You want a challenge for your next round, don’t you? No pushover course that serves up a birdie fest, right? Well, good for you. There’s an enhanced level of satisfaction after playing well on a tough course. The kind of place where you can walk off the 18th green and total up a good score that will make the post-round drink all that more delicious. If you’re looking for some of the best golf courses to test your skills, then congratulations. There’s no shortage of testing tracks with over 200 golf courses in the Scottsdale area. Here’s a handful if you are up for the challenge(s). Good luck and play well!
TPC SCOTTSDALE
No, the TPC Stadium course does not play as hard as it does during the annual WM Phoenix Open. Still, mistakes do get amplified quickly here, and big numbers will surely fill your scorecard if you don’t pay attention. The closing stretch from 14 through 18 serves up a full menu of challenges that come in all shapes and sizes, from the brutally tough par-4 14th to the risk/reward par-5 15th and the reachable green on the shortish par-4 17th. And you should know that the low round during the WM Phoenix Open – from the back tees, of course – is 60. Congrats if you come close to that!
GRAYHAWK GOLF CLUB
The Tom Fazio-designed Raptor Course hosted a PGA Tour event back in the late 2000s and it’s still one of the tougher courses – tough enough that breaking par from the tips (7,151 yards) is quite an accomplishment. Massive bunkers guard many large greens where three-putts are not uncommon, and the closing par 5, with water down most of the right side, remains one of Arizona’s best.
TROON NORTH GOLF CLUB
The gold standard for upscale daily-fee golf in Arizona and the Southwest when it debuted in 1990, Troon North retains its role as one of the best 36-hole facilities anywhere. Both the Monument and Pinnacle courses are formidable, but the former gets the nod for a slightly tougher test. That’s due in large part to a pair of par 4s: the fifth and 17th, which rank as the two hardest holes on the course.
AK-CHIN SOUTHERN DUNES GOLF CLUB
No course gets to host a U.S. Open sectional qualifying event, multiple times no less, or host the Arizona Amateur a handful of times, unless it’s one of the top destination golf courses. Say hello to one of the best in the state and the Southwest. It can play long (7,546 yards from the tips), is often buffeted by breezes, is spotted with devilish bunkers, and has greens that will test your skill and nerves simultaneously. Survive all of that and you are more than deserving of one of the delicious milkshakes made in the clubhouse overlooking the ninth and 18th greens.
SUN RIDGE CANYON GOLF CLUB
What goes down must come up. That’s the saying, right? Well that’s definitely the case at Sun Ridge Canyon Golf Club, where on the decidedly uphill back nine, the final six holes are tough enough to have earned the fitting nickname “the Wicked Six.” From the tips these can all be brutes, but at least the two par 3s (185 and 225 yards from the tips) do not play uphill. Enjoy that mostly downhill front nine because it’s a different story heading back to the clubhouse.
