PGA NATIONAL RESORT (800-633-9150) the Squire Review
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 Squire
The photos in this review are of the Squire, one of the four championship layouts on resort property - and what is
often considered to be the "members course". Designed by George and Tom Fazio, this layout plays to 6465
yards and features small raised greens that are often well protected by deep faced sand bunkers. There is water
and marsh everywhere along this layout, as every hole with the exception of the par five 5th (which has a natural
area along the left side) has water hazards in play in some shape or form. 57 soft white sand bunkers also dot the layout.
Golfers should be aware that the opening hole features a creek crossing about forty yards in front of the green -
this hazard is not altogether visible from the fairway. Although most of the fairways provide ample landing zones,
there are some tight driving holes with trees and residential properties lining the playing surfaces. The par threes
on this course are particularly beautiful, and there also are a number of doglegs that bend in either direction.
Three sets of tees play to distances and slopes measuring 6465 yards/139 slope, 6000 yards/131 slope for men
and 144 for women, and 4975 yards with a slope of 121 for ladies hitting from the forward tees. The slope
ratings are quite high for a course of this length. Players will have to have a smart plan of attack to score well
here - as driver is not always the best choice off the tee, particularly on some of the tricky doglegs. It is a
challenge as well, to finish the round with the ball you began with! For more info, visit our page for the course, with direct link to their website by clicking here.
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