The Buzz: It’s a hike to get to the Raven at Verrado, which is just about your last stop off Interstate 10 as you exit Phoenix en route to Los Angeles. Good thing this Tom Lehman-Jon Fought layout located in the small community of Buckeye is worth the drive. Lehman, the PGA Tour star, and Fought, a former Tour player who once won the U.S. Amateur, built a little linksgolf into this desert beauty on the front nine (keep the ball low) and everything that is Arizona (let ‘er fly) on the back side.
Most golfers always will remember the par-4 13th, which at 300 yards might seem drivable if not for the fact it’s straight up the hill at a 45-degree angle (very steep). But the reality is there’s a little bit of everything built into the Raven at Verrado despite the fact that the back nine is, arguably, better than the front. Then again, that’s the way golf should be as this wonderful property draped over the base of the White Tank Mountains and overlooking downtown Phoenix builds to a crescendo. The Raven at Verrado is the former testing grounds for Caterpillar, and golfers will need to bulldoze their way over the closing stretch to post a respectable number.
Either way – good score/bad score — the Verrado Grill provides the beverages and hospitality to satisfy all comers.