2026 Golf Getaways: We-Ko-Pa

Two desert courses worth the winter trip

The We-Ko-Pa golf courses northeast of Scottsdale are longtime favorites for Coloradans seeking to escape the grey and cold of winter. The two courses – Cholla and Saguaro – have elite pedigrees and the course conditions are perennially fantastic.

In 2001 the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation built one resort course, which they named Cholla, at the same time as they opened their new We-Ko-Pa casino and resort nearby. Then in 2005 they added the Saguaro Course from the design team of Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore. The two quickly became a popular overnight or day-trip destination for golfers from Colorado visiting Phoenix and Scottsdale.

The courses make use of the region’s natural arroyos – the channels cut by the sudden rainstorms which can bring torrents of water to bone-dry land seemingly out of nowhere. The result is courses that allow players to focus on the challenge, the experience, and their playing partners.

CHOLLA COURSE

Chollas are the spiny cacti that dot the land in the Valley of the Sun, and the course and the cacti are both cut from the same cloth. Both are at times narrow, floral, and welcoming with their natural beauty, but exacting for visitors who do not know how to handle them.

Cholla, a Scott Miller design, turned 25 years old last winter, and the course has matured magnificently. The course begins with desert washes fronting the tee box on No. 1. Most of the holes require a good swat to clear a wash or desert terrain, but if players choose wisely on which tee box to start from it should become a cause of pride and not consternation. The greens on the first four holes all have knolls and significant contour changes. By the back half of the front nine, greens level out slightly, but some more aggressive bunkering comes into play to offer a new challenge.

SAGUARO COURSE

The Saguaro course is the course that makes all the best-of-Arizona lists and is the one that visiting players want to be good and warmed up for. The Coore/Crenshaw design has welcoming fairways, but driving angles from the back tees can be crucial. The namesake saguaro cacti tower over players throughout the course.

The experience for both courses starts with great design and conditions. Then as players wind through the desert, the world outside slowly fades away. For a few hours, players put their skills to the test and come away feeling as though they have accomplished something special, regardless of their score.