PLAYROUND COURSE GUIDE

How to Play Tpc Of Scottsdale — Champions

Course strategy, tee-specific yardages and a hole-by-hole game plan for Tpc Of Scottsdale — Champions in Scottsdale, AZ.

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Tpc Of Scottsdale — Champions golf course

Tpc Of Scottsdale — Champions

Scottsdale, AZ
Black tees · 7,091 yards
COURSE OVERVIEW

About Tpc Of Scottsdale — Champions

The Champions Course at TPC Scottsdale is a Randy Heckenkemper design built on the site of the former Desert Course. Integrated into natural Sonoran Desert ravines and foothills with McDowell Mountain vistas, the par-71 layout blends strategic split fairways, desert carries, and fast multi-tiered greens for a complete test of desert golf.

COURSE STRATEGY

How to play Tpc Of Scottsdale — Champions

Off the tee

Fairways on the Champions Course are surrounded by Sonoran Desert scrub, waste bunkers, and strategic fairway traps. Several holes feature split fairways or desert washes cutting across landing zones, requiring precise target selection rather than raw distance.

Elevation & terrain

Terrain across the course features subtle natural desert elevation changes with mild slopes and gentle downhill runs. While dramatic altitude shifts are absent, subtle slope changes influence landing roll and club selection into raised greens.

Approach play

Approaches demand accurate distance control to carry desert ravines, water hazards, and deep green-fronting bunkers. Large multi-tiered greens reward playing to proper pin-side quadrants and punishing mis-struck shots into collection areas.

Around the greens

Greens feature fast, true surfaces with steep contours, multi-tiered sections, and tight surrounding runoff areas. Guarding bunkers are often cavernous, making recovery shots challenging if missed on the short side.

Best way to play it

Prioritize position over distance off the tee to clear desert carries and avoid fairway hazards. Smart conservative play into the centers of greens yields scoring opportunities while protecting against severe hazards and complex green contours.

Key takeaways

  • Designed by Randy Heckenkemper on the site of the former Desert Course, offering an authentic Sonoran Desert target-golf experience.
  • Features strategic split fairways on holes 5 and 7, requiring deliberate decision-making off the tee.
  • Water hazards come into play on the opening and closing stretches, most notably guarding the green on hole 18.
  • Greens are known for exceptional speed, firm conditions, and subtle multi-tiered contours.
YOUR GAME PLAN

Hole-by-hole game plan

Hole
Par
Yards
HCP
Strategy
1
4
371
16
Lay back short of the right fairway bunkers with a fairway wood or hybrid to avoid the water hazard left, setting up a mid-iron approach across a desert ravine to a raised green.
Your 240 yd driver · ~131 yards remaining by raw distance.
2
4
461
8
Aim down the right-center of the fairway off the tee to avoid turning the ball into left-side desert, leaving a long iron or hybrid approach to a deep green.
Your 240 yd driver · ~221 yards remaining by raw distance.
3
3
174
18
Target the center of the generous 40-yard-deep green to avoid the short fronting bunkers and the long sand trap running down the right flank.
4
5
556
6
Drive down the center between the left fairway bunker and right sandy desert berm; if laying up, play toward the open right side to setup an approach to a multi-tiered green.
Your 240 yd driver · ~316 yards remaining by raw distance. Plan this primarily as a three-shot hole.
5
4
466
2
Choose between playing safe right over a shorter carry for a longer approach or aggressively carrying the left waste bunker to gain a short iron into an uphill green.
Your 240 yd driver · ~226 yards remaining by raw distance.
6
3
202
12
Favor the center of the green complex; avoid pulling shots over the cart path into desert terrain or missing long when pin is placed back right.
7
4
393
14
Lay up short of the bisecting desert wash off the tee to leave roughly a mid-to-short iron approach over the ravine to a green protected by side bunkers.
Your 240 yd driver · ~153 yards remaining by raw distance.
8
3
212
10
Select club to hit the middle of the large circular green; straight tee shots are well-rewarded with few fronting obstacles.
9
5
575
4
Keep tee shot right-center on the left-sloping fairway; lay up carefully on second shot to leave a clean wedge approach that avoids the water short-left and narrow bunker mouth.
Your 240 yd driver · ~335 yards remaining by raw distance. Plan this primarily as a three-shot hole.
10
5
542
11
Drive down the right side of the fairway to clear the left-landing fairway bunker; navigate the second shot within the rough buffer before approaching a long green.
Your 240 yd driver · ~302 yards remaining by raw distance. Plan this primarily as a three-shot hole.
11
4
474
7
Hit driver down the right-center fairway avoiding water left, then execute a precise long approach to an elevated green guarded by water and bunkers.
Your 240 yd driver · ~234 yards remaining by raw distance.
12
4
446
5
Aim off the tee to avoid the single bunker and tree situated on the right; favor the right side on approach shot to avoid deep left greenside bunkers.
Your 240 yd driver · ~206 yards remaining by raw distance.
13
3
164
17
Focus on distance control to reach the proper tier of this massive green surrounded by three guarding sand traps.
14
4
429
13
Target the center of the fairway to thread the narrow neck between sandy waste areas on either side before playing into the green.
Your 240 yd driver · ~189 yards remaining by raw distance.
15
4
346
15
Lay back with a long iron or hybrid to the dogleg elbow for a wedge approach, or take on the desert carry off the tee to hit toward a small, elevated green protected by deep front bunkers.
Your 240 yd driver · ~106 yards remaining by raw distance.
16
3
215
9
Focus on striking a clean tee shot to clear front tree foliage and land safely on the 30-yard-deep circular putting surface.
17
5
605
3
Favor the left side off the tee to avoid the fairway bunker on the right; play a steady lay up to position an approach into a multi-tiered green.
Your 240 yd driver · ~365 yards remaining by raw distance. Plan this primarily as a three-shot hole.
18
4
460
1
Drive down the right-center of the fairway avoiding water left and the large bunker right, then hit a controlled approach over the water hazard guarding the front-left of a sloped green.
Your 240 yd driver · ~220 yards remaining by raw distance.

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.