I am lucky enough to have played golf in almost 50 countries all over the world including 1,000 courses in Britain and Ireland. But until just three months ago my tally in the States was a surprisingly feeble 20 courses.
Of these, the only really big name was Torrey Pines in California. Possibly English Turn, for those of you who used to watch the New Orleans Open a very long time ago.
I was therefore delighted to accept an invitation from Experience Scottsdale to play a handful of courses there, including the host of this week’s Waste Management Phoenix Open, the Stadium Course at TPC Scottsdale.
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While it gets super-hot in the Summer months, buggy play is pretty much the norm here, so it’s a year-round destination packed with plenty to do both on and off the course.
TPC Scottsdale (Stadium)
The island green on the spectacular par-5 15th
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Let’s start with the course that is staging this week’s PGA Tour event, one that reputedly attracts the largest crowds in world golf.
Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish were engaged to design something specifically to host the Phoenix Open, a historic tournament which dates right back to 1931.
The event moved here in 1987 and has returned ever since producing winners such as Scottie Scheffler and Brooks Koepka, although oddly not Tiger Woods!
Sand guards the corner of the dogleg on the par-4 6th
(Image credit: Getty Images)
The opening holes run adjacent to some prime real estate that includes the excellent Fairmont Scottsdale Princess Hotel. You constantly change direction, but what surprised me most on the front nine was that there is no water.
Instead, there are dry gulches, and plenty of waste bunkers, and I was pleased to par three of the opening holes, including the only par 5 on the way out, the 3rd.
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The 14th at TPC Scottsdale is a really strong par 4
(Image credit: TPC Scottsdale)
It’s the back nine where the course really takes off, with more changes in elevation, and water in play on the majority of the holes. The tough par-4 11th runs alongside a lake which then almost surrounds the green at the short 12th.
But it’s the run for home that really impresses and will live long in the memory. The fifteenth is a par 5 to an island green and you then play a fairly benign par 3 that has actually become world-famous due to its reinvention as a key spectator hotspot, surrounded by vast corporate stands and extremely vocal enthusiasts.
It’s actually something of a sheep in wolf’s clothing. Just 163 yards, the back tee was closed to preserve it for the event, so even for me it was only a 9-iron which happily I hit to 20 feet before leaving my birdie putt inches short.
How the short 16th looks without the grandstands
(Image credit: TPC Scottsdale)
The 17th is a driveable par 4 where water laps up on the left and behind, and the excellent and demanding closing hole has the same lake on the left, some church-pew bunkers and a tough approach to a well-protected green.
If the front nine on the Stadium Course left me underwhelmed, the finish delivered more than enough punch to make up. The second course, the Champions, has less water and more sand, and is a more wallet-friendly alternative.
Grayhawk (Raptor)
The par-3 8th on the Raptor Course at Grayhawk is a real beauty
(Image credit: Grayhawk Golf Club)
Just a couple of miles up the road from the two TPC courses, Grayhawk has its own pair that are pleasingly different in nature.
The Talon is desert-style, but I played the Tom Fazio-designed Raptor Course which is lush, very green and beautifully manicured. It is characterised by plenty of very well-protected greens, many of which are raised as well as guarded by deep and scary bunkers.
Looking back down the closing hole, a thrilling par 5
(Image credit: Grayhawk Golf Club)
My favourite holes included the beautiful par-3 8th with the backdrop of the McDowell Mountains, the lovely par-4 10th which works its way right to left up the slope across a serpentine stream, and the thrilling par 5 that concludes the round with water waiting to swallow anything going too far right.
This is a sumptuous course I would love to play again. Immediately over the road, Isabella’s Kitchen is a lively and informal diner with delicious food.
Troon North (Monument)
A vast rock is the (almost) perfect driving line on the third of the Monument Course
(Image credit: Troon North Golf Club)
Wary of courses that run through housing – more for their sake than mine – I needn’t have worried about Troon North. They are so far from the playing lines, even mine, and so well screened by cacti and other foliage, as well as changes in elevation, that you feel you are way out in the desert.
From the off, I really enjoyed the Monument Course; another Weiskopf and Morrish collaboration that opened for play in 1990.
The elevated par-3 16th has a brilliant and far-reaching backdrop
(Image credit: Rob Smith)
Each hole seems separate and quite different from the others, with one or two scary carries from the tee the first time you play here where you can’t quite be sure of the perfect line.
The par-5 3rd is both memorable and very photogenic with a huge rock formation guarding the middle of the fairway, while the 8th calls for a brave approach over an arroyo, an attractive, dry stream bed filled with plants.
For me, the stars of the show are the brilliant short par-4 15th played to an infinity green, and the dramatic par 3 that follows, played from up high with fantastic far-reaching views.
Nearby, I thoroughly enjoyed spending three nights at the first-class and very stylish Four Seasons Scottsdale, ideally positioned for Troon North and offering easy access to many other courses in the area. The food, service and accommodation were all outstanding.
Papago
Looking back down the opening hole, a strong par 5, at Papago
(Image credit: Papago Golf Club)
Close by Sky Harbor, the international airport at Phoenix, Papago is a really strong course and one of the oldest in the region. It was designed by Billy Bell, the architect of Torrey Pines, and is home to the Arizona State University team whose practice facilities are up there with the best I have seen anywhere in the world.
It is also an extremely friendly club and I can thoroughly recommend the food – and the beer – at the onsite Lou’s Bar and Grill. As for the course, it is a strong, no-frills test of golf that I thoroughly enjoyed.
Looking down on the 15th and 13th greens at Papago
(Image credit: Papago Golf Club)
The fairways are generous, but you need to be in the right place for the best approach to the green. Water only really comes in to play on the opening three-shotter and the short 11th, and even I managed to keep the same ball all the way round.
Stand-out holes include that opening par 5, the short par-4 2nd played up the slope with an atmospheric red rock backdrop, the long par-3 17th and the very demanding closing hole that works back up the slope from left to right to the clubhouse.
We-Ko-Pa (Cholla)
The opening hole on the Cholla Course at We-Ko-Pa is a beautiful risk-reward par 4
(Image credit: We-Ko-Pa Golf Club)
Out in the Sonoran Desert, We-Ko-Pa is yet another venue with two excellent courses. The newer Saguaro Course is a Coore/Crenshaw design that opened in 2007 and unusually for Scottsdale is geared towards non-buggy play, but I headed out over the very distinct Cholla Course… in a buggy.
This expansive course opened 25 years ago and was designed by Scott Miller. Before playing it I had been told by several people that it was one of the area’s best kept secrets. They were not wrong!.
The par-5 8th works its way down to a brilliant green site
(Image credit: We-Ko-Pa Golf Club)
The course opens with a lovely short par 4 played from a greatly elevated tee round a huge waste bunker, and each hole from here on is a new and fresh challenge with the desert breeze a particular factor. With the backdrop of the enticingly-named Superstition Mountains, this is a real desert adventure with plenty of memorable holes.
The par-5 8th is one of many highlights, a sweeping three-shotter that eases down the slope to a green beside a gulch, and the closing hole is an absolute beauty with an elevated drive down to a wide fairway protected on the left by a wide bunker, and then a long approach over a lake and more sand.
A perfect finish. As with all of these two-course venues, I would love to go back and play the other eighteen.
The Boulders Club (South)
The opening green on the South Course at The Boulders
(Image credit: Boulders Resort and Spa, Scottsdale)
I’ve saved this one for last as I have to confess that although it’s a tight call, it was my favourite of the week. While the North Course at The Boulders is reserved for its members and their guests, the South is happily open to all.
The whole resort is defined by the amazing rock formations on and off the courses, and I was very taken by this Jay Morrish creation which uses the landscape to the maximum and most dramatic effect.
The 5th is a brilliant par 5 with a most spectacular setting
(Image credit: Boulders Resort and Spa, Scottsdale)
It would be very hard to recommend the best holes as there are probably 12 or 13 contenders! However, it’s impossible not to mention the par-5 5th with its split fairway that works its way to a green right below a small number of casitas in the rocks. It was actually in one of these that I was also lucky enough to spend a couple of nights, and I couldn’t recommend it more.
The Boulders Resort and Spa is a fabulous resort, sympathetically designed in every way to fit in with its environment. The closing four holes are also very memorable, back-to-back par 3s followed by a thrilling par 4 at 17 and a scenic par 5 back to a green protected by water.
A wild bobcat out looking for lunch
(Image credit: Rob Smith)
Oh, and I simply cannot miss telling you that while playing the 3rd hole, we saw this gorgeous wild bobcat out hunting jackrabbits. He could not have cared less about us and didn’t even glance our way despite being just a few yards behind the green. For all sorts of reasons, the South Course at the Boulders is high in my list of personal favourites.
There is no doubt that Scottsdale is a golfer’s paradise – brilliant and extremely varied courses, great accommodation and dining, stunning weather and endless fun! For more information, visit experiencescottsdale.com.