If you are deciding between Troon and Desert Mountain for a luxury golf home, you are really choosing between two very different versions of North Scottsdale living. Both offer desert scenery, private-club appeal, and strong golf identities, but the day-to-day experience is not the same. If you want to buy with confidence, it helps to understand how community scale, membership structure, housing options, and rental rules can shape your lifestyle and long-term fit. Let’s dive in.
Troon vs Desert Mountain at a Glance
For most buyers, the biggest difference is simple: Troon Village feels more like a traditional North Scottsdale residential community, while Desert Mountain feels more like a large private club destination.
Troon Village is a 1,400-acre master-planned community with about 1,300 home sites. It includes gated, guard-gated, and non-gated neighborhoods, along with a mix of townhomes, semi-custom homes, and custom homes. The community sits at roughly 2,400 to 2,800 feet in elevation and is near Pima Road and Happy Valley, about seven miles from Loop 101.
Desert Mountain operates on a much larger scale. It spans 8,300 acres, rises to about 4,300 feet, and is organized into 32 villages. Many of those villages have their own rules, bylaws, and architectural review guidelines, which creates a more layered and self-contained environment.
Choose Troon for Simplicity
If you want a luxury golf setting without committing to a highly complex club ecosystem, Troon may feel more intuitive. The community is easier to understand at a glance, and the overall footprint is much smaller than Desert Mountain.
That matters if you value convenience, want straightforward access in and out of the area, or prefer a community that feels integrated into North Scottsdale rather than set apart from it. Troon Village can be a strong fit for buyers who want golf, views, and privacy, but do not necessarily need an expansive club campus.
Troon Country Club Membership
Troon Country Club is a member-owned, professionally managed private club. Current membership categories include Premier Full Golf, Signature Sport/Social, and an Associate Premier Golf option for younger members.
Premier Golf includes unlimited golf and full club privileges. The sport and social option leans more toward fitness, racquet sports, swimming, dining, and social events. For buyers who want club access but are not centered entirely on golf volume, that flexibility can be appealing.
Troon Golf Experience
Troon’s golf offering is focused on one championship course designed by Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish. The course stretches from 5,160 to more than 7,040 yards and includes a double-sided range, putting green, bunkers, and chipping facilities.
This setup is ideal if you value a strong single-course experience and a more concentrated club atmosphere. Troon also offers seven-day advanced tee times, and the course has hosted events including the U.S. Mid-Amateur and Arizona Open.
Choose Desert Mountain for Variety
Desert Mountain is built for buyers who want range, scale, and a more immersive club lifestyle. It is not just a place to own a home near a course. It is a large private community where golf, dining, wellness, and village identity all play a central role.
If you are comparing the two strictly through a golf-first lens, Desert Mountain offers much more variety. It is the only private club in the world with six Jack Nicklaus Signature Championship courses plus a seventh championship short course, No. 7.
Desert Mountain Membership Matters
One important distinction is that owning a home in Desert Mountain does not guarantee club membership approval. The membership process is separate, and the club states that application review takes about 30 days.
Current categories include Full Golf, Seven Golf, and Lifestyle memberships. For some buyers, that process reinforces the exclusivity of the community. For others, it adds a layer of planning that should be understood before making an offer.
Desert Mountain Club Lifestyle
Desert Mountain goes well beyond golf. The community includes a 42,000-square-foot Sonoran Clubhouse, multiple clubhouses, and ten restaurants and grills, along with broader golf and wellness amenities.
That wider amenity base can be a major advantage if you want your home search to support a full second-home or resort-style lifestyle. It also tends to appeal to buyers who expect the club environment itself to be part of the property value equation.
Housing Options and Home Style
Your ideal fit may come down less to golf and more to what kind of home you want to own. Troon Village offers a broader mix within a more conventional neighborhood structure, while Desert Mountain offers more product types within a larger private-community framework.
In Troon Village, the HOA identifies 12 sub-associations, with housing that includes townhomes, semi-custom homes, and custom homes. That creates a wider range of entry points and neighborhood personalities within the same overall area.
Desert Mountain offers custom homes, villas, cottages, patio homes, future estate lots, and Seven Desert Mountain residences, including lock-and-leave condominiums and villas. Current community pages show offerings from roughly $195,000 for future estate lots up to $16.5 million for custom homes.
Architectural Control in Troon
Troon Village has clear architectural standards. Custom-home design is rooted in Southwest styles such as Pueblo or Adobe, Ranch, Territorial, and Mediterranean adaptations, while Southwest Contemporary designs are allowed when they preserve a desert aesthetic.
In production-builder neighborhoods, new construction or major rebuilds must closely mimic surrounding homes. Exterior changes generally require architectural review approval. If you care about visual consistency and neighborhood character, this structure can be a positive.
Architectural Control in Desert Mountain
Desert Mountain also has strong design oversight, but the system is more village-based. The community states that its planning philosophy preserved at least half of each lot for native desert, and many villages have their own architectural review rules.
For buyers, that means you need to evaluate not just Desert Mountain as a whole, but the specific village you are considering. The community offers more product variety, but it also comes with more layers of governance and review.
Rental Rules and Seasonal Use
If rental flexibility matters to you, this is one of the most important comparison points. Neither community is a short-term-rental environment, but they are not identical.
Troon Village requires a six-month minimum lease, with no daily, weekly, or monthly rentals. That setup tends to align more with owner-occupants and longer-term seasonal residents than with buyers looking for frequent turnover.
Desert Mountain allows more flexibility, but still within a regulated framework. Its leasing policy sets a 30-day minimum for rentals to non-owners or non-members, while six villages require a 30-day minimum even for owners and club members.
For a buyer who wants some seasonal rental capability without entering a short-term-rental model, Desert Mountain may offer a better fit. For a buyer focused more on stable personal use, Troon’s rules may feel simpler and more aligned with the community character.
Resale Considerations for Luxury Buyers
Resale is never just about price. It is also about buyer pool, community structure, and how easy the story is to tell when you eventually go back to market.
Troon Village’s mixed housing stock and more traditional neighborhood setup likely support a broader resale audience. Buyers can consider different housing types and neighborhood formats without needing to buy fully into a club-first lifestyle.
Desert Mountain tends to attract a more specific buyer. Its appeal is powerful, but it is also more targeted toward people who want the golf scale, amenity depth, and exclusivity of a large private community. The separate membership review process can also be part of that resale conversation.
Which Luxury Golf Buyer Fits Each Community?
If you are still deciding, a simple framework can help.
Troon May Fit You Best If:
- You want a classic North Scottsdale country-club setting
- You prefer a smaller club footprint
- You want a broader mix of housing options within one area
- You value easier day-to-day access near Pima Road and Happy Valley
- You are comfortable with a six-month minimum lease structure
Desert Mountain May Fit You Best If:
- You want maximum golf variety
- You value a more private, destination-style community feel
- You want broader club infrastructure, dining, and wellness amenities
- You like the idea of village-based living within a larger master-planned setting
- You want more leasing flexibility than Troon, within a 30-day minimum framework
A Strategic Way to Compare Them
When buyers tour Troon and Desert Mountain back to back, the mistake is often assuming they are substitutes. They are not. They serve different priorities, even though both sit in the luxury golf category.
The better approach is to decide what matters most to you first. Start with your lifestyle rhythm, how much club access you want, what type of home you prefer, and whether rental flexibility or resale breadth matters in your decision. Once those priorities are clear, the right fit usually becomes much easier to see.
If you are weighing Troon Village against Desert Mountain, Residence Collective can help you compare the lifestyle, ownership structure, and long-term value of each community with a more strategic lens.
FAQs
Is Troon Village or Desert Mountain bigger for luxury golf buyers?
- Desert Mountain is much larger, spanning 8,300 acres with 32 villages, while Troon Village covers 1,400 acres with about 1,300 home sites.
Does buying in Desert Mountain guarantee club membership?
- No. Desert Mountain states that property ownership does not guarantee membership approval, and the review process takes about 30 days.
What golf options do buyers get at Troon Country Club?
- Troon Country Club centers on one championship course designed by Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish, along with practice facilities and membership options that include full golf and sport or social access.
How many golf courses are available in Desert Mountain?
- Desert Mountain includes six Jack Nicklaus Signature Championship courses plus the No. 7 championship short course, all private for members and their guests.
Are short-term rentals allowed in Troon Village or Desert Mountain?
- No. Troon Village requires a six-month minimum lease, and Desert Mountain generally requires at least 30 days depending on the village and owner status.
What kind of homes can buyers find in Troon Village?
- Troon Village includes townhomes, semi-custom homes, and custom homes across 12 sub-associations.
What kind of homes can buyers find in Desert Mountain?
- Desert Mountain offers custom homes, villas, cottages, patio homes, future estate lots, and Seven Desert Mountain residences including lock-and-leave condominiums and villas.
