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Whether watching it on TV or playing it
on an Arizona golf vacation, the
Raptor's 15th hole provides drama.
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There are two golf courses at Grayhawk Golf Club, the popular Scottsdale, Arizona golf vacation venue which this week is hosting the PGA Tour’s Fry’s Electronics Open. But if you could only play one round there, do you know which golf course to choose?
We do. It’s the Raptor Course, upon which (no surprise) the tournament is being held. It’s the newer of the two layouts, and the Tom Fazio design features more stunning desert vistas and elevation changes than the Talon Course. Plus, its undulating greens are some of the most interesting and toughest to read among all Scottsdale golf courses.
Just ask Phil Mickelson, who took 32 putts in the first round of the tournament, finishing one over par and blowing past his season average of 28.7 — and he’s a member of the club.
If you watch the tournament on TV, or happen to be attending in-person as part of a Scottsdale, Arizona golf vacation, pay attention to the last four holes, which should provide the most drama.
The 15th is a short par four that many players will undoubtedly try to reach with their drivers. The 16th is a longish par three with water threatening on the left. Seventeen is a massive, 464-yard par four, and 18 is a reachable par five, but players who try to get home in two will have to hit a green that dangles dangerously into a lake.
Watching this closing sequence, you'll be glad that you can play the course as part of an Arizona golf vacation...not to earn a living.
Did you know?Golf Vacation Insider and Golf Odyssey are the world's only golf publications that travel anonymously and do not accept advertising, discounts, or "freebies" from the golf courses, resorts or restaurants they review.
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