A monumental undertaking at Troon North.
Simply put, it’s the most challenging course to play on an Arizona golf vacation. Besides putting an emphasis on length (there are eight par-4s measuring 400 yards or more), there is little margin for lateral error, too, because balls that trail off the fairway into the natural desert scrub are rarely seen again.
There are long, forced carries to reach fairways; bunkers that pinch landing areas; forced carries over arroyos and ditches to reach greens; obstacles such as rocks and pot bunkers in the middle of fairways; severe doglegs and greens surrounded by bunkers, all contributing to the course’s slope rating of 147, one of the highest in the country.
It’s a wild ride for sure, and the course gets you coming and going: the first and 18th holes are formidable par-4s, each 444 yards long. In between, you’ll encounter the signature hole, a 564-yard, par-5 with a giant boulder smack dab in the middle of the fairway and the No.1 handicap hole, which asks you to traverse 464 yards and hole out in just four strokes.
Water comes into play too, but it’s only on the tiny, par-3 16th, aptly called, “Postcard.” Since the green is fronted by a pond and book-ended by bunkers, the only safe place to miss is long. This is actually the easiest hole on this terrific but tough test of golf.
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