PGA NATIONAL RESORT (800-633-9150) the Haig Course
Florida Golf Course Review 7/17/07
PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens is a full service resort featuring a variety of accommodations with upscale
amenities, to compliment world class golf experiences that include 90 holes of championship golf along with
some of Florida's most comprehensive practice facilities. Resort features include a variety of fine and casual
dining opportunities (including Shula's Staekhouse), spacious meeting/conference rooms (35,000 square feet
total), multiple swimming pools and Jacuzzis, a 33,000 square foot health & racquet club (with 17 tennis courts
and spacious gymnasium with 2 separate aerobics rooms), a full service European-style spa (with 56 treatment
rooms, steam rooms & saunas plus the unique "Waters of the World" mineral baths),and more. Memberships
are available at this AAA 4-Diamond resort and golf club, and golf here is available for members and guests of
the resort only! For more info, visit our page for the resort, with direct link to their website by clicking here.
The Champion Course(home to the PGA Honda Classic), Squire, General and Haig courses are all on resort
property and are serviced by the same beautiful clubhouse, which includes a nicely stocked pro shop. There are
locker rooms with showers for men and women, and the 19th Hole, Bear Trap Bar & Grill, plus hall of fame
lounge are all accessible. Members also have the luxury of a private locker room with full time attendant. Practice
facilities include three driving ranges plus multiple short game areas and putting greens. The Golf Digest
Academy is also on property, providing a variety of lessons and clinics, and the PGA of America also calls this resort home.
The Estate Course (Bay Hill Estates) is located about 8 miles away, and features its own clubhouse with snack
bar and pro shop, plus beautiful practice facilities. All five courses have carts with rear weather protectors, and
coolers are also standard on the carts at the Estate Course. Guests playing any of the other four courses can fill
up with complimentary ice and water at the clubhouse station on resort property. Tees and towels are also
provided. On course yardage markers are positioned on the fairways and cart paths at 100, 150 and 200 yards,
with 150 stakes also present on all par fours and fives. Each tee box has yardages plates, and color coded flags
on the greens indicate the front, middle or back pin placements. Sprinkler heads on all courses (except the Estate Course) are also marked to the center of the green.
The Haig
The photos in this review are of the Haig, one of the four championship layouts on resort property and the original
course at PGA National. Named in honor of Walter Hagen and dedicated to him on March first 1980, the Haig
opens with a score-able par five with a large pond situated along the borders on the outside of the dogleg. This
provides an indication of things to come, as many holes are sculpted by water hazards. Some of the par fours
and fives play tightly between lines of trees, lakes and residential neighborhoods, but there is generally ample room off the tee.
The Haig is similar to the Estate, Squire and General courses, in that the green complexes are small in size,
gently raised and well bunkered. In total 57 soft white sand bunkers come into play greenside or along the
landing zones off the tee. Land in one of the high lipped fairway traps and recovery for par can be difficult. Water
affects the tee shots or approaches on 14 of the holes, though most of the hazards are situated on the perimeter.
Three sets of tees play to distances and slopes measuring 6806 yards/139 slope, 6335 yards/134 slope for men
and 143 for woman, and 5645 yards with a slope of 135 for ladies hitting from the forward tees. The course plays
fairly, rewarding good shots and penalizing bad ones. None of the courses at PGA National are easy and the
Haig is no exception, as the 134 slope from the white tees attests. For more info, visit our page for the course, with direct link to their website by clicking here.
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