Dove Valley Golf Course

Somerton sits in the far southwestern corner of Arizona, just a few miles from the Mexican border and the Colorado River delta, in a stretch of the Sonoran Desert that runs hotter and flatter than almost anywhere else in the continental United States. The Yuma area, of which Somerton is effectively a part, is one of the sunniest places on earth — year-round playability is the norm here, with winters that draw snowbirds from across the Pacific Northwest and Mountain West looking for a few months of reliable, walkable weather.

Dove Valley Golf Course serves the local and seasonal community in this agricultural valley town, where citrus groves and lettuce fields share the landscape with the desert floor. Courses in this part of Arizona tend to be straightforward, community-minded operations — accessible, affordable, and busy throughout the winter season when the population swells considerably.

What Somerton-area golf lacks in elevation drama it makes up for in sheer sunshine and pace of play. Expect wide desert skies, mountain silhouettes on the horizon, and the kind of low-key round where the focus stays on the game.