the regular rate, while the summer price for one round is $75. He also was playing 36 at Talking Stick, another highly acclaimed Scottsdale two-course facility that’s part of a full-service resort and casino complex.
For the combination of price, quality and breadth of choices, it’s nearly impossible to beat Scottsdale, but there’s more. The region is packed with luxury hotels and resorts with room rates that can easily run more than $500 a night in season.
In summer, these same four and five-star properties struggle to attract guests even with deep discounts. For instance, peak winter room rates for golfers start at $674 nightly at the Four Seasons at Troon North. In summer, this drops to $204. The Fairmont Scottsdale Princess offers a summer package from $316 per couple that includes lodging and golf for two on a choice of several top tier courses.
That’s less than just one person’s peak season golf at the TPC. With 36 exquisite holes and lodging in spacious private casitas, The Boulders — which was just extensively renovated — has long been one of the nation’s most famous luxury golf resorts, with two excellent desert courses. It rolls out the bargain red carpet with a $239 package that includes golf, room and lunch for two. “During Phoenix Open week we get $275 a round, and now it’s $55 after 9 a.m., including golf cart,” said Ryan McKay, the Boulders director of golf.
Scottsdale certainly is the most dramatic example of a destination packed with top-ranked and big-name courses that offer steep off-season bargains, but it is hardly the only one. Pretty much all hot-weather golf spots that are busier in winter lower prices in summer, from Florida to Texas to Las Vegas.
“It’s a great opportunity for golfers to play the courses they’ve seen on TV or read about in magazines that are very highly rated,” said Kris Strauss, senior vice president of Troon Golf, the na-
“It’s a great opportunity for golfers to play the courses they’ve seen on TV or read about in magazines that are very highly rated.”
Kris Strauss, Troon Golf
tion’s largest golf course management company.
The 36-hole Streamsong resort in central Florida has two linksstyle courses by Tom Doak and Ben Crenshaw that are the state’s highest-rated public courses. The resort gets $255 a round for either in winter, but from June 1 to Nov. 30, the walk-up rate is $125 and resort guests or Florida residents pay just $85.
From late May through the end of August, the luxury JW Marriott Summerlin’s golf package includes a room and round at TPC Las Vegas from $159 per person including transfers.
If cold weather is more your cup of tea, there’s a flip side to offseason. “Harbour Town is a perfect example of the off-season bargain,” said Brandon Tucker, the Golf Channel’s managing editor for travel and courses. “It’s a course every golf fan wants to play, but it costs $300 (a round). In winter, it’s $280 — with a hotel room thrown in.”
Oregon’s Bandon Dunes has four courses ranked in the nation’s top 12. All four have highseason summer rates of $275 — if you stay overnight — or $325 for outside play. In January that drops by more than two thirds to
$85 ($100 for non-guests), with a
36-hole rate of just $130 and rooms are heavily discounted.