Courses
What other golf holes warrant the TPC Scottsdale 'stadium' experience?
Chris Condon
In all due respect to TPC Sawgrass, a lone hole—Scottsdale's 16th hole—executes the ideal "stadium" atmosphere in a way that resonates with all types of fans. The vista at the par-3 16th during the WM Phoenix Open is one of the more unique panoramas in golf, replacing the sport’s normally reserved galleries with a crowd straight from an SEC football game. That scene hit its peak of raucousness in 2022, with Sam Ryder and Carlos Ortiz giving fans more than they dreamed of with holes-in-one—and then Joel Dahmen and Harry Higgs gave them an encore with their shirtless Sunday display.
Which got us thinking … what if golf tried to replicate TPC Scottsdale’s stadium scene? We polled our editors for their thoughts on other holes warranting the amphitheater treatment. Here are the nominations.
Riviera Country Club — 10th hole
Chris Condon
When it comes to short par 4s on the PGA Tour, none test the mind quite like the 10th at Riviera, a hole where going for the green or laying up can yield equally disastrous results. Just ask Ryan Moore, who nearly made an ace on the 315-yard risk-reward par 4 in 2015 and ended up walking away with par after his ball took the green’s nasty slope and rolled some 50 feet away in the collection area. Or Scott Piercy, who probably still has nightmares from his adventure at the 10th a few years ago. Imagine either of these situations going down with a stadium-like atmosphere around the green. The heckling could get out of control, but the potential eagle and hole-in-one scare roars would be well worth it. If the fans brought half the energy to the 10th that this rolling fan brought to the 18th at Riviera in 2012, then we’ve got something. —Christopher Powers
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Memorial Park Golf Course — 15th hole
Keyur Khamar
Tour pros have found the short par-3 15th hole difficult at the newly renovated Memorial Park Golf Course in Houston as it has hosted the Houston Open in recent years. Amplify that tenfold with tens of thousands of fans booing you after flubbing a chip from the tightly mown area. Though it can play as short as 110 yards, players in 2022 made 69 bogeys, 14 doubles and five “others,” over four days with this treacherous Tom Doak-designed, elevated putting surface with water in front, requiring ultimate precision. Plus, the Stadium concept just seems to work better with public courses, so this re-energized muny would be perfect. —Stephen Hennessey
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PGA West — 13th hole
It’s only worth surrounding a tournament hole with bleachers full of boisterous, possibly inebriated gallery-folk if you give them something to yell about. The 13th at PGA West’s Stadium Course, with a long diagonal green banked directly over a bulkhead-lined lake, is routinely not just one of the most difficult holes on the course (with a stroke average of 3.25 since 2016) but one of the most difficult par 3s on tour. That means groans galore for balls that either splash or bounce through the green into deep chipping hollows, and roars for expertly played irons that filter toward various hole locations. And in spite of the hole’s treachery and humiliation potential, it’s one the players respect because it demands they commit to a club and hit a great shot. —DD
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TPC River Highlands — 15th hole
Michael Cohen
It’s supposed to be a risk/reward hole, but the stats from the Travelers Championship the last few years (3.858 scoring average in 2022, 3.899 in '20, 3.875 in ’19) show the 15th’s bark hasn’t matched its bite. Two suggestions: 1) Shave the rough on the left side of the hole, bringing the lake into play and 2) Bring the tees up just slightly to make going for the green a bit more tempting . —JB
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Harbour Town Golf Links — 17th hole
(Photo by Ryan Young/PGA TOUR)
The 13th hole, with its unique green design edged by a menacing bunker, gets the most attention among par 3s at this Pete Dye and Jack Nicklaus strategic masterpiece. And the lighthouse and the 18th hole is best known among PGA Tour fans. But the par-3 17th features one of the more impressive greenside bunkers on tour: A 90-yard wide hazard that separates players from the low-country marsh and another uniquely designed green. Logistically, this would only work with a stadium atmosphere around the tee box. We could see this as a way to add a little added vibe to one of the most low-profile but cool tournaments of the year. —SH
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Quail Hollow Golf Club — 14th hole
At the risk of oversaturating this list with short par 4s, let’s face it: Watching tour pros try to drive a green that’s almost 350 yards away is one of the coolest things for casual fans. And one of the best of this variety on tour is the 14th hole at Quail Hollow, coming late enough in the round where players must be decisive with trouble lurking long and left. Can you imagine a Scottsdale-like atmosphere here, booing players for laying up on this hole (40 percent of players usually do, according to our Derek Duncan)? I’d like to think the golf-crazed fans of Charlotte would make this hole a ton of fun with a Stadium-like arena. —SH
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Muirfield Village Golf Club — 14th hole
Keyur Khamar
Far be it from me to tell Jack Nicklaus how to set up a tournament. BUT, if I was the Golden Bear, I would move up the tee box on No. 14, which usually hovers around 340 yards, to entice more players to give it a go. The hole’s configuration—guarded by a creek on the right, adjoined with bunkers on the left and deep rough—would still give many guys pause, yet the green is deep enough to receive its share of missiles. Besides, as evidenced on fall afternoons at Ohio State’s Horseshoe, Columbus can get rocking. —JB
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Austin Country Club — 17th hole
Carrell Grigsby/Courtesy of the club
The course might be making its swansong on the PGA Tour this March, and in a match-play setting, having a Stadium-like amphitheater on the 17th hole risks the potential that some matches will be finishing before getting here. But just like Memorial Park’s 15th, this is a tiny putting surface on a tiny hole (125-150 yards) that requires precision—and it will penalize shots just slightly off. A wooded ravine in front catches a surprising amount of tee shots, mostly due to winds that can swirl off Lake Austin. The hole has played to a 2.93 stroke average since the WGC-Match Play has moved here in 2016, proving that there are a variety of ways to test tour pros. —SH