Golf in Mesa, Arizona: A Local Guide
Mesa has more than twenty golf courses, from a top-rated municipal course to Superstition Mountain views and 55+ community layouts. A guide to golf in the East Valley: the courses, the climate and the best times to play.
Mesa, the largest city in the East Valley of metropolitan Phoenix and the third-largest city in Arizona, is one of the state's busiest golf destinations. Our course database lists more than twenty courses within the city, and many more in neighboring Gilbert, Chandler, Apache Junction and Gold Canyon. Mesa golf tends to be less expensive than Scottsdale's resort courses, and on the east side of the city, the jagged outline of Superstition Mountain dominates the horizon.
The Courses
Mesa's courses fall into three broad groups.
- Public and daily-fee courses: Dobson Ranch Golf Course, designed by Red Lawrence and opened in 1974, is the city's best-known municipal course. Longbow Golf Club, designed by Ken Kavanaugh, is a desert layout near Falcon Field. Superstition Springs Golf Club in east Mesa is one of the longest in the area, at more than 7,000 yards from the back tees.
- Foothills courses: in northeast Mesa, Las Sendas Golf Club, designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr., and Red Mountain Ranch Country Club climb into the foothills of the Usery Mountains. At around 1,700 feet, Las Sendas is the highest course in the city, with views across the whole valley.
- Community courses: Mesa is home to several 55+ communities with their own courses, including Leisure World (Heron Lakes and Coyote Run), Sunland Village, Fountain of the Sun and Apache Wells. Some are reserved for residents and their guests; check before you book.
You can see the full list, with a playability forecast for each course, on our Mesa golf weather page, for example for Dobson Ranch, Longbow and Las Sendas.
The Climate
Mesa shares the climate of the Phoenix area. Using the National Weather Service's 1991–2020 normals for Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport, about 15 miles to the west, the average high is about 68°F in January and about 106°F in July, with about 7 inches of rain a year. Mesa's courses sit between about 1,200 and 1,700 feet, slightly higher than central Phoenix, which makes little difference to the temperature.
When to Play
- Winter (December to February): peak season, with highs in the 60s and a steady flow of winter visitors. Book early, and allow for frost delays on the coldest mornings.
- Spring (March to May): the best overall conditions, with green turf and highs in the 70s and 80s.
- Summer (June to September): very hot, with the lowest prices of the year. Play at first light, and remember that the monsoon (June 15 to September 30) brings afternoon thunderstorms.
- Autumn (October and November): courses reopen after overseeding. In 2026, the Arizona Golf Association's schedule shows most Mesa courses closing between late September and mid-October: for example, Las Sendas from September 28 to October 16, and Longbow from October 5 to October 24. See our article on Arizona's 2026 overseeding season.
How Far the Ball Flies
Mesa's modest elevation and the desert heat both help the ball. Our carry model estimates that a drive that carries 230 yards at sea level on a 70°F day would carry about 235 yards on an average January afternoon in Mesa and about 243 yards on an average July afternoon. Our course pages calculate this for every tee time.
Getting Started
For the widest choice and the best value, play Mesa between October and April, and check the overseeding dates in autumn. For more on the Arizona golf year, see Golf in Arizona: A Season-by-Season Guide.
Photo: Superstition Mountain, east of Mesa, Arizona, by lydia_pirate, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Resized from the original.
