The Raptor Course is one of two golf courses home to Grayhawk Golf Club in Arizona, playing at over 7,100 yards from the back tee, it is the longest of the two. The front nine of the Raptor golf course has no water hazards and is surrounded by the typical desert landscape of Arizona which is unusual for a Tom Fazio design. Fazio has become famous in part for the beauty of the water features on his golf courses, but the Raptor has a definite lack of these features. Bunkers are the main theme of this track, with over 35 traps on the front side alone.

There are a great variety of holes on the Raptor that will keep the player interested in the game. A perfect example of this is the long par-4 3rd hole. This golf hole measures 460 yards and requires an accurate tee shot to find the fairway. It is better to miss the ball to the left as the right side is guarded by a large bunker and desert area.

Once in the fairway, you will be faced will a long to mid iron into a green that sits away from the golfer. It is very easy to miss this green long, as many shots will not have spin to hold the green. During the summer months this hole can be especially tricky with harder playing surfaces. When I played the Raptor in mid-August, the greens on the golf course were very smooth, but a little slower than normal due to the hot weather.

Tom Fazio has designed these greens with many slopes and undulations. This is particularly noticeable around the sides of the greens. There are numerous collection areas that will capture balls that are hit to the sides of the greens. In a sense, many of the greens are "crowned". This puts a further premium on accuracy into the greens.

Heading to the back nine the player gets the first glimpse of a water hazard on the golf course. With nine holes to warm up on, this shot should not be very hard. The 10th hole is relatively short and can be played with a fairway club off the tee to keep the ball in play. There is a lake on the right side of the tee, but only the worst shots will find this water hazard.

The real troubles start on the second shot. There is a small creek that runs the length of the hole and cuts between the fairway and green. The second shot is forced to carry this small creek. Aim to the right side of this green with your short iron and you should leave this hole with a par.

Overall this is a very fun golf course to play. Tom Fazio has created a golf course that can be played by golfers of all skill levels. When the Fry's Electronics Open comes to this golf course in October of 2007, the Grayhawk Raptor Course will be left with little defenses against the best players in the world.

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