While the PGA Tour only uses the TPC of Scottsdale for one week, the Stadium course maintains top-notch playing conditions for most of the year.
The added beauty of the Stadium course is its playability. Just ask Mark Calcavecchia, who set PGA Tour records during the 2001 Phoenix Open for the most birdies in a 72-hole tournament (32) and the lowest four-round total of 28-under par 256.

The superb condition, along with the 27 Tour pros who call the course home, its elite practice facilities (that also houses the Nicklaus / Flick Game Improvement clinics) and the warm winter weather help bring the top golfers out to the desert each year.

Trouble comes in the form of 72 bunkers that are deep and strategically placed in the fairways and around the greens, which are rather large but feature many tricky twists and turns and run fast. Desert vegetation- such as saguaro cacti, mesquite and Palo Verde trees - are scattered about the course and water comes into play on six of the holes, including three of the last four.

This closing stretch is what really makes this course fun - for golfers or spectators. Eagles and birdies are possible down the stretch but bogeys and doubles are more common.

The Champions course (previously known as Desert course) defines the fairways and often causes small carries, but landing areas are usually on the forgiving side. The greens are also not as undulating and generally vexing, and fewer sand traps surround them. However, trouble in the form of desert and waste areas still threaten most shots.