When it comes to memorable holes on the PGA Tour circuit, you'll be hard-pressed to find one more recognizable than the 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale.
The 160-yard par 3 holds approximately 20,000 fans and 300 skyboxes in its stadium-style layout and, come tournament week, it's the place to be if you are attending the WM Phoenix Open, with 'The Coliseum' providing a rowdy atmosphere.
Throughout its history, over 10 players have made an ace at the 16th in tournament play, with one of those being Tiger Woods in 1997. In fact, the hole-in-one from Woods showed what the 16th hole could be and, since that moment, the par 3 has featured a stadium construction round the outside.
Since the first staging of the event at TPC Scottsdale in 1987, the 16th has seen plenty of change and, consequently, the question arises of whether the stadium construction remains in place after the PGA Tour has left town.
Well, the simple is no, the stadium doesn't remain in place once the tournament has finished. The structure stays in place for around a week after the event before being taken down, a process that takes around two months to complete.
If you think two months is a long time, it's worth noting that the process to construct the stadium infrastructure takes even longer. For 2025, the tournament gets underway on the 6th February and, according to the tournament's website, construction started on the 3rd October 2024, 122 days before a tee shot will be struck.
Once the stadium is down, golfers will play the 16th hole as normal throughout the months of April to November, with individuals playing it in December to January whilst construction is going on.
Regarding who builds 'The Coliseum', there are a number of influences. The tournament is operated by 'The Thunderbirds', a charitable organization that was formed to distribute money raised through the WM Phoenix Open. What's more, because TPC Scottsdale is on federal land, it is managed by the Bureau of Reclamation, City of Scottsdale and also TPC Scottsdale.
Speaking to Golf.com back in February 2023, Executive Director of The Thunderbirds, Chance Crosby, explained that 'three Thunderbirds' members (are) assigned to that hole (16th).' There's a 'chairman, assistant and second assistant. Once you are named the second assistant you have two years to figure out how to make the 16th hole even better.'
For 2025, tournament organizers have confirmed that some changes will be made to the WM Phoenix Open, after several issues took place in 2024.
Among the changes are the site entrance being moved nearer to the 18th tee in a bid to ease traffic on the week's busier days. Along with the entrance, several walkways around the course have been expanded and 2025 will be the first year that the event has a fully digital ticketing format.
