Las Barrancas vs Mesa del Sol: The Two Foothills Courses Compared on Conditions, Difficulty, Price and Tee Times

Las Barrancas vs Mesa del Sol comes down to layout against access. Las Barrancas is longer and hillier at a flat $65 with a cart and closes one nine at a time for overseed. Mesa del Sol is flatter, cost $35 to $55 this fall and stays open through October, but leagues fill much of its winter sheet.

Both courses sit in the Fortuna Foothills east of Yuma, about 12 minutes apart by road, so it is easy to play both. This comparison uses the published tee ratings, posted and live prices seen in October 2026, and each club's own booking rules.

Quick facts

• Harder course: Las Barrancas, 73.1 / 127 from 6,888 yards, against 71.9 / 124 from 6,855 at Mesa del Sol.
• Cheaper this fall: Mesa del Sol, $35 to $55 with a cart on weekdays; Las Barrancas $65 flat (seen October 2026).
• Open in October: Mesa del Sol does not overseed. Las Barrancas closed one nine at a time from Sep 17 to Oct 23, 2026.
• Longer booking window: Mesa del Sol, about 14 days online (prepaid); Las Barrancas 7 days, pay at the course.
• Season pass: Mesa del Sol only, from $3,500 for six months.
• Practice: Trackman range at Las Barrancas; grass range at Mesa del Sol.
• From downtown Yuma: Mesa del Sol 21 minutes, Las Barrancas 26 minutes.

Las Barrancas vs Mesa del Sol at a glance

Prices were seen on October 23, 2026 and change; Mesa del Sol's engine uses dynamic pricing. 2027 peak rates are not posted at Mesa del Sol, and Las Barrancas has posted only its one in-season rate.

Layout and difficulty

Las Barrancas

Las Barrancas is a desert course at the base of the Gila Mountains, with elevation changes that are unusual for Yuma, rolling fairways, washes and mountain views. Reviewers describe the back nine as having forced carries and multi-tier greens. The par 3s at #3, #7, #12 and #16 account for the club's listed aces, and #7 plays 211 yards from the Black tees.

One quirk: the printed scorecard yardages differ from the USGA file (Black 6,747 on the card against 6,888 rated), so pick a tee by its rating rather than its yardage.

Mesa del Sol

Mesa del Sol is a traditional desert-edge course with two separate nines on either side of S Camino del Sol. Holes 10 to 18 are south of the road from the clubhouse. Ponds come into play on holes 3 to 5, 9, 13 and 17, and homes line many holes. It is mostly open off the tee, and its forward tees are short.

Tee by tee

Ratings are rating / slope from the USGA file. The middle tees are close: Las Barrancas' Quartz and Mesa del Sol's Blue both rate about 70 with a 120 slope for men. Mesa del Sol has more tee choices between 5,000 and 6,000 yards, which gives seniors and many women golfers more choice.

Conditions and overseed

For anyone arriving early in the season, this is the biggest practical difference between the two.

Las Barrancas overseeds. The Arizona Golf Association's 2026 list had the front nine closed September 17 to October 3 and the back nine October 2 to 23, so one nine stayed open most of the time, and the full 18 was on sale again from October 24, 2026 at $65. Conditioning reviews are mixed, but in our view it is the most interesting public layout on this side of Yuma.

Mesa del Sol does not. The AGA 2026 list shows no overseed, and the course was regrassed in summer 2022 with TifEagle bermuda greens and TifTuf bermuda tees and fairways. Without rye, expect thinner, partly dormant bermuda in mid-winter (an expectation, not confirmed). The pass terms allow one nine to close at a time for aeration, seeding or summer re-establishment. Conditions and pace both draw mixed reviews.

For an October trip, Mesa del Sol is the safe pick. Our Yuma golf overseed guide covers every course's fall closures.

Price

Price is where the two courses differ most from one day to the next.

Las Barrancas posts one in-season rate (October 1 to April 30): $65 for 18 with a cart, $35 for nine. The rate page lists twilight at $55 from 3 PM, but the live tee sheet is the better guide: on Saturday, October 24, 2026 it showed $35 for 3:00 to 4:20 PM and $25 for later starts. Veterans, first responders and Border Patrol staff pay $50 in season with ID. No separate January-March rate is published, so the $65 is expected to hold through the season, but that is not confirmed.

Mesa del Sol steps its price down through the day. In late October 2026 weekday rates were $55 before about 11 AM, $50 to about 12:52 PM, $45 from 1:00 to 1:52 PM and $35 from 2 PM; weekends ran $55 and $50 in the morning, then $40 from about 12:30. GolfNow Hot Deals went as low as $19.99 (October 30, 8:15 AM). Online rates apply only to online bookings, and rack rates at the course may be higher. Winter 2026-27 public rates were not published or loaded online.

Against the $65 Las Barrancas rack rate, Mesa del Sol's fall prices were $10 to $30 cheaper per round. For late-day golf both got under $40, and Las Barrancas' $25 last-hour rate on October 24 was the lowest late-day price we saw.

Winter tee-time access

For winter visitors, the choice is often settled by which course has a time on the day you want.

Las Barrancas opens its public sheet 7 days ahead, maximum four players. A credit card holds the time, you pay at the course, and changes must be made by phone at least 24 hours ahead or the whole group is charged. No visitor restrictions are published, but Tuesday and Wednesday mornings carry league play from about October to April.

Mesa del Sol shows about 14 days online, which helps when planning a week. The catch is the winter traffic: the Men's Association plays Fridays from 11 AM (mid-October to mid-April), the Ladies' play Monday and Thursday from 9 AM (November to April), a Can-Am men's group takes blocks, and outside scrambles close the course to the public on some Saturdays (for example November 7 and December 5, 2026). Passholder access is limited in prime weekday times (about 9:00 to 10:37), which is when public times are easiest to find. The scorecard sets four hours as normal pace; reviewers report five hours or more on busy winter days.

The simple rule: book Las Barrancas for Monday, Thursday, Friday or the weekend, and Mesa del Sol for Tuesday, Wednesday or a weekday mid-morning. Our guide to Yuma tee times in winter has more.

Passes, practice and the 19th hole

• Passes: Mesa del Sol's 2026-27 passes include green fees, cart, range and sales tax: six months $3,500 individual or $5,650 family, twelve months $4,400 or $7,150. Las Barrancas publishes no pass. See the Yuma golf passes guide.
• Practice: Las Barrancas has a 12-bay Trackman range ($20 per 30 minutes, $40 per hour), a putting green and an 18-hole putting course. Mesa del Sol has a full-length grass range open to the public, plus chipping and putting greens. The Yuma driving range guide compares them all.
• Food and drink: the Trackman Deli & Bar at Las Barrancas serves pizzas, sandwiches and all-day breakfast to the bays. Mesa del Sol has a snack bar, full bar and a dining room and patio over the 9th green, with limited food in summer.
• Sister courses: Las Barrancas runs Foothills Executive and the Foothills Par 3 nearby, handy for a quick nine.

Which one should you play?

There is no wrong answer here; it depends on what you value.

• Pick Las Barrancas for the better test, elevation and views, a Trackman warm-up, and simple pay-at-the-course booking.
• Pick Mesa del Sol for October golf, lower fall prices, a two-week booking window, a grass range, or a season pass.
• Play both if you are in the Foothills for more than a week. They are about 12 minutes apart by road.

For first-visit rankings across all Yuma courses, see the best golf courses in Yuma AZ, and for the city course alternative, Desert Hills vs Las Barrancas. Our longer guides to Las Barrancas Golf Course and Mesa del Sol Golf Club cover each course on its own, and the scorecard data is in the Las Barrancas course guide and the Mesa del Sol course guide.

Where to stay for both

Routed drive estimates. A Foothills base keeps both courses within a quarter of an hour.

Plan it on the map

Both courses sit close together in the Foothills on the 3D map, with tee ratings, rates and drive times from every stay. The plan can build a trip around them, or a whole winter stay with a weekly rotation that puts each course on its quieter days.