The scoring is the hardest part at TPC Scottsdale’s scorecard-busting 11th hole. An in-depth analysis.
The numbers don’t lie. The par-4 11th at TPC Scottsdale is perennially ranked as the toughest scoring hole during the WM Phoenix Open. Defending champion Nick Taylor birdied it twice last year, but even he declares it to be “the hardest hole on the course.”
Why? First, players must deal with the cacophony of noise blaring from the adjacent 16th hole and the very busy fan intersection nearby, all of which make it a tad hard to concentrate. “There’s a few tees that can be chaotic with everyone walking around, but that one is probably No. 1,” Taylor says.
As Scottsdale-based course architect Phil Smith points out, there’s also the “double whammy of the lake on the left cutting into the fairway and the contours of that fairway running away from you toward the lake.”
Course architect Tom Weiskopf (who created the layout with Jay Morrish) liked the slight dogleg right hole because it required players to shape their drives appropriately. “You have to learn how to play it, he would say,” Smith, who worked closely with the late Weiskopf, adds.
While last year’s rain-induced, soft fairway conditions decreased the number of tee shots that often find the water here when conditions are usually firmer and faster – the hole ranked a mere fourth hardest overall in 2024, behind holes 7, 12 and 2 – it remains a daunting hole that can make or break a round.
LONE TREE
Aiming point for many tee shots. Just stay at it or to the right of it.
LANDING AREA
Better be right down the middle. Shots too far left will roll right into a watery grave. Too far right and balls end up amongst trees and mesquite bushes.
HOLE LOCATION
Left side of the green is the danger zone, bringing bunkers and water into play. The right side is the go zone on approach shots.
GREEN
Not heavily contoured, but things get especially quick for putts from the middle of the green toward the water.
SCORE
“If you’re making a four there, you’re going to gain ground, most likely,” Taylor says.
