Scottsdale's golf reputation was built thirty minutes north, at Troon North, Grayhawk and Desert Mountain. But if you are staying in Old Town without a car, you are not out of options. There is a course about a mile away, and the oldest course in the city is barely further.
Here is what is genuinely close.
Walking distance, or near enough
Continental Golf Club, 7920 E. Osborn Road. An executive par 60 short course roughly 1.1 miles from Old Town, close enough to walk from most Old Town hotels. Not a championship test and not trying to be. It is the course you play when you have three hours and no car, and for that it is perfect.
Coronado Golf Course, 2829 N. Miller Road. Nine holes, parkland style, about 1.3 miles out, and it holds a title nothing else can claim: the oldest golf course in Scottsdale. Worth playing for that alone.
A short ride
Camelback Golf Club, 7847 N. Mockingbird Lane. Two eighteen hole courses, The Padre and The Indian Bend, sitting at the base of Camelback Mountain. Resort golf, and a genuine step up in scale from the two above.
McCormick Ranch, about 3.7 miles out. The Pine and Palm courses, parkland style with mature trees, water features and Camelback Mountain views. This is the classic central Scottsdale golf experience and it is a very easy trip from Old Town.
Talking Stick and Papago are both within about fifteen minutes, and a rideshare from Old Town to Talking Stick typically runs in the ten to fifteen dollar range.
How to plan it
Play early. October through April the tee sheets fill and the afternoons get busy. In summer, early is not a preference, it is the only sensible option.
Book ahead in season. Spring training, the WM Phoenix Open and Barrett-Jackson all compress tee times along with everything else in this city.
If you only have a morning, Continental. If you want the story, Coronado. If you want a real round, McCormick Ranch or Camelback.
Where the golf question becomes a lending question
If you are visiting Old Town and thinking about buying into one of the golf communities you keep hearing about, there is one thing worth knowing before you go look, because it catches strong buyers repeatedly.
Mandatory club dues are counted against your debt-to-income ratio like a car payment. A club initiation deposit is cash out of your accounts and generally does not count toward your reserve requirement.
That combination is the single most common reason a Scottsdale golf community buyer gets a smaller approval than they expected. The money is real. It is just not where the guideline needs it to be, and if you are qualifying on assets it is worse, because the deposit reduces the very balance the calculation runs on.
The first question to answer at any address is whether membership is mandatory or optional, because an obligation you can decline generally is not counted and one you cannot is. Get the club's current membership plan and the community's governing documents in writing. Do not rely on what a neighbor told you or what was true three years ago.
The full mechanics are in How a Scottsdale Golf Club Membership Affects Your Mortgage Approval, and the wider obligation stack in HOA Dues, Club Dues and Assessments.
If the golf communities are where you are actually headed
I have written the qualifying mechanics for the specific ones people ask about most:
- Troon North, the Monument and Pinnacle, both Weiskopf and Morrish
- Silverleaf, where the equity membership structure does the damage
- Desert Mountain, six Nicklaus courses and an asset-based file
- Grayhawk, Talon and Raptor, and how stock compensation counts
- DC Ranch, and what a bank statement loan does with your deposits
Why I write about this
Because I finance homes in these communities, and the club obligation is the item most lenders discover in underwriting rather than on the first call. That is the difference between a structure chosen deliberately and a file repriced two weeks before closing.
Ricky Khamis, President of EPiQ Lending, NMLS #173141, lending in Arizona since 1999 and a 2025 Presidents Club Winner at CMG Home Loans. Direct line: (480) 999-9842. EPiQ Lending is NMLS #1936984, at 7975 N. Hayden Road, Suite A-101 in Scottsdale.
Verify all of it before you trust any of it: Ricky's EPiQ Lending profile, the Scottsdale branch, and the license itself at NMLS Consumer Access.
Send me the club's membership plan before you write in a golf community and I will tell you what the obligation stack does to your approval.
Courses, access policies and fees change. This reflects what was accurate as of September 2026 and I have no affiliation with any course named here. Club membership structures, dues and refundability terms vary by club and change over time; confirm current terms directly with the club.
Equal Housing Opportunity. This is general information, not a commitment to lend or an offer to extend credit. Rates, terms, and program guidelines change and depend on credit approval, property appraisal, and other qualifying factors. Not all applicants will qualify. Non-QM and no-ratio financing carries different pricing and terms than agency financing.
Looking at a specific home? Send me the address and I will run the numbers: rickykhamis.com/analyze
