PGA National Resort
Designed by Arnold Palmer
History
The story of PGA National begins not with a single course but with an entire complex, conceived in 1980 as the residential and competitive home of the PGA of America’s business operations in South Florida. The land in Palm Beach Gardens was set aside for something grander than a resort amenity — it was meant to serve as a proving ground, a place where the organization’s staff and touring professionals alike could find championship-caliber golf minutes from headquarters.
Arnold Palmer took on the design work for what became known as the Champion Course, bringing the same instincts that had shaped his playing career: a preference for risk rewarded and margins that punished carelessness. Palmer’s routing through the flat Florida terrain required him to build much of the course’s character rather than discover it, shaping the land itself to create a test worthy of the game’s best.
The course’s standing grew considerably in the years that followed. It played host to the PGA Championship in 1983, and beginning in 2007, the Champion Course became the permanent site of what is now known as The Cognizant Classic, a PGA Tour stop that has kept the property in the competitive rotation for decades. Along the way, the course underwent a significant renovation in 2014 under the direction of Jack Nicklaus and Bobby Weed, an update commissioned to modernize the layout while preserving Palmer’s original intent — a rare instance of one legend revising the work of another on the same piece of ground.
Playing Notes
Bring your best ball-striking and pack extra patience, because water shows up on more holes than not, and South Florida wind off the coast can turn a routine mid-iron into a guessing game by afternoon. This is a cart-based round — the layout sprawls across the resort property, and pace of play depends on how the group ahead handles the forced decisions on approach shots. Bunkers are deep and well-placed enough to make you think twice about bailing away from the water, so club selection and honest yardage matter more than raw distance off the tee. Greens run fast and firm, especially in dry stretches, so lag putting and controlling spin on approaches will save more strokes than an extra 20 yards on a drive. If you're prone to pressing when trouble is visible, expect that instinct to get tested repeatedly — the challenge here isn't hidden, it's right in front of you on nearly every hole, and the course simply asks you to execute anyway.