Whirlwind Golf Club at Wild Horse Pass: Cattail vs Devil's Claw and the Sheraton Grand

Whirlwind Golf Club is a tribal-owned 36 on Gila River land at Wild Horse Pass, with two public desert courses, Cattail and Devil's Claw, and no homes along the fairways. It sits beside the Sheraton Grand, whose resort fee covers a golf shuttle, about 31 minutes from Old Town Scottsdale. Both courses are open in November 2026; Cattail is cart-path-only until November 6.

This guide compares the two courses, lays out the 2026 closures, and explains how the Sheraton Grand and the casino hotel fit a Whirlwind Golf Club trip.

Quick facts

• Courses: Cattail (par 72, 7,222 yards) and Devil's Claw (par 72, 7,029 yards).
• Owner: tribal-owned, on Gila River Indian Community land; public.
• Book: 520-796-8465 or GolfNow; main line 480-940-1500.
• Tour event: Cattail hosts the LPGA Ford Championship presented by Wild Horse Pass.
• Fees: not published in the sources read.
• Stay: Sheraton Grand at Wild Horse Pass, $29 resort fee including a golf shuttle.
• Drive: 31 minutes from Old Town Scottsdale.

Whirlwind Golf Club yardages

From the official scorecards (dated September 2025). Both courses are par 72. Ratings and slopes are not printed on either card, so we do not list them. Cattail plays about 190 to 355 yards longer tee for tee, and it has a sixth, shorter set (Jade).

Cattail

Cattail is the longer course and the one the LPGA plays, which makes it the pick for most visitors. Expect tournament-prep conditions around the spring event. Its 2026 overseed closure ran October 5-22, with cart-path-only from October 23 to November 6. Golfdom notes the October 2025 overseed was hit by storms. See the Cattail course guide.

Devil's Claw

Devil's Claw is the shorter course and overseeds first, so Cattail stays open in early fall. In 2026 it closed September 14 to October 1 and finished cart-path-only on October 16. It is the better of the two to book in late September and October. See the Devil's Claw course guide.

Both courses are Sonoran desert golf with no houses along the fairways, which is rare this close to Phoenix. The club rates 4.5 on Google from 795 reviews (seen November 2026).

2026 closures at Whirlwind

From whirlwindgolf.com's 2026 maintenance page. The two courses alternate, and in 2026 the closures did not overlap: Devil's Claw reopened October 2, three days before Cattail closed. From late October both are open. See the Phoenix golf overseed guide.

Fees and booking

Whirlwind Golf Club's green fees were not published in the sources read, and no current guest discount at the Sheraton Grand was found. GolfNow sells tee times, and the tee-time line is 520-796-8465.

Expect the Valley pattern: the highest rates from January to April, shoulder pricing in October to December and May, and the lowest from June to September, when the heat makes dawn tee times the norm (Sky Harbor's normal June high is 104.2F). WM Phoenix Open week (February 8-14, 2027) and spring training from February 19, 2027 are the busiest weeks Valley-wide, though Whirlwind is 31 minutes from the Scottsdale crush. See Scottsdale golf rates.

Weather and daylight at Whirlwind

Sky Harbor's normals give the pattern: highs of 76.5F in November, 66.2F in December, 67.6F in January and 78.1F in March, with lows in the mid-40s in December and January. Arizona keeps Mountain Standard Time all year, so January sunrise is about 7:32 AM and sunset about 5:43 PM. A 36-hole day in midwinter needs an early first tee.

Staying at Wild Horse Pass

Resort fees from ResortFeeChecker, October 2026. Room rates were not captured for any of them.

The Sheraton Grand is a full resort on tribal land with Marriott Bonvoy points and one of the lower resort fees in the Valley. It is about 15 to 20 minutes from Sky Harbor. The catch: north Scottsdale courses are 40 minutes or more away, so it suits a south and east Valley golf plan, not a Scottsdale one.

The casino hotel is the cheaper, livelier option for buddies groups combining Whirlwind with a casino night. See Scottsdale golf resorts and the Scottsdale buddies golf trip guide.

Which Whirlwind course to play, month by month

• Late September to early October 2026: Cattail, while Devil's Claw was closed (September 14 to October 1) and then cart-path-only to October 16.
• Mid to late October 2026: Devil's Claw, while Cattail was closed (October 5-22).
• Early November 2026: both are open; Cattail is cart-path-only until November 6, so Devil's Claw rides more freely.
• Mid-November to spring: Cattail for the LPGA course and the longer tees; Devil's Claw for a shorter, quicker round from the Copper at 5,540 yards.
• Summer: check which course is open. In 2026 Devil's Claw was closed May 26 to June 21 and August 10 to September 6, and Cattail June 22 to August 9.

Whirlwind for a buddies group

Whirlwind suits a group that wants 36 holes at one clubhouse without north Scottsdale prices or traffic. Base at the Sheraton Grand and the resort fee covers the shuttle, or take the casino hotel for a cheaper room and a night out. Play Cattail one day and Devil's Claw the next, and add Ocotillo or Ken McDonald, each about 16 minutes from the casino hotel, for a third round. Sky Harbor is about 15 to 20 minutes from the Sheraton, which keeps arrival and departure days short.

Courses near Whirlwind

From the Sheraton Grand or the casino hotel, free-flow:

Foothills Golf Club is 14 minutes from the Sheraton but still needs verification, and Cottonwood Country Club in Sun Lakes, 20 minutes away, is private. For a south Valley week, Ocotillo is the strongest pairing with Whirlwind; see the Ocotillo course guide, Chandler golf courses and Tempe golf courses.

Off the course

Wild Horse Pass Hotel & Casino is one of the Valley's tribal casino resorts, and the Sheraton's shuttle also runs to Phoenix Premium Outlets. Chandler Fashion Center, a large indoor mall at 3111 W Chandler Blvd, covers a rainy or rest day. Wild Horse Pass sits on I-10, the road south toward Tucson; if you are adding a second desert town, see Phoenix to Tucson golf.

Plan it on the map

Open the Scottsdale golf map to see Whirlwind Golf Club, the Sheraton Grand and the south Valley courses around them. The $30 plan can put Cattail and Devil's Claw on days they are open, around overseed and summer closures, and build a winter rotation from a Chandler base.