I’ve had some requests for advise for the best courses to pick in the Phoenix/Scottsdale Arizona area for a golf buddy trip. I thought this would be a fun topic, and I plan on doing a few others too, like Nevada, Michigan, Oregon, Utah and so on. For now here are the Hooked on Golf Blog Phoenix/Scottsdale Golf Buddy trip recommendations below. Arizona is a great golf destination with great weather nearly all year round. If you can handle the very high summer temperatures, golf can be very inexpensive.
Troon North
Troon North features two courses, the Monument course by Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish, and the Pinnacle Course by Tom Weiskopf. The Monument is rated the #1 public golf course in Arizona. Both courses epitomize Arizona/desert target golf. The Pinnacle course is rated the 3rd best course in Arizona.
Here’s a shot below of the Pinnacle course from the last time the HOG World Tour visited:
Troon North Pinnacle Course – Click for more images
Grayhawk
Grayhawk also boasts 36 holes of fantastic Arizona desert golf in the Talon and Raptor courses. The Raptor course was designed by famed golf architect Tom Fazio and features large fairways and highly undulating greens. The errant approaches at the Raptor are often met by deep bunkering. The Talon Course was designed by David Graham and Gary Pranks. The Talon is ranked as one of the “Top 100 in You Can Play U.S.” Tee shots are very challenging at the Talon, especially in the back nine which features many holes in box canyons.
Grayhawk Talon Course
Grayhawk is also known as Phil Mickelson’s home course in Arizona.
We-Ko-Pa Golf Club
We-Ko-Pa Golf Club offers 36 holes of highly popular and challenging Arizona golf in the Cholla and Saguaro courses. We-Ko-Pa is located on Indian land and the natural terrain is the foreground to views of the area’s mountains in the distance. No homes on the courses.
Cholla is designed by Scott Miller and provides a tough test with narrow fairways and thick desert to eat up errant shots. The Saguaro is the newest course, designed by Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore. “Crenshaw and Coore” are two of the top modern golf architects whose style tremendously routes their courses through natural, rugged styling.
Boulders Golf Resort
The Boulders Golf Resort offers fantastic golf and resort accommodations, renowned as one of the best in the U.S.A. Boulders features 36 holes of golf, the North Course and South Course.
The North Course was designed by Jay Morish and features dramatic panoramas as it winds through huge boulder formations. The South Course, also Jay Morrish, is slightly more challenging than the North. The South requires more accuracy off the tee and better course management.
Quintero Golf Club
Quintero is a par-72 Rees Jones design roughly a 45 minute drive from Scottsdale. Rees Jones is the son of one of golf’s all-time greatest golf architects, Robert Trent Jones.
Quintero 9th Hole
Quintero is a mountainside course featuring challenging and scenic elevation changes. The fairways are generous but strategic bunker placement puts a premium on accuracy.
Final Thoughts
Golf in Phoenix/Arizona is some of the funnest, most challenging, and certainly most scenic golf in the U.S.A. Desert target golf is extremely fun. Check here for great Arizona Golf Packages.
Unreal. Phil Mickelson whiffed a shot:
https://twitter.com/JSaylor/status/982701394992885760
Henrik Stenson holes out on #7 from the front bunker.
Rory McIlory nearly jars his shot on the par-3 4th.
Patrick Reed plays #15 very aggressively and chips in for eagle:
You heard it first from Hooked on Golf Blog. Everyone thought Phil Mickelson was crazy when he put two drivers into play at the 2006 Masters. One driver was draw biased for left-to-right holes, and was fade biased for right-to-left holes (remember he’s left handed).
Phil Mickelson
Connections close to Hooked on Golf Blog have told me, under condition of anonymity, that Phil will be gaming three drivers at the 2018 Masters Tournament. The first two are fade and draw biased like before. The third driver is “straight biased.” It goes straight. This will be good for some of the more straight holes like the 7th, 15th and 17th holes.
Phil will be removing his gap wedge to make room for the third driver.
Stay tuned to Hooked on Golf Blog this whole week for more Masters news, Augusta National course information, apparel scripting, Masters betting odds, and apparel scripting analysis.
Dustin Johnson
World number one Dustin Johnson heads to Pacific Pallisades this week to defend the Genesis Open title that he won by five strokes last year. Riviera is perfectly suited to Johnson’s game, thanks to his phenomenal power off the tee, and he has achieved T4 finishes in each of the last four years. Recent winners include Bubba Watson (twice) and James Hahn, both hit ferocious distances, so it is a course geared up for bombers. But the field is strong and deep, the presence of Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy means four of the world’s top eight will be in the mix.
Watson, meanwhile, will be hoping for a strong comeback after having the worst year of his career in 2017. He missed the cut in three of the four majors and has not won a tournament since 2016, sending him plummeting down to 117 in the world rankings. Riviera is the perfect setting to launch his return to greatness as the two-time Masters winner claimed victory here in 2014 and again in 2016, when he was ranked second in the world. If he can rediscover his magic touch around the greens he will be a force to be reckoned with, but that is a big if.
Phil Mickelson
Another man hoping for a return to glory is crowd favorite Phil Mickelson, who is now 47 years old and has not won since 2013. He has come mighty close on several occasions, and remains a magnificently talented player, but if he is to force his way into Ryder Cup contention he needs to secure a victory somewhere along the line. He won here in 2008 and 2009 and finished runner-up in 2012, so it is as good a place as any to return to the summit once again.
And then there is Mickelson’s old nemesis Tiger Woods, who will dominate headlines in the build-up to the tournament. He finished T23 on his return to action in the Farmers Insurance Open last month, and said he is looking forward to hosting and playing at the Genesis Open this week. After a long injury layoff, fans will be eager to see if he can recapture the sort of form that led him to eclipse Mickelson and hold down number one spot in the world rankings for many years.
But right now, it is the elite men that head the betting, and deservedly so. Make sure to look at Betonline for odds on the event, and you will see that Johnson is the clear favorite heading into the tournament. His record at Riviera is amazing: he won last year, finished runner-up in 2014 and lost a playoff in 2015. Last year, his five-stroke win catapulted him to the top of the world rankings and he consolidated his place by winning his next two tournaments, the WGC Mexico Championship and the WGC Dell Technologies Matchplay. He was the clear favorite heading into the Masters, only to fall down the stairs and find himself ruled out due to injury. But he has maintained his number one ranking, despite the ascent of Justin Thomas and Jon Rahm and the return to greatness of Jordan Spieth.
Riviera is a second shot test, where precision on approach is paramount to success. Spieth will be a danger here as he is turning a corner on greens and has three T25 finishes in five appearances at Riviera. He needs a win ahead of The Masters and will be going all out for victory. Thomas never knows when he is beaten, while McIlroy can win anywhere and has made a strong start to 2018, but right now Johnson is the man to beat.
ORLANDO, Fla. (Jan. 26, 2016) – World No. 1 Jordan Spieth will tee it up at the Asian Tour’s SMBC Singapore Open, and his opening round will air in primetime on Golf Channel beginning at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday night. The LPGA Tour kicks off its 2016 season with the Pure Silk Bahamas LPGA Classic, as Nos. 2-4 in the world: Inbee Park, Stacy Lewis and Lexi Thompson lead a field that includes 11 of the top-20 in the world. The PGA TOUR shifts to Torrey Pines outside of San Diego for the Farmers Insurance Open, with Jason Day (No. 2 in the world) and Rickie Fowler (No. 4) headlining the field. On the European Tour, South African Branden Grace defends his title at the Qatar Masters.
ASIAN TOUR
SMBC Singapore Open
Dates: Jan. 27-30
Venue: Sentosa Golf Club (Serapong Course), Sentosa Island, Singapore
Tournament Airtimes on Golf Channel (Eastern):
Wednesday 8-11 p.m. (Live) / 11:30 p.m.-1:30 a.m. (Replay)
Thursday 8-11 p.m. / 2-4:30 a.m. (Live)
Friday 11 p.m.-3 a.m. (Live) / 10 a.m.-Noon (Saturday replay)
Saturday 11 p.m.-3 a.m. (Live) / 10 a.m.-Noon (Sunday replay)
Broadcast Notes:
Spieth’s opening round airing in primetime at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday: World No. 1 Jordan Spieth is in the field competing in the 50th edition of Singapore’s national open. Spieth will tee off in his opening round at 6:50 p.m. ET, with the majority airing in primetime on Golf Channel beginning at 8 p.m. ET Wednesday night.
Event returns for first time since 2012: The event is being played for the first time since 2012, and is co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and Japan Golf Tour. Matteo Manassero won the event in 2012 when it was last contested.
Headlining the field: Jordan Spieth, Byeong Hun An, Darren Clarke, Jamie Donaldson, Y.E. Yang, Jeev Milkha Singh, K.T. Kim and Shingo Katayama.
LPGA TOUR
Pure Silk Bahamas LPGA Classic
Dates: Jan. 28-31
Venue: Ocean Club Golf Course, Paradise Island, Bahamas
Tournament Airtimes on Golf Channel (Eastern):
Thursday 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. (Live)
Friday 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. (Live)
Saturday 3-5 p.m. (Live) / 5-7 a.m. (Sunday replay)
Sunday 3-5 p.m. (Live)
Broadcast Notes:
Season-opening event: The 2016 LPGA Tour season kicks off this week with the Pure Silk Bahamas LPGA Classic, airing live on Golf Channel Thursday-Sunday, Jan. 28-31. The event begins a series of eight LPGA tournaments airing live on Golf Channel over the next 10 weeks leading into golf’s first major championship of 2016, the ANA Inspiration.
Kim defends: Sei Young Kim defeated Ariya Jutanugarn and Sun Young Yoo with a birdie on the first playoff hole to earn her first career LPGA Tour win.
Headlining the field: Inbee Park, Stacy Lewis, Lexi Thompson, Sei Young Kim, Hyo Joo Kim, Cristie Kerr, Michelle Wie, Anna Nordqvist, Brittany Lincicome, Brooke Henderson and Cheyenne Woods.
PGA TOUR
Farmers Insurance Open
Dates: Jan. 28-31
Venue: Torrey Pines Golf Course (North & South Courses), La Jolla, Calif.
Tournament Airtimes on Golf Channel (Eastern):
Thursday 3-7 p.m. (Live) / 11 p.m.-2 a.m. (Replay)
Friday 3-7 p.m. (Live) / 7:30-11 p.m. (Replay)
Saturday 1-2:30 p.m. (Live) / 7-11 p.m. (Replay)
Sunday 1-2:30 p.m. (Live) / 7:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. (Replay)
Broadcast Notes:
Golf Central special: Day, Fowler news conference, Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. ET: Jason Day and Rickie Fowler (ranked No. 2 and No. 4 in the world respectively) headline the field and will take part in a Golf Central special news conference from Torrey Pines, airing at 3:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday.
Course rotation: The event utilizes both the North and South courses at Torrey Pines, with players competing once on each course over the first two rounds prior to the 36-hole cut. The final two rounds are then contested on the South Course on Saturday-Sunday.
Day defends: Jason Day defeated J.B. Holmes with a par on the second playoff hole to win his third PGA TOUR victory.
Headlining the field: Jason Day, Rickie Fowler, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Patrick Reed, Justin Rose, J.B. Holmes, Hideki Matsuyama, Brandt Snedeker, Anirban Lahiri and Bill Haas.
EUROPEAN TOUR
Commercial Bank Qatar Masters
Dates: Jan. 27-30
Venue: Doha Golf Club, Doha, Qatar
Tournament Airtimes on Golf Channel (Eastern):
Wednesday 1:30-4:30 a.m. / 6-8:30 a.m. (Live)
Thursday 1:30-4:30 a.m. / 6-8:30 a.m. (Live)
Friday 4:30-8:30 a.m. (Live)
Saturday 4-8:30 a.m. (Live)
Broadcast Notes:
Grace defends: Branden Grace won by one shot over Marc Warren for his sixth career European Tour victory.
Headlining the field: Bryson DeChambeau (a), Sergio Garcia, Ernie Els, Branden Grace, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Louis Oosthuizen, Thomas Pieters, Peter Uihlein and John Daly.
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