PGA West -TPC Stadium Course

The Stadium course is a must play because of the history of it, and Pete Dye's design features, and the pure difficulty, but don't expect to score well. It's very challenging, you really need to play it several times just to get the routing straight for your game. Visually intimidating, it encourages you to try to pull off shots you don't generally get, and it's a little pricey. They really should have a GPS system here, if they don't have them when you play, be sure to buy a yardage book or play with someone who knows the course. The conditions were a bit disappointing when we played, and the pace of play over five hours, and the course kicked my butt, but I was able to check this one off my bucket list!. From the tournament tees it's 7300 yards and 150 slope...every bit of it. The fairways and greens are in good shape, have heard there are some issues with poor conditions though. In the winter, the fairways are bordered by dormant yellowish rough for a nice contrast. The greens are fast and hard, and didn't hold the ball well. There's a lot of mounding, large mounding that was done with the design and you can end up with some awkward lies, and also sort of confound you visually on your drives and approach shots. Even though it's not a desert target course in the design, it really plays like that, you need to plot your way around the course to be able to score well. There's plenty of sand and water through, just a lot of trouble, and the course will flat beat you up relentlessly. You'll see Dye's trademark railroad ties, pot bunkers, and island green, and you'll understand after the round why they don't play tournament golf here!