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Scottsdale sizzles all year long. The region known for triple-digit temperatures in the summer is one of the hottest spots in the country when it comes to nightlife, resorts and something for sports lovers in every season. The Phoenix-Scottsdale metropolitan area will be jumping this month and in early February when the Fiesta Bowl, Super Bowl and FBR Open roll into town. But when it comes to golf, visitors don't have to remain on the sideline. The area has many spectacular courses to play, including two in Scottsdale where the pros tee it up. "In the past five years, the hotels, resorts and great restaurant and entertainment options have increased dramatically," said Doug Hodge, the head professional at Grayhawk Golf Club, the site of the 2007 Fry's Electronics Open and other professional events, including the Accenture Match Play Championship in 1995, '97 and '98. "It's nice to see because the great golf courses have always been a big draw." Grayhawk's Raptor Course, which opened in 1995, has been the course hosting most of the big-time tournaments, but the Talon Course, which opened a year earlier, is perhaps the more scenic of the two. At 6,972 yards from the back tees, the David Graham and Gary Panks-designed Talon isn't overly lengthy, but it's tighter off the tee box and more of a target-style layout. The Talon has nice views of the McDowell Mountains, and the back nine is particularly splendid, with fairways skirting deep box canyons and meandering through majestic trees and colorful flowering plants. "The Talon is gorgeous, but it plays a shot or two tougher than the Raptor, which is a little more generous off the tee," Hodge said. "The green complexes at the Raptor are what really sets it apart." Tom Fazio indeed put a premium on putting and chipping when he designed the Raptor Course, which plays 7,135 yards from the back tees. Most of the putting surfaces are large, sloping and run off at the edges. Just a few miles from Grayhawk is TPC Scottsdale, home of the FBR Open and the rowdiest fans on the PGA Tour. The TPC Scottsdale Stadium Course, designed by Tom Weiskopf and Jay Moorish, has a sprawling layout perfect for large galleries, which show up each year in droves to watch some golf and socialize. Nowhere is this more evident than at the 162-yard, par-3 16th hole, which would be a piece of cake for the pros - except for the thousands of people who encircle it at the FBR Open and turn it into a football stadium-type atmosphere. While players risk hearing boos at No. 16 if their shots miss the green, the holes before and after offer fantastic risk-reward options. The 15th hole is a 552-yard par 5 with an island green, and No. 17 is a drivable 332-yard par 4 with water to the left and behind the green. During non-tournament weeks, visitors can walk in the footsteps of the pros and play the Stadium Course, or they can tee it up at the newest member of the TPC family - the Champions Course - which opened in November after being completely renovated by architect Randy Heckenkemper. Heckenkemper and his crew moved 250,000 cubic yards of dirt to transform the former Desert Course into a 7,124-yard, par-71 layout that moves seamlessly through the desert terrain. "What we were trying to create was a PGA Tour-quality golf experience that would be equal to the Stadium Course, and I think we exceeded everybody's expectations," Heckenkemper said. While the Champions Course will test good golfers, the layout provides options for all players, and the majority of greens are set diagonally, giving golfers the opportunity to bounce their ball up to the putting surface but not necessarily roll it close to the pin. "We worked really, really hard to provide a challenge to the low-handicap players while allowing the high-handicap player to get around comfortably," Heckenkemper said. Two of the more fun holes are Nos. 5 and 15. Both are par 4s that start with elevated tee boxes and give players options off the tee with split fairways. "This has always been a 36-hole facility, but now the same player that plays the Stadium will want to play the Champions Course," Heckenkemper said of TPC Scottsdale. "The Arizona market is very competitive, and you're surrounded by other great golf courses, so it's a challenge to create a course that will compete with some of the best layouts in the country, and I think we've done that." SG For more information on Grayhawk, call (480) 502-1800 or visit grayhawkgolf.com; at TPC Scottsdale, call (480) 585-4334 or visit tpc.com/scottsdale. |
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