The Champion-A Classic Vintage at PGA National

Play The Champion on a nice calm morning in January and you might not understand what makes this such a tough tournament course (it hosted the 1983 Ryder Cup, the 1987 PGA, the Senior PGA from 1982 through 2000, and now the Honda Classic).

The course looks like almost any Florida resort, winding around lakes and through aisles of homes and condos, with greens and fairways buffeted by lots of deep bunkers. The greens are perched up above fairway level and stands of pine and palm, though sparse, can act like wickets that aggressively reroute errant shots.

But in the afternoon, when Mother Nature hits the fans, everything changes. Toss in some lush bermuda rough, a dose of spring and summer humidity, a par dropped to 70 and a few classic choke holes to close out the round, and suddenly you’ve got one of the most demanding stroke play courses in the state.

Though they won’t make you forget where you are there are some nice design features here including the steep faces to Nicklaus’s bunkers and racy, angled putting surfaces that, by no means complicated, force you to get the ball on the right level for any hope of playing to your handicap.

The “Bear Trap” is almost laughably over-hyped from a marketing perspective but it can be devastating in the strong trade winds, and 18 is a good strategic par-5 where you can either press your luck or hedge your bets, whatever your nerves are up for.

The Champion, to me, is akin to a classic California cabernet, like the Beaulieu Georges de Latour reserves from the 1970’s, ‘80’s and 90’s, or the Beringer (Private) or Mondavi Reserves: classically structured, archetypes of the category with rarely any visible flaws. Maybe not quite as exciting or extracted as newer things, but it always delivers the goods. (89)

PGA National—The Champion Course

Palm Beach Gardens

Architect: Tom Fazio/renovated several times by Jack Nicklaus, most recently in 2018

Year: 1981