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Not anymore. With the City of Scottsdale funding the project, the TPC turned its short course back into desert and gained access to a little more of the surrounding Bureau of Reclamation land. Randy Heckenkemper was then brought in to design the new Champions Course. It was a fitting union, as Heckenkemper did the original Desert Course land plan for Morrish and Weiskopf. “It’s rare to have the opportunity to come back to a course 20 years later and try to improve on your work,” he says.

Improve he did, though. Now at more than 7,000 yards and with a design that is more challenging than its predecessor, the Champions Course is a true complement to the already admired Stadium Course. And while TPC Scottsdale general manager Bill Grove admits the new course will be reminiscent of the plot’s old inhabitant, he is quick to add that even your best memories of the Desert Course won’t be as good as any you’re likely to create on the Champions Course.