TPC Scottsdale
Designed by Jay Morrish
History
1986 marks the year the desert gave way to fairway grass at the corner of Hayden Road, when the PGA Tour arrived in Scottsdale not as a visitor but as a landlord. The Tour built this course itself, part of a broader push in the 1980s to establish TPC properties nationwide — venues owned and operated by the organization that would eventually stage tournaments upon them. Scottsdale, already building a reputation as a winter golf destination, offered the Tour a natural home for what would become its flagship Arizona event.
Jay Morrish took on the design work, shaping the Stadium Course to serve two masters at once: the everyday resort golfer and the demands of professional tournament golf. Morrish had cut his teeth working alongside Tom Weiskopf, and his signature at TPC Scottsdale reflected that partnership’s broader philosophy — routing holes that could accommodate massive spectator galleries without sacrificing the shot-making tests that touring professionals expected. The Stadium Course opened as the home of what was then called the Phoenix Open, giving the tournament a permanent address for the first time.
The course underwent a significant renovation in 2014, when architect Tom Fazio’s firm — working under the direction of Phil Mickelson as a consultant — reworked the layout to modernize its infrastructure and refresh its playing corridors ahead of continued Waste Management Phoenix Open hosting duties. That tournament, known for decades as the best-attended event on the PGA Tour calendar, has anchored the Stadium Course’s identity since 1987, cementing TPC Scottsdale’s place not merely as a golf course but as a permanent stage for the Tour’s traveling show.
Playing Notes
Bring your A-game off the tee and prepare for the desert wind, which picks up by mid-morning and can turn a routine approach shot into a guessing game. With 36 holes on site, expect firm, fast Bermuda greens that reward putts landing on the correct level of the pin rather than aggressive charges at the hole. Desert landscaping lines many holes, meaning missed fairways often mean a lost ball or an unplayable lie in native scrub rather than a simple bunker recovery, so accuracy off the tee matters more than raw distance here. The terrain is walkable but carts are the norm given the layout's spread across two full courses, and you'll want water on hand — Arizona heat builds fast, even in cooler months, and shade is scarce on the open desert holes. Pack extra balls, check the wind forecast before you go, and don't be surprised if club selection on approach shots requires an extra half-club up or down depending on which way the gusts are running that day.