McDowell Mountain Golf Club
Rating Snapshot
About
McDowell Mountain Golf Club (formerly known as Sanctuary Golf Course) provides an eco-friendly option in Scottsdale - a pretty setting, too, on the McDowell Mountains' western slope. The golf course was designed by the architect Randy Heckenkemper, who turned what had been the Bureau of Reclamation's storm-water-retention area into a top Scottsdale golf course, with 6,624-yards of par-71 golf laid out over what truly tries to be a sanctuary for the indigenous flora and fauna.
McDowell Mountain Golf Club's signature hole is the 18th, a 516-yard par 5 that allows you finish your round of golf in risk-reward style, with an eagle or birdie practically begging to be attempted - though it might be just as easy to double-bogey. A bunker on the right guards a skinny landing area, while a wicked wash awaits on the left, but, hit that drive right, and you might just make the green in two.
After your round of golf on the golf course, head back to the restaurant, where you can take your breakfast or lunch daily in the dining room or on the patio - and take in vistas of the golf course and Camelback Mountain.
| Tee | Par | Length | Rating | Slope |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black | 71 | 7072 yards | 73.3 | 137 |
| Gold | 71 | 6407 yards | 70.2 | 131 |
| White (W) | 71 | 5724 yards | 71.6 | 129 |
| White | 71 | 5724 yards | 67.0 | 118 |
| Red (W) | 71 | 4880 yards | 68.1 | 109 |
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black M: 73.1/133 | 429 | 366 | 225 | 575 | 402 | 394 | 432 | 191 | 542 | 3556 | 440 | 448 | 380 | 532 | 161 | 520 | 339 | 234 | 508 | 3562 | 7118 |
| Black/Gold M: 71.4/131 | 397 | 366 | 196 | 541 | 402 | 394 | 404 | 163 | 542 | 3405 | 422 | 421 | 380 | 532 | 161 | 503 | 339 | 201 | 382 | 3341 | 6746 |
| Gold M: 70.3/128 | 397 | 331 | 196 | 541 | 374 | 337 | 404 | 163 | 524 | 3267 | 422 | 421 | 353 | 498 | 132 | 503 | 310 | 201 | 382 | 3222 | 6489 |
| Gold/White M: 68.4/123 | 368 | 331 | 147 | 541 | 374 | 337 | 360 | 163 | 510 | 3131 | 404 | 390 | 353 | 498 | 132 | 494 | 310 | 156 | 347 | 3084 | 6215 |
| White M: 66.7/115 W: 72.2/126 | 368 | 303 | 147 | 503 | 332 | 271 | 360 | 153 | 510 | 2947 | 404 | 390 | 310 | 466 | 99 | 494 | 266 | 156 | 347 | 2932 | 5879 |
| White/Red M: 64.8/110 W: 69.5/121 | 336 | 303 | 147 | 461 | 332 | 271 | 308 | 153 | 471 | 2782 | 316 | 309 | 310 | 435 | 99 | 455 | 266 | 156 | 327 | 2673 | 5455 |
| Red M: 62.7/107 W: 67.5/113 | 336 | 250 | 109 | 461 | 298 | 240 | 308 | 94 | 471 | 2567 | 316 | 309 | 266 | 435 | 69 | 455 | 239 | 102 | 327 | 2518 | 5085 |
| Junior M: 60.0/103 W: 62.6/104 | 265 | 190 | 71 | 368 | 250 | 156 | 304 | 76 | 350 | 2030 | 307 | 229 | 209 | 363 | 63 | 281 | 138 | 102 | 302 | 1994 | 4024 |
| Handicap | 3 | 17 | 15 | 5 | 11 | 13 | 1 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 18 | 12 | 16 | 6 | 2 | |||
| Par | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 36 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 36 | 72 |
Course Details
Rentals/Services
Practice/Instruction
Policies
Food & Beverage
RestaurantAvailable Facilities
Clubhouse, Conference Facilities, Banquet Facilities
Reviews
Reviewer Photos
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Photo submitted by Jim3650172 on 03/01/2024
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Photo submitted by Mark6710631 on 10/19/2022
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Photo submitted by Mark6710631 on 10/19/2022
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This is the landing zone on a par 4. Brutal “fairway” lie. Photo submitted by dubjac on 09/05/2022
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Photo submitted by dubjac on 08/29/2022
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+ 5 morePhoto submitted by WGAgolf on 05/24/2022
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Photo submitted by ja24martino on 12/09/2021
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Back nine Photo submitted by u314161204123 on 03/11/2021
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Photo submitted by Dansgolf on 03/03/2015
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Photo submitted by Dansgolf on 03/03/2015
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#5 approach shot. Cool shot with the mountain in the background. Photo submitted by ryantjeerdsma on 09/24/2013
Phoenix Spring Golf Trip
Greens were very nice even with some tricky pins, and it was nice to see lush green grass in the rough. Front 9 was a nice layout with a couple neat risk/reward holes. However the back 9 simply got too tight, especially when you hit the fairway, your ball rolls off into an unplayable gully which happened several times. Also the driving range is dangerous is you are on holes 10 and 18. Had to dodge several range balls. Still shot 77 from Gold/White combo. $390.00 Cdn. Way TOO much $$$ Oops 1 more. Following groups of 6 and 7(bachelor parties) not what I paid for.
Thanks for the 5-Star review of McDowell Mountain Golf Course. We look forward to seeing you again soon!
Thank you for your 5-Star rating! We appreciate your support and are glad to know you had a positive experience. Your satisfaction means a lot to us, and we look forward to serving you again soon!
Will play again
The staff was very friendly, helpful, and willing to assist. Course is in very nice condition.
Thank you for your review of McDowell Mountain Golf Club. We are glad you enjoyed your experience and found our staff helpful. We take pride in maintaining our course, and your feedback motivates us to keep up the good work. We look forward to your next visit.
Nice course for every playing level
Probably need a net fence between driving range and 10th hole, range balls everywhere. Other than that, nice course with tough greens
Thanks for taking the time to provide your feedback. We are glad you enjoyed the course and found the greens challenging. Your insights are appreciated.
Thank you, Jim, for the 5-Star rating! We are glad to see you enjoyed your experience with us. Your support means a lot, and we look forward to your next visit.
Always a welcoming place to visit. Course is challenging, but fair. Scenery adds to the experience..
Thank you for your 5-Star review! We are glad that you enjoyed your visit to Mcdowell Mountain Golf Club and look forward to seeing you again soon.
Crowded and slow play…no ranger
Course is in great condition but a 5 hour round is ridiculous. No course ranger to move slow players along. Wish carts had electronic GPS. I would recommend the course itself but slow play makes this course one that I might not consider again in future.
Thank you for providing your feedback. We are glad you enjoyed the course conditions, but understand your frustration with pace of play. We will review course management to maintain the pace of play and possibly GPS for future upgrades as we continue to improve on the experiences at the club.
Pace of play
Greatly enjoyed the course but two issues ruined enjoyment on back nine: (1) #10 parallels the driving range and our foursome was almost hit several times as we tried to play our fairway shots; (2) lack of a ranger on back 9. A foursome of young men in front of us were playing from the tips & on every hole we waited & watched as they tried to find their balls that were off course. They saw the groups behind us stack up but didn't seem to care despite the waning sunshine. Unfortunately, we were unable to finish 18 before dark. While we knew this was a possibility with a 2pm tee time but it was greatly hindered by this group's slow play.
Thanks for taking the time to provide your feedback. We are glad you enjoyed the course overall. We appreciate your concerns about safety and pace of play on the back nine. We will take your comments into account to improve the experience for all our guests. Hope to see you back out at McDowell Mountain Golf Club soon!
Pretty, but not worth the money
I personally liked the course, although my wife did not. However, we did agree that for $190/ea. having the second green not there, no GPS in the carts, no ball washers, it was not really worth it. There are too many other courses around, for about the same price, that offer better amenities, challenge, and beautiful views.
Thank you for taking the time to provide your feedback. We are glad to hear you enjoyed the course, but did not meet both of your expectations. We appreciate your comments about the amenities and value and will take your thoughts into consideration as we continue to enhance the experiences at the club.
Thanks for the 5-Star review. We appreciate your support and are glad to see you enjoyed your experience with us.
First round of our golf trip
First round of 7 in a week. Nice course, in good shape and good value. Nice views. Would recommend as it won’t break the bank.
Thanks for your 5-Star review and taking the time to provide your input. We are glad you enjoyed your visit and look forward to seeing you again soon at McDowell Mountain Golf Club.
Nice course/Horrible pace of play.
Made a 2:16 tee time. We were aware might struggle to get 18 holes in but should be close.
Paid 200.00 plus for the round and got 13 holes done and took us 4 hrs to get 14 holes done. The most frustrating part was seeing a 6some 2 groups ahead of us and then another 5 some a couple groups ahead of them and then multiple open holes. Would not have ever expected that would be ok when paying 200.00 + for a round. It really is a beautiful course but left a sour taste this visit. Need to have someone out enforcing pace of play or don’t book so many tee times.
Thank you for your feedback. We understand how frustrating it can be when pace of play affects your round. Our team works hard to manage the flow on the course, and apologize that this was not your experience. We will review our on-course procedures to ensure a better balance for all golfers. We hope you will give us another try in the future.
I actually like the course layout. Except for one ridiculous part five that you couldn’t tell where the hole went You couldn’t use driver but would know how to play it next time.We weren’t told about a temporary green before booking at $236 which is severely overpriced. There’s no GPS on the carts. There are very few yardage markers in the fairways. They are on the cartpath. When we asked the starter, if there were markings in the fairways, he didn’t even know. Third group out and We were 4 1/2 hours Practice facility was nice but they gave you about 20 balls to warm up with so if you wanted more, which would the expectation at $236. You were out of luck. After the round, we couldn’t even drive our bag to the car. The guy told us we need to give them back right away because they were short on carts and had to carry our bags to the car.
Thanks for sharing your feedback. We are glad you liked the course layout but are disappointed to hear about your experience. Your comments on the temporary green, GPS, and practice facilities are valuable, and we will be sure to address these issues to enhance our guests' experience in the future.
Pack them in
I played this course last year with my sons and was upset after the round so I left a review similar to this one. McDowell Mtn has a pace of play rule that says you should finish your round in 4 hours and 10 minutes. Well, this last round almost took 6 hours! For $220 we expected to play the round and enjoy the course, not literally wait on every tee box 10 to 20 minutes! It was crazy. Pace of play just ruined a birthday present for my kid so that is the reason I am leaving this review.
To McDowell Mtn management, Stop packing your course with so many tee times and a couple of marshals out there to keep the slow pokes moving.
We appreciate your feedback and understand how frustrating a slow pace can be, especially on a birthday occasion. We are actively working to improve our pace of play and ensure a better experience for our guests. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us.
Thank you for the 5-Star rating! We're glad to see you enjoyed your experience. Your support means a lot to us, and we look forward to seeing you again at McDowell Mountain Golf Club.
* Not bad but could be a lot better *
The facility here is gorgeous!
The welcome not so much! Checked in paid and then asked where I get range balls. Said there in the cart. They weren’t.
Ask the cart kid and he questions me hard if I already got some and explained I haven’t and kinda rude.
The range is INSANE PACKED.
Can’t get any distance on your ball since it’s all dirt.
Starter not the most welcoming and questioned if I had a tee time. Abnormally interesting.
Course good condition but JAMMED PACKED!
The Cart was filthy and covered in mud.
Leaving the cart area nothing from
The cart kids and no clean and I had money ready.
Can do ALOT better for the price over $100 for twilight
We appreciate you taking the time to provide your feedback. We strive for excellent service and your comments will help us improve as we continue to focus on providing the best experience for our guests.
Thank you for the 5-Star review of McDowell Mountain Golf Club! We appreciate your support and are delighted to see you enjoyed your experience. We look forward to serving you again soon.
Scottsdale North Swing Package
Arizona's Top 100 Package
Troon Trio Package
Arizona Golf Grind Package
Thanks for taking the time to share your feedback. We are glad you enjoyed the front 9 and the condition of the greens. We appreciate your insights on the back 9 and the driving range. Your comments help us improve the experience for all our guests. Hope to see you again!