Behind the mountains and past the canyons, Arizona is a golfer's secret. Surrounded by dry land better fit for spurs than cleats, many of the desert courses can only be irrigated to a certain extent. This limits the scope of courses making quality more of a concern than size. For target-style golf this is as good as it gets so remember to keep a steady hand and dead-eye aim. There is real natural beauty to the Arizona landscape so spending a golf vacation in the heat and sprawl of Phoenix is a mistake. A host of quality courses dot the Phoenix area but checking into a resort course in the mountains of Prescott or heading down the trail to Tucson is worth the loss of variety. Higher elevations are bearable in the summer but only mad dogs tee up in the blazing hot months of May through September down in Phoenix.