So you’re ready for a challenge? Looking to test your skills on some of the toughest tracks in town? Well then, the greater Scottsdale area is more than ready for you with its extensive menu of challenging layouts. Each requires your full concentration, strong shot-making skills, and perhaps a lucky bounce or two along the way to come in under par. Test your game out at some of the top golf courses in Scottsdale. Here are five courses that will quickly reveal just how good your game is.
TPC Scottsdale Stadium Course
Everybody wants to play where the pros play, and the world’s best have been visiting the TPC Scottsdale’s Stadium Course annually for the Waste Management Phoenix Open since it opened in 1987. Normally the rough isn’t quite as thick and the greens aren’t quite as fast as during tournament week, but at just over 7,200 yards from the tips, the Stadium Course will give you all you can handle.
Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club
This U.S. Open sectional qualifying venue and three-time Arizona Amateur host in Maricopa is as good as it gets. Plenty of length (7,546 yards from the tips), well-positioned bunkers and subtle yet tricky greens are all part of the challenge. And don’t pass up one of the killer milkshakes made in the clubhouse, either.
We-Ko-Pa Golf Club
Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw give you plenty of room off the tee on the Saguaro Course at We-Ko-Pa, but pick the wrong side of the massive fairways and you're in for a serious challenge to get your approach shots close to the hole, especially on elevated greens at the 8th, 14th, and 16th holes.
Grayhawk Golf Club
The Tom Fazio-designed Raptor Course hosted a PGA Tour event back in the late 2000s and it’s still tough enough that breaking par from the tips is quite an accomplishment. Massive bunkers guard the large greens where three-putts are not uncommon, and the closing par 5 remains one of the Valley’s best. The country’s top college players will take on the Raptor when it hosts the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Golf Championships from 2020 through 2022.
Troon North Golf Club
The place that set the standard for upscale daily-fee golf when it debuted in 1990 retains its role as one of the best 36-hole facilities in the country. Both the Monument and Pinnacle courses are formidable, but the Monument recently underwent a renovation that included all new greens and new bunker sand.
Tom Mackin, a former Senior Editor at Golf Magazine, writes for local, regional and national golf publications across the U.S. The New Jersey native met his wife in Scottsdale and the two have lived here since 2013. See more on Instagram: @temackin
