PLAYROUND COURSE GUIDE

How to Play Grayhawk — Talon

Course strategy, tee-specific yardages and a hole-by-hole game plan for Grayhawk — Talon in Scottsdale, AZ.

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Grayhawk — Talon golf course

Grayhawk — Talon

Scottsdale, AZ
Talon tees · 6,973 yards
COURSE OVERVIEW

About Grayhawk — Talon

Designed by David Graham and Gary Panks and opened in 1994, the Talon Course at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona, is a premier Sonoran Desert layout. The back nine is built around deep box canyons, dramatic ravines, and thick stands of native mesquite, ironwood, and palo verde trees, offering striking views of the McDowell Mountains. Featuring generous landing areas that often appear tighter from the tee than they play, large multi-tiered greens, and strategic bunkering, Talon delivers a visually captivating and tactical desert golf experience.

COURSE STRATEGY

How to play Grayhawk — Talon

Off the tee

Fairways on Talon often look narrower from tee boxes than they actually are due to dense desert vegetation and canyon framing. Driving strategy requires choosing aggressive or conservative lines across desert corridors while avoiding native washes, cross bunkers, and canyon drops.

Elevation & terrain

Elevation changes feature subtle mounding and fairway undulations on the front nine, transitioning to dramatic canyon drop-offs, blufftop teeing sites, and elevated greens on the back nine.

Approach play

Approaches demand precise distance control into large, distinctly multi-tiered greens. Distance errors lead to severe tier-to-tier putts, deep bunkering, or drops into adjacent desert washes and canyons.

Around the greens

Greens complexes are generous with broad collection areas, swales, and runoffs that permit creative short-game recovery, though steep bunker faces and tier ridges make wrong-side misses punishing.

Best way to play it

Commit to confident lines off the tee into visual fairways, manage risk carefully on short tactical holes like 13 and 17, and always target the correct green tier to avoid long, sloped putts.

Key takeaways

  • Fairways are visually intimidating from the tee but offer wider landing zones than they appear.
  • Multi-tiered green complexes require landing on the correct level to prevent extreme putting breaks.
  • The back nine is defined by dramatic box canyons, requiring forced carries and smart hazard management.
  • Signature short holes such as Heaven or Hell (Hole 13) and Devil's Drink (Hole 17) demand high risk-reward decision-making.
YOUR GAME PLAN

Hole-by-hole game plan

Hole
Par
Yards
HCP
Strategy
1
4
428
9
Favor the left-center portion of the fairway off the tee to open up the approach angle. Target the proper tier of the large green, as back-right pins demand precise distance control to avoid putts across the ridge.
Your 240 yd driver · ~188 yards remaining by raw distance.
2
4
346
13
Play a conservative tee shot with a fairway wood or hybrid toward the left side of the fairway. Approach shots must clear deep front-right bunkers and avoid a tree protecting the front entrance to hit the multi-tiered putting surface.
Your 240 yd driver · ~106 yards remaining by raw distance.
3
5
505
5
Aggressive players can attempt to cut the dogleg over mesquite trees on the left, but conservative shots should favor left-center fairway. Keep second shots left to avoid the deep 'Three Sisters' bunkers short-right of the green.
Your 240 yd driver · ~265 yards remaining by raw distance. Plan this primarily as a three-shot hole.
4
4
427
7
Drive down the center-left to avoid the right fairway bunker. Approach with care to a green flanked by mounds on the left and a steep falloff into a collection area on the right.
Your 240 yd driver · ~187 yards remaining by raw distance.
5
3
153
17
Select enough club to carry the large bunker fronting the green. Aim toward the center or left side of the putting surface, taking advantage of the slope while avoiding the falloff on the right.
6
4
459
1
Unleash a long drive aiming right-center to keep the tee shot on the elevated plateau fairway. Approach the large, receptive green while avoiding grass bunkers guarding the right side.
Your 240 yd driver · ~219 yards remaining by raw distance.
7
4
402
11
Less than driver off the tee is often preferred; target the left-center fairway to avoid right-side trees and desert encroachment. High-spin approach shots are needed to hold the green and stay clear of the left bunker.
Your 240 yd driver · ~162 yards remaining by raw distance.
8
3
206
15
Trust distance calculations over visual perception across the wash. Target the center of the broad putting surface to avoid subtle runoff edges and leave manageable putts.
9
5
562
3
Position the drive down the left-center fairway to avoid right-side desert hazard and maintain line of sight around the fairway mesquite tree. Lay up cleanly to setup an approach that avoids the steep, three-bay bunker short-right.
Your 240 yd driver · ~322 yards remaining by raw distance. Plan this primarily as a three-shot hole.
10
4
454
4
Drive into the generous fairway, taking advantage of open space off the tee. Approach shots must favor the right side of the green, as any pull or miss left drops into sand or the box canyon.
Your 240 yd driver · ~214 yards remaining by raw distance.
11
3
175
16
Take enough club to clear the box canyon and front-guarding bunker completely. Aim for the center or right side of the multi-tiered green, using the right grass area as the safe bailout.
12
4
449
2
Target the left-center of the fairway off the tee. Pushing shots right into the fairway edge can obscure the approach line due to intervening cacti and desert wash ground.
Your 240 yd driver · ~209 yards remaining by raw distance.
13
4
303
14
Laid-back iron off the tee to the fairway landing zone provides a safe short-iron approach. Aggressive drivers must carry the fairway swale and avoid heavy surrounding bunkers and right desert trouble.
Your 240 yd driver · ~63 yards remaining by raw distance. Favor position and approach angle over extra tee-shot distance.
14
5
524
10
Drive confidently down the fairway avoiding left sand. Navigate second-shot layups thoughtfully around cross bunkers to leave a clean wedge into the elevated green.
Your 240 yd driver · ~284 yards remaining by raw distance. Plan this primarily as a three-shot hole.
15
4
450
8
Favor the left-center fairway off the tee to stay well clear of the canyon on the right, while avoiding left trees that can block the approach corridor into the green.
Your 240 yd driver · ~210 yards remaining by raw distance.
16
4
416
12
Play down the center of the fairway to secure a clean angle into the green. Approach the surface carefully to avoid shaven runoff edges and surrounding sand.
Your 240 yd driver · ~176 yards remaining by raw distance.
17
3
126
18
Verify exact yardage and wind direction carefully. Target the center of the island green regardless of pin location to avoid water hazards on all sides.
18
5
588
6
Aim left-center on tee shot and layup to stay clear of the water hazard extending down the right. Approach shots must avoid a deep bunker on the left without feeding down the green's left-to-right slope into the lake.
Your 240 yd driver · ~348 yards remaining by raw distance. Plan this primarily as a three-shot hole.

Course information and strategy are provided for planning purposes. Yardages, course setup, hazards and playing conditions can change. Always confirm current course information before your round.