DESERT SPRINGS GOLF CLUB

The Sonoran Desert's natural washes and arroyos create dramatic elevation changes that architect Howard Swan leveraged brilliantly, turning what could have been another flat Arizona daily-fee into a routing with genuine character. Water comes into play on half the holes—a rarity in the Valley's public golf landscape—while the par-3 17th demands a heroic carry over desert scrub to a peninsula green that separates pretenders from players. Despite sharing real estate with housing, the design maintains enough desert authenticity to remind you why Phoenix became a golf destination in the first place.