AZ Golf Guides

GREATER PHOENIX/SCOTTSDALE & CENTRAL AZ

Raven Golf Club at Verrado

BUCKEYE

Soon after The Raven Golf Club at Verrado opened in January 2004, it quickly became a golf destination. Golf Week recognized the club as one of America's Top 10 new public/semiprivate courses in June 2005. In its March 2006 issue, Golf Digest highlighted The Raven as the Bargain of the Year.

The Raven's desert layout plays like a British links course, and for good reason. Golfer Tom Lehman, one of the course designers, has a passion for British Openstyle play, where balls can be hit to run up onto the greens.

"The golf course itself is a desert-style course, but it's a bit more forgiving than your traditional target desert golf," says Doug Foss, The Raven's director of sales and marketing.

With the exception of one hole—the 397-yard par-4 Number 2—golfers can experience a desert-style course without the concern of having to carry tee shots over ball-eating desert vegetation and ravines. Accuracy off the tee reigns on Number 2. Golfers must hit a solid tee shot to miss the 30-foot-deep ravine that slices into the fairway. If you can't hit a driver 250 yards, a 5-wood or 3-iron make better choices off the tee. The green has a severe backside run-off.

The 478-yard, par-4 Number 4 generally plays into the wind. A long fairway bunker runs alongside the right side and two bunkers dominate to the left. First timers, don't let appearances fool you. This may look like a greenside bunker, but it's actually 25 yards short of the green. The green slopes back to front.

The number one handicap hole is Number 8, a 477-yard par 4. On the left side of the fairway, a 15-foot-high rock outcropping stands between you and the green. Your tee shot has to carry 200 yards, or you'll have to sail one over the rock pile. If you have a clear second shot, pull out a middle iron for the green.

The 442-yard, par-4 Number 12 is a desert mirage. The hole doesn't appear to be uphill, but it is. And there, about 250 yards away and dead center in the fairway, lies a pot bunker. Pin placement on this hole's two tiered green determines which iron to use.

Number 13 leaves all the golfers talking after a round. A short 310-yard par 4, the challenge is the second shot. The smallish green has a slick false front and slopes severely from back to front. Unless you carry your second shot up to the flat area of the green, your ball will roll back 40 yards short of the green.

Number 18, a super long 494-yard par 4, features a beautiful panoramic view of the entire Greater Phoenix area wreathed by mountains.

When you're done enjoying the scenery, hit your tee shot down the middle to avoid fairway bunkers on both the left and right. About 150 yards from the green the ground severely drops off. Big tee hitters often get a generous roll here, but most humans land well before the drop. Water lies to the right and back side of the green. You have some acreage to play with behind the green, but go too far and you're wet.

After a round, golfers retire to the 8,000- square-foot clubhouse for a meal at the Verrado Grill or in the dining room on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights.

As if you needed another reason to visit this course, The Raven offers the Verrado Package, which includes green fees, unlimited golf, and two meals. Pricing varies from season to season.

GLENN SWAIN