Pinnacle Peak juts out of the desert floor like a landmark you can navigate by, and the golf clustered around its base is some of the most respected in the Southwest. Whether you're a weekend player or someone who plans a move around tee times, here's an honest look at what's actually playable at Troon North, Troon Country Club, and Pinnacle Peak Country Club — and what it means if you're house-hunting nearby.
What are the best golf courses near Troon in Scottsdale?
Three clubs anchor the area, and they're easy to confuse because of the overlapping names. Troon North Golf Club is semi-private with two public-access 18-hole courses. Troon Country Club is a separate, fully private facility. And Pinnacle Peak Country Club, a few miles away, is its own private club with a completely different playing style. All three sit in the shadow of Pinnacle Peak itself, and all three are within a short drive of Troon's luxury home market.
Is Troon North Golf Club open to the public?
Yes. Troon North, at 10320 E Dynamite Blvd, is semi-private — public play is welcome, with tee times bookable up to 90 days out. Its two courses, Monument (par 72, 7,039 yards) and Pinnacle (par 71, 7,009 yards), were both recently reworked by original designer Tom Weiskopf, threading play through natural desert ravines, granite boulder fields, and forced carries that have made Troon North a fixture on "must-play" lists for decades.
The 37,000-square-foot clubhouse includes a well-regarded golf shop, a Callaway Performance Center for club fitting and swing analysis, and the Dynamite Grille, which has scenic patio seating that's worth a stop even on a non-golf day. Peak season (January through April) rates run $300 or more per round, plus a 5% water surcharge tacked on at check-in — but rates ease considerably heading into summer.
Local Tip: If cost is a factor, book a twilight tee time at Troon North in late spring or early fall. You still get the Monument or Pinnacle course experience — granite boulders, desert washes, and all — at a fraction of peak-season pricing.
What's the difference between Troon Country Club and Troon North?
This is the question I get most from buyers. Troon Country Club, located at 25000 N Windy Walk Dr, is a fully private club — it's not the same facility as Troon North, though both share the Troon name and sit near Pinnacle Peak. Designed by Jay Morrish and Tom Weiskopf in the mid-1980s, it was one of the first desert-style courses built in the Scottsdale area and spent a decade on Golf Digest's "100 Greatest Courses" list. It plays more forgiving than some of its neighbors, with fairways that let golfers run the ball onto many of the greens rather than demanding a full carry.
What is Pinnacle Peak Country Club like?
Pinnacle Peak Country Club, at 8701 E Pinnacle Peak Rd, is a private club with a genuinely different character from the desert-target golf most of North Scottsdale is known for. It's a walkable, tree-lined parkland-style course — a 7,030-yard, par-72 layout designed by Dick Turner — founded in 1976 by developer Jerry Nelson with the explicit goal of building the best course in North Scottsdale. Regular membership has always been capped at 325, which keeps the course uncrowded even during snowbird season. Beyond golf, the club offers tennis courts, a fitness center, a pool, and a full calendar of member social events and junior programs.
What's new at Troon North in 2026?
The Scottsdale Golf Retreat at Troon North, a new luxury stay-and-play property, is slated to open in early 2026 with 26 suites just steps from the Monument and Pinnacle courses. Planned amenities include a shared guest lounge with a media center, dining and meeting space, a 650-square-foot pool, a large in-ground spa, and an outdoor kitchen with fire features — aimed at golfers who want to make a multi-day trip of it rather than just a single round.
Pro Tip from Yvonne: Buyers who love golf often assume they need to live inside a gated golf community to have a course "in the backyard." Around Troon and Pinnacle Peak, that's not necessary — several non-gated neighborhoods sit within a five-minute drive of all three clubs, which can open up more inventory and better pricing without sacrificing access.
Is buying a home near Troon a good move for golfers?
For golfers, yes — few pockets of Scottsdale put this much quality golf within such a tight radius. That said, private clubs like Troon Country Club and Pinnacle Peak Country Club typically involve waitlists and initiation fees, so if club membership is part of your plan, it's worth starting that conversation well before you're ready to close on a house. Troon North's semi-private model is the more flexible option if you'd rather not commit to a single club right away.
If you're comparing this area to other golf-adjacent Scottsdale communities like Silverleaf at DC Ranch or Grayhawk, the biggest differentiator around Troon is the terrain itself — the granite outcroppings and washes make for course designs you won't find replicated much elsewhere in the Valley, and homes with unobstructed Pinnacle Peak views tend to hold a premium because of it.
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With 20+ years specializing in Scottsdale and Phoenix luxury real estate, Yvonne Katz brings deep community knowledge and a trusted advisor's perspective to every transaction — and every neighborhood guide she writes.
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