PGA National Resort & Spa is a resort in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. It has five championship 18-hole golf courses, the most famous of which is "The Champion", which has hosted the Ryder Cup once, the PGA Championship once, and the Senior PGA Championship for 19 consecutive years between 1982 and 2000, but is currently best known as being the host of the PGA Tour's Honda Classic since 2007. It has been home to the Professional Golfers' Association of America since the resort's establishment, but the PGA has announced that it will move to new headquarters in Texas in summer 2022. The resort also includes 339 hotel rooms, nine restaurants and lounges, a 34,000-square-foot conference wing, a 40,000-square-foot spa, 33,000-square-foot health and racquet club with 19 tennis courts, a golf digest academy and a members club. It was sold by the developer, E. Llwyd Ecclestone Jr., to Walton Street Capital in 2006 for $170 million, before being sold again in 2018, to Brookfield Asset Management for $218m.
Courses
The Champion - The Champion course opened in 1981 on November 17. It was the site of the Ryder Cup in 1983, the PGA Championship in 1987, and the Senior PGA Championship for 19 years, from 1982–2000. The course underwent a $4 million renovation in December 2002 and became the home of The Honda Classic on the PGA Tour in 2007. The tough three hole stretch of the par-3 15th, par-4 16th, and par-3 17th holes is known as "The Bear Trap," named after Jack Nicklaus, who is nicknamed the Golden Bear and redesigned the course. The course will host the 2018 Governor Cup for the first time in its history.
The Fazio - Originally the Haig Course, named for golfing great Walter Hagen. It was the first course opened for play at PGA National Resort, on March 4, 1980, then was renovated and renamed The Fazio upon opening in November, 2012.
The Squire - The Squire is named after Gene Sarazen, the first golfer ever to win the professional Grand Slam. It opened on October 30, 1981.
The Palmer - The Palmer, named for golf legend and course designer Arnold Palmer, was the last of the original four courses built at PGA National, opening on February 28, 1984.
The Estates - The Estates originally opened in November 1984 as Stonewall Golf Club, and has been part of PGA National since August 28, 1988.
An earlier PGA National Golf Club was on the western side of the state at Dunedin, northwest of Tampa. Designed by noted architect Donald Ross it opened in 1927 as a municipal course. Acquired by the PGA of America in 1944, the course was renamed and hosted the for eighteen consecutive years. The PGA of America moved its national offices from Chicago to Dunedin in 1956, then sold its holdings in the course back to the city in 1962 and relocated to eastern Florida in 1965 at Palm Beach Gardens. Now the Dunedin Golf Club, the course was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2014.
