WM Phoenix Open: a hole-by-hole guide to the Stadium Course at TPC Scottsdale

This relatively short par 4 starts things off gently. As long as players miss the fairway bunker up the left side of this gentle bender to the right, they'll have a short iron in hand for the approach to a green that slopes left. It's the only putting surface on the course without a greenside bunker, so misses aren't penalized too badly.

A miss right off the tee leaves golfers flirting with trouble in the form of two bunkers threatening anything hit between 280 and 315 yards. Three bunkers ring a chaotic green that breaks in multiple directions depending on pin location.

The first of TPC Scottsdale's three par 5s is relatively gettable. With only one bunker in the landing zone (on the left), players can let it rip, trying to set up a chance to go for the green in two. Two other bunkers climb up the left side, protecting a slice of the fairway where everyday golfers might lay up, while the pros will likely be attacking the waste area cutting across the fairway to get near or on the green. A lone bunker protects the right-front of the putting surface.

Three bunkers flank one of the smaller greens on the course. As long as they hit the green in reg by avoiding the sand, most players will walk away satisfied with a par.

Welcome to the quintessential desert hole at a TPC. It plays long, plain and simple. The fairway bunker up the right side is a slicer's nightmare. A desert wash skirts the front of the green, which is protected by a lone trap.

Now that players have had time to warm up, they'll be required to dial in their precision, landing a tee shot in the short grass between five bunkers. With the hole almost 40 yards shorter than the previous par 4, driver is not always necessary. A right-to-left shape will fit the landing area, setting up an approach straight up the throat of the green, again guarded by a bunker on either side. A back-left flag sets up a risky shot to a small window over a bunker.

The difficulty of the course's longest par 3 will depend upon the hole location. If it's at the narrow front entrance, then the two bunkers pinching the green are very much a worry.

The second-longest par 4 brings the desert more into play as the fairway swings left past a pair of circular bunkers guarding the inside corner of the dogleg. The green tilts from front to back, away from the bunker on the right side.

Are you sensing a theme yet? Players need to hit another long, straight tee shot to avoid the bunker up the right side. A greenside bunker front and center might intimidate regular players into a poor second shot, although neither it nor the one right of the green tends to be too daunting for pros. This green is twice as wide (40 yards) as it is deep (20 yards), so misses to the wrong side could leave a long lag attempt. This is where Phil Mickelson agonizingly lipped out in an effort to shoot 59 in 2013.

The back nine starts off with the most extreme dogleg on the course: a medium-length par 4 that boomerangs right, tempting players to take on the massive bunker protecting the turn. It's wisest to stay left with a fairway wood or hybrid off the tee, setting up an easy short iron or wedge for a potential birdie.

The 11th introduces a more finite form of punishment - a lake running up the entire left side of the hole - instead of desert or bunker sand. Players who bail right will end up in a grove of trees with little escape opportunities. The two greenside bunkers almost do golfers a favor because misses headed in their direction would otherwise end up wet.

Misses can end up in the sand of two bunkers on the left or in the water long on the right. I know which place I prefer. With a green that's roughly 40 yards long, club selection depends on whomever cut the cup that day.

This winding par 5 where TPC Scottsdale's volatile back nine really kicks into gear. It is also the site of one of the tournament's most noteworthy moments, when fans moved a giant boulder for Tiger Woods, who yanked his tee shot left into the desert here in 1999. With the pond on the right, it's the proper miss off the tee But it becomes a birdie or eagle hole if players hit the fairway. Two greenside bunkers hinder attempts to reach the green in two.

At 490 yards, even the pros find this dogleg left a chore. The lone fairway bunker isn't in play, virtually begging players to unleash their best off the tee. Misses end up drowning in thick rough blanketing the 1990s-style mounding. The green is perched above the fairway and angled behind two bunkers, demanding a solid mid- or long-iron to reach it in regulation.

Water along the fairway can swallow balls on the tee shot or the approach, making this the most volatile hole during the round. Pros feel pressure to pound it long in order to hit the island green in two for a stress-free birdie. That strategy doesn't always work out, especially with thoughts of the upcoming coliseum buzzing in their minds.

Much like the island green at TPC Sawgrass, the 16th at TPC Scottsdale is just a simple wedge. The problem is all those distractions with thousands of eyes staring down from the bleachers. It can feel like the walls are closing in for players who don't embrace the atmosphere. Any shot that ends up in one of the four bunkers will be booed mercilessly.

Weiskopf's mastery of the short par 4 comes to life on this fantastic risk-reward hole. Five bunkers littering the landing area don't normally affect the tournament outcome much, but amateurs like you and me end up in them often. It's the water left of the green and the irregular-shaped putting surface that mess with players the most. If pros don't make birdie, they're often walking away feeling like they lost a shot to the field, although on days when the cup is cut on the far-back-left finger of green, par can be a great score.

There's a lot going on architecturally on no. 18. It plays like a sort of Cape hole, forcing players to bite off the angle they're most comfortable with to find the fairway. There's a miniature set of 'church pews' in the large bunker just over the water on the left. Errant shots floating right can end up in three fairway bunkers or a gnarly, tricky lie in the mounds. Three bunkers surround an amoeba-shaped green that slopes right to left. It's a strong finisher for a course that separates the mighty from the meek.

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TPC Scottsdale - The Stadium Course

Scottsdale, Arizona

Resort

4.6430294118

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