We-Ko-Pa Golf Club - Saguaro Course

We-Ko-Pa Golf Club is owned and operated by the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, whose reservation lies northeast of Scottsdale along the Verde River. The name We-Ko-Pa comes from the Yavapai word for Four Peaks, the distinctive mountain formation that serves as a dramatic backdrop to the golf courses. The first course, Cholla, was designed by Scott Miller and opened in 2001.

The Saguaro Course followed in 2006, designed by the acclaimed team of Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw. True to their minimalist philosophy, Coore and Crenshaw routed the course through the natural desert terrain, finding holes in the landscape rather than imposing them. The design preserved thousands of native saguaro cacti, palo verde trees, and other desert vegetation, earning recognition from the ASGCA for its sensitive treatment of cultural resources and habitat.

Saguaro quickly earned acclaim as one of the finest public-access courses in the American Southwest. It has been ranked the number one public course in Arizona by Golf Digest and consistently appears among the top casino courses in the country.

The Saguaro Course offers a minimalist desert golf experience that feels entirely natural. Coore and Crenshaw's routing flows through pristine Sonoran Desert terrain with wide playing corridors that allow multiple strategies off the tee. The Four Peaks and Red Mountain backdrops create some of the most photogenic golf settings in Arizona.

The course features meaningful elevation changes that create interesting stances and sightlines. While the wide fairways are forgiving off the tee, the green complexes are creative and demand precise approach shots.

The wide fairways invite aggressive tee shots, but positioning matters more than distance. Many holes offer a safe side and a dangerous side, with the better angle into the green rewarding those who challenge the tighter line.

The desert rough is unforgiving -- once a ball leaves the maintained turf, it is often lost. Play conservatively when the desert encroaches on the fairway edges. The greens have more movement than they initially appear, so take time to read the subtle contours before putting.