Golfing TPC Scottsdale- Champions Course

Through the magic of time travel and the internet I bring to you a recap of the TPC Scottsdale Champions course I played one year ago, last April.  So I am a bit behind.  Suck it.

The Champions course is the sister course to the famous Stadium course at the TPC Scottsdale.  Both courses are more of the resort or parkland courses that are more the norm in Minnesota.  Compared to more desert shot-making courses (like the Troon North courses) if you can hit it straight here you will most likely be just fine.

 The expansive practice putting facility.

 And the driving range

A beautiful clubhouse.  Just a great deck to sit out and watch players coming up the 9th.  The climate allows architecture here to offer much more livable outdoor spaces and this clubhouse deck is a prime example.

We went in rather prime season and the green fees for the Champion (and especially the Stadium) courses can cause you to choke a bit.  They do offer a 36 hole special, with rounds on both courses within x number of days for a reduced rate.  Still, be prepared to pony up a pretty penny to play the course.

With the high green fees comes the expected great service.  The practice facilities were nice, though not quite the caliber of the neighboring Stadium course.

The main thing that made an impression on me about this course was the greens.  They were the fastest, and truest rolling greens I have ever played on.

Lets get to the course tour.

Hole 1 Par 4
371 338 323 278 yards
The opening hole here offers my first experience at desert golf.  With sand lining the fairways your eye perceives things a bit narrower than they are.  While not the true target golf some courses require, seeing a finite edge to the grass does make you reconsider before hitting.

The first hole is no easy warm up.  It features a divided fairway, with the first section by a lake left and a bunker complex down the right.

Negotiate a successful tee shot and you will need to carry a narrow ditch to a green that is flanked by a pair of bunkers short.

My friend Michael hit his second to around 1 foot and made bird on the first hole.  Buoyed by his early success he thought the first of many.  It would turn out to be the only birdie of the trip.  That's right, 288 holes played between our group and one birdie!

Another couple looks back down the hole at the split fairway and the lake, which protects the left.

Hole 2 Par 4
461 428 373 325 yards

Much more open, this hole offers a single bunker down the right side about 270 out.  The far right of the hole is bordered  by a large hill which hides the busy Frank Loyd Wright Blvd adjacent to the course.

The approach is an easy one on the second.  The trees on either side sit about 100 yards from the hole.  The green does have a pair of bunkers on either side.

A shot of the large green.  Most greens here are at least 30 yards deep.  While generally flat they all have some undulations that make putting from the wrong side a challenge on their quick surfaces.

Hole 3 Par 3
174 144 134 113 yards
The first par 3 is a mid length hole with two small bunkers short on either side and a large one skirty the length of this 40 yard deep green.

Michael hitting his tee shot here.

The green, showing the bunkering on the right side.

And the view down to the flag stick when you hit to the wrong side.  That is a looong putt!

Hole 4 Par 5
556 521 495 459 yards
The first par 5 is a straight ahead hole with a large sandy berm down the right and a massive bunker down the left framing the other side of the fairway.  That bunker is around 250 yards off the tee.

Once you clear the bunker you'll find the right side is lined with trees before the hole opens up as you approach the green.  The green is very wide relatively shallow.

The green is surrounded left, right, and front by bunkers.  The back of the green falls off into trees.

Hole 5 Par 4
477 442 385 289 yards
The 5th is a wide open tee shot to a split fairway separated by desert waste area. To reach the left fairway portion is a carry of of 250 yards from the tips.  I bunker also exists on the left of that that side around 300 yards out.

The second shot must traverse a very narrow stretch of fairway before reaching the kidney shaped green guarded front left by sand.

Hole 6 Par 3
202 188 145 121 yards
Entering this hole the course turns into a neighboring industrial park.  The buildings are a little distracting as a backdrop.  The 6th is a longer par 3 which has a large waste area short right and a pair of bunkers on either side of the green.

The green is wider than deep and is angled 45 degrees from the tee. Several large undulations from side to side make accurate placement a plus.

Hole 7 Par 4
393 383 355 313 yards
Another divided fairway with desert running across the hole 270-310 yards from the tips.  If you play short of the desert you will have about 140 yards into the green.

The approach into the green is open in front but two bunkers sit on either side of the green.

Two slopes funnel balls hit to the side of the green back towards the middle.  There is not a lot of room behind the green if you go long.

Looking back down the hole you can see how wide open the approach is once you carry the desert bisecting the hole.

Hole 8 Par 3
212 191 166 137 yards
Another long par 3 on the penultimate hole on the front.  Wide open as long as your tee shot is straight,  This green is a slightly larger clone from the last hole.

Hole 9 Par 5
575 532 516 451 yards
A slight dogleg to the left on this par 5.  Again a bunker sits to the right of the landing area off the tee.  It should not come into play on a well struck tee as it is 270 from the tips to carry.

The fairway is again bisected about 170 yards from the green by a patch of desert.

On your second shot you can try to go for it but water left protects the front of the green.  The better play is to carry the desert crossing the hole to a comfortable distance for your third.

Here you can see the approach into the green with water left.  The green wraps behind the hole making a far left pin a difficult target.

Into the green you must negotiate a pair of bunkers which squeeze down any run up opportunities to a narrow gap.

Onward we head to the back nine...

Hole 10 Par 5
542 514 484 464 yards
A straight ahead par 5 with a bunker down the left side of the fairway landing zone.

The fairway is not the widest on the course but there is a fair amount of rough between it and the desert lining both sides.

An easy approach allows for run ups and makes going for it in two an options.  Two bunkers flank the green, which is wider that it is deep.

Hole 11 Par 4
474 456 433 384 yards
A slight dogleg par 4 this hole serves up two bunkers to worry about of the tee, one on either side of the fairway.  The one down the left is about 300 yards from the tips so playing at that or slightly left is OK.

C ouple of desert waste areas jut in from the left to squeeze down the hole after your first shot.

A pair of green side bunkers protect shots short left and deep left.  The green is slightly angeld from the fairway and is some 40 yards front to back.

Hole 12 Par 4
446 423 395 353 yards
A single bunker right and an tree down the right at 300 yards await your tee shot. A generous landing zone is available except those 2 hazards.

The green offers a wide area to miss right but stay out of the left side as a pair of deep bunkers will cause trouble here.

Hole 13 Par 3
164 148 117 106 yards
The first par 3 on the back hardly looks like you are in the desert at all except for the mountains running behind the hole.  This hole could be mistaken for a course back home in Minnesota.  A trio of bunkers ring the green here.  The green is massive and has 2 distinct levels.  Woe is someone who barely gets it onto the left corner with a back right pin location.

Hole 14 Par 4
429 410 399 350 yards
14 is a bit of a double dogleg in appearance thanks to the large bunker that juts out from the left.  The hole is actually straight from tee to green.  From the tips it is 300 yards past that bunker down the left.

The fairway squeezes down to a narrow neck between two waste areas on either side of the fairway before opening up again as you approach the green.  Another multi tiered surface is protected down the left by a large deep bunker.

Hole 15 Par 4
359 334 313 289 yards
A bit of a quirky hole but one that I found really fun.  You are faced with two distinct routes, straight ahead from the tee or to the left and cutting across the waste/desert area.

 The approach to the left is guarded by a trio of bunkers.  If you play to the right two of those bunkers still come into play so it seems like the more direct approach left is the better alternative.  You just need to be able to clear 250 yards from the tips to take this route.

Hole 16 Par 3
215 189 157 118 yards
The last par 3, you must avoid the tree off the tee and then hit a large circular green that is around 30 yards deep either direction.

Hole 17 Par 5
605 583 552 462 yards
The longest hole of the round, the challenges of the hole are primarily posed by the trees that line either side of the hole.

 A bunker guards the right side of the hole around 220-260 yards from the tees but the left side is wide open.

 A cart path cuts across the fairway around 300-320 yards from the tees.  On your second shot you face trees down the right and a large bunker left that is about 90 yards short of the green.

The green has a large bunker to its right, as well as trees further right.  The miss here is left but a surprising amount of rough can actually make chipping from here a bit of a challenge.


Hole 18 Par 4
460 429 385 330 yards
A very similar hole to the front nine finsher, this hole offers danger down the left side with a pond running down the length of the fairway to the green. A relatively wide landing area is guarded right by a bunker and left by that pond.

The best play off the tee is just to the left of that right fairway bunker. To carry the bunker from the tips is 310 yards.

The further right you can play your tee shot the better the angle into the green will be and the less the pond will come into play.

The green is angled diagonal from the tee and is wider than it is deep.  There is one bunker protecting the back right for those who bail away from the water lining the front right.

For the first round of the year I played OK. My stupid fade was causing shots short but you cant beat flying down from Minnesota in the morning and getting a round in on your travel day.  It was steamy in the mid-90s and boy did it feel great!

Michael and I after the round.

Looking forward to playing a barrage of rounds in the upcoming weekend.