Raven Golf Club – Phoenix

Raven Golf Club – Phoenix (formerly the Raven at South Mountain) is one of the most unique golf courses you’ll ever play in the desert because it’s not a desert course at all. It’s fertile farmland. When it was constructed in 1995, some 6,000 Georgia pine trees were brought in and over 700,000 cubic feet of soil was moved to create this non-traditional escape from the more typical desert-style courses found throughout the city. Raven was designed by Gary Panks and David Graham, who like the land so much, they came back with plans for The Legacy Golf Club right across the street four years later.

When you play the Raven and it’s pine tree-lined fairways, you might think you’re somewhere in northern Arizona or Colorado. The only difference is the temperature. Adding to the unique atmosphere, the course features plush, rolling fairways and subtle elevation changes enhanced by well-placed sand and grass bunkers. The bermuda greens are large and multi-tiered, and to complete the experience, many of the holes play toward the rugged desert vistas of South Mountain or the Phoenix cityscape. There is a first-class, grass practice facility with a short game area, a bunker, and a large practice putting green. It’s usually in great shape, and in my previous life, there were days when I would practice putting here on my lunch hour.

There are five sets of tees to challenge golfers of all skill levels. The course plays 7,078 yards from the Raven Tees to a Par of 72, a course rating of 73.2, and a slope of 132. Here are some of the highlights of the round:

Holes Worth Writing Home About
My favorite hole on the front nine was easily the 324-yard Par 4 5th. I love a potentially driveable Par 4. It’s great for golfers of all abilities because everyone thinks they have an easier shot at birdie. The hole is a slight dogleg right, and a poorly played tee shot will find one of several bunkers. The greenside bunkers are deep and will require an exacting shot to an elevated pin placement.

On the back nine, I think No. 13 takes the cake. It’s just 386 yards. On this hole, it’s the tees that are elevated, and your approach shot will come from a landing area above the green. It’s a pretty straight shot. But if you happen to push your tee shot, the crushed, black volcanic rock lining the fairway should funnel the ball back into the rough. If you have to hit it out of this gravel, you’re going to scuff your club. It’s jagged. If you blow it way right into the driving range, you still have a shot because the range isn’t Out of Bounds.

Quiet Please…
It’s too bad the Raven punched their greens when they did. Because they aerated the greens in the last few weeks, they were still sandy, bumpy, and slow. I think in another week or two, they will be back to their usually spectacular selves.

It’s been said that life is all about timing and location. For whatever reason, the Raven doesn’t enjoy the same unlimited watering rights as its across-the-street neighbor. Talk about a luxury in the desert! Even so, they do a great job out here. The fairways are lush and green.

Fore!
The shot of day actually came off the driver of one of my fellow competitors. My 2nd semester classmate Greg Newland hit his drive on the 477-yard Par 4 3rd hole over 350 yards! Granted, we were playing from the Silver Tees one tee up, but he smashed it. The hole was playing 459 yards, and Greg had just 108 yards in. That was a great shot.

While We’re Young
We were playing a tournament, but the round of golf we played was still incredibly slow. I had us teeing off at 8:00a and finishing around 12:45, almost five hours later. Two of the Par 5s are reachable in two, and then there’s the driveable 5th, which doesn’t help. I’ve played out here before in four hours or less, but I think 4:15 is more than a fair expectation.

Blogger’s Note:
My partner and I have advanced to the Championship of this semester’s Match Play Team Tournament. We won our match at Raven 2&1 and now face a couple of our 2nd Semester classmates with $300 going to the winning team! Our match will happen two weeks from today at Arizona State University’s Karsten Golf Course in Tempe.

Next On the Tee
I’m going to try to pick up at extra round at Karsten later this week in preparation for the Match Play Championship in two weeks. I believe the land for the Pete Dye design was donated to the school by PING owner Karsten Solheim. It’s rumored to be scheduled for demolition to make way for more student housing. If that’s the case, the Sun Devils would move their home course to Papago Golf Course in Phoenix. I’ll find out for sure.

If I can’t get on out there, I will be posting a review of next week’s Golf Academy tournament site: The Cattail Course at Whirlwind Golf Club, also designed by Gary Panks. It’s managed by Troon Golf and hosted a Nationwide Tour event for five years in the early 2000s. We’re playing a Stroke Play Championship out there on Monday. I believe it’s flighted.