Florida Golf Courses - PGA National Resort and Spa

Originally designed in 1975 by George Fazio and his nephew Tom, this private course is a "must play" for any golfer staying in the Palm Beaches. Over the summer of 2007, the club completely rebuilt all eighteen greens and converted them to state-of-the-art TifEagle turf grass, thus providing players with far superior putting surfaces than ever before. Additionally, as part of the renovation, every bunker on the course was rebuilt, and all tees were laser-leveled.

Set on 135 acres, the layout features over 2000 trees, and numerous water hazards. With so many trees, you'll find the experience here to be more reminiscent of golf in the Carolinas than South Florida. Located just west of the Florida Turnpike between Hood and Donald Ross Road, Eastpointe is accessible from local area hotels.

PGA National’s Champion Course has generous landing areas and spacious and accepting greens, with golfers presented with course management challenges presented by over 100 bunkers, and water on 16 holes.

The famed Champion Course is home to the daunting "Bear Trap" - a series of three holes, starting with No. 15. During the 2008 Honda Classic the "Bear Trap" netted an astounding 356 over par, compared with 254 over par in 2007.

The combined scores from holes 15, 16, and 17 have shown that the "Bear Trap" offers professional golfers the toughest three-hole stretch anywhere in the world.

The Champion completed a multi-million dollar renovation in 2002, a partial re-design in 2006 and further renovations in 2007. In each case, the renovation took place in conjunction with Jack Nicklaus and his famed Nicklaus Design Team.

The Champion Golf Course has a distinguished place in Major Championship history. It was the site of the 1983 Ryder Cup Matches; the 1987 PGA Championship; the 1982-2000 PGA Seniors' Championships; and is now home to the PGA Tour's Honda Classic.

Originally the Stonewall Golf Club, the Estates course was purchased by PGA National in 1988.

The PGA National Estates Course offers an enjoyable mix of challenging and docile holes. This second-shortest course at PGA National Resort and Spa tests golfers with formidable placement of fairway bunkers and water hazards. Generous fairways will often make stray tee shots more manageable, and the large, inviting greens help keep the course fun for the high handicapper. Long, accurate tee shots are required on several holes, in order to more easily negotiate hazards in front of the greens.

Located 5 miles west of the main facility, the Estates Course is nestled in a small, peaceful community, creating a more relaxing experience. The residential homes along the golf course are set further back, contributing to the overall open feel of the course.

The Florida pines, subtropical foliage, and beautiful lakes that blanket the course create a wildlife haven throughout the 18 holes.

The PGA of America uses the Estates Course as the primary site for their Club Professional Winter Tournament Program each year.

The PGA National Fazio Course opened Nov. 1, 2012. The Fazio is a reinvention of The Haig, PGA National’s original 18-hole course that opened in 1980. The Haig was designed by George and Tom Fazio in tribute to five-time PGA champion Walter Hagen, and its renovation is being led by third-generation designer Tom Fazio II, who emphasized modernizing the course layout. While the original par-72 routing remains intact, the renovation improves the classic golf architecture with modern advances, including:

• A 70% increase in total green surface to 2.5 acres, grassed with TifEagle on the greens and Celebration Bermuda grass on tees and fairways

• Reconfigured tee boxes and bunkers

• Player-friendly tees allowing the course to be played at 5,100 yards in accordance with the popular “Tee it Forward” initiative sponsored by the PGA and USGA

Fazio II himself believes his renovation “achieves that ideal balance where single-digit golfers will be fully challenged while higher handicaps will have a layout ideal for a day of enjoyable resort golf.”

The Palmer Course at PGA National Resort and Spa is the most forgiving for the "grip it and rip it" style of play. The open fairways and larger greens at this Palm Beach County golf resort course means that the golfer is not overly penalized for missing the fairway or primary rough.

The design is reminiscent of the Scottish links tradition. Undulating fairways, grass bunkers and a double green shared by the 8th and 12th holes recall golf’s old world heritage.

In conjunction with the Arnold Palmer Golf Design Group the popular course underwent significant renovations in 2007. These included a new greenside irrigation system, ensuring the success of the course’s new state-of-the-art grass, Champion Turf Bermuda; re-designed native landscaping; re-shaped and re-built holes and bunkers; and all new laser-levelled tee locations featuring a minimum of four tees per hole.

The Palmer Course has a great series of finishing holes - with the 18th hole being one of the most difficult and picturesque par 5s on the property.

The Squire is the shortest and the most exacting of the courses at PGA National Resort and Spa. Course designer Tom Fazio referred to the Squire as "the thinking man's course." The golfer is required to test his or her accuracy with fairway woods and long irons from many tees - and the smaller greens demand precise iron shots. In addition, the Squire has several doglegs to test the longer hitter's control.

The Squire is designed with a links style, and enjoys more natural areas than the Haig, the Palmer, and the Champion. Teeming with native vegetation, these areas attract an abundance of wildlife. The 5th hole runs along part of the wilderness reserve, which borders the west side of the PGA National community.

The Squire is named after the immortal Gene Sarazen. Nicknamed "The Squire," he was a true competitor who became the first person to win the professional "Grand Slam" - the U.S. Open, British Open, PGA Championship, and the Masters. His actions on and off the course were always exemplary, and he stands today as a credit to all who have enjoyed the game.