Tag: Florida Swing

Where might we see Tiger Woods play next? Here’s his career history during the Florida Swing

Tiger Woods said he’d like to play once a month — where will he play in March?

Tiger Woods made his first PGA Tour start since the 2023 Masters at last week’s Genesis Invitational, the site of his first career Tour appearance. However, he was forced to withdraw during the second round due to illness.

At the Hero World Challenge, Woods set a goal to play once a month this season. That got us thinking, if he is going to tee it up in March before he heads to Augusta, Georgia, for the year’s first major, what is the most likely spot we see him play next?

The first four events in March take place in Florida, starting with the Cognizant Classic — formally known as the Honda Classic.

Here’s a look at the Tour’s Florida Swing and Woods’ history at each event.

Check the yardage book: PGA National’s Champion Course for the 2023 Honda Classic on the PGA Tour

StrackaLine offers hole-by-hole maps for PGA National’s Champion Course, site of the 2023 Honda Classic on the PGA Tour.

The Champion Course at PGA National – site of the PGA Tour’s Honda Classic this week – was designed by the team of Tom Fazio and George Fazio and opened in 1981, and has been renovated by Jack Nicklaus over the past two decades.

Located in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, and home to a stretch of holes dubbed the Bear Trap – Nos. 15, 16 and 17 – the Champion has major history. It was host to the 1983 Ryder Cup, in which the United States beat Europe 14.5-13.5, and it hosted the 1987 PGA Championship won by Larry Nelson in a playoff over Lanny Wadkins. Now PGA National is the first stop on the PGA Tour’s annual Florida Swing.

The PGA Tour reported that this year’s event will show off a recent bunker renovation, with bunkers having been removed on Nos. 13 and 16, plus a “bunker reduction” on the closing two holes.

The Champion ranks No. 8 in Florida on Golfweek’s Best list of public-access courses in each state, and it’s No. 73 on the list of top resort courses in the U.S.

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The course will play to 7,125 yards with a par of 70 for the Honda Classic.

PGA National Resort is home to six courses, including two nontraditional layouts, and has recently undergone a $100 million renovation. The lineup of courses includes the new Match Course by Andy Staples, which features holes that can be played from a multitude of lengths with no set par, and the new nine-hole, par-3 Staple Course.

Thanks to yardage books provided by StrackaLine – the maker of detailed yardage books for thousands of courses around the world – we can see exactly the challenges the pros face this week at PGA National.

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Golfweek’s Best: Ranking the courses on the PGA Tour’s Florida Swing

How do PGA National, Bay Hill, TPC Sawgrass and Innisbrook stack up for the 2023 Florida Swing?

The PGA Tour moves into its Florida Swing with a month of resort golf courses that come complete with a Bear Trap, a Snake Pit, the home track of Arnold Palmer, the world’s most famous island green and plenty of water. Let’s get things started with a look at the courses on tap through March 19.

The Florida Swing starts this week with the Honda Classic at PGA National’s Champion Course, followed by the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, The Players Championship on the Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass, then the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort.

Golfweek’s Best employs more than 800 raters around the world to evaluate courses. They rate each course they play according to 10 prescribed criteria, then offer a final rating on a scale of 1 to 10. Those individual ratings are averaged to produce a final course rating, which then can be compared to other layouts. Keep scrolling to see how the courses of the Florida Swing rate.

Check the yardage book: TPC Sawgrass Players Stadium Course for the 2022 Players Championship

How long is the famed No. 17 at TPC Sawgrass? See that and all the rest of the holes for the Players Championship.

The Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass, site of this week’s Players Championship on the PGA Tour, was designed by Pete Dye – with help from his wife, Alice, most noticeably on the famed island-green, par-3 17th. It opened in 1980 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, and has been home to the Tour’s flagship tournament since 1982.

The Players Stadium Course ranks No. 1 in Florida on Golfweek’s Best Courses You Can Play list for public-access layouts. It also ties for No. 12 on Golfweek’s Best list for all public-access courses in the U.S., and it ties for No. 21 on Golfweek’s Best list of all modern courses opened in or after 1960 in the U.S.

The course will play to 7,256 yards with a par of 72 for the Players Championship.

Thanks to yardage books provided by StrackaLine – the maker of detailed yardage books for thousands of courses around the world – we can see exactly the challenges the pros face this week. Check out the maps of each hole below.

Check the yardage book: PGA National’s Champion Course for the Honda Classic

The Honda Classic kicks off the Florida Swing with water, water everywhere at PGA National.

PGA National’s Champion Course in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida – site of this week’s Honda Classic on the PGA Tour – originally was designed by the team of Tom Fazio and George Fazio and was renovated by Jack Nicklaus in 2014.

The Champion opened in 1981 and was home to the 1983 Ryder Cup, in which the U.S. beat Europe 14.5-13.5. It also hosted the 1987 PGA Championship, in which Larry Nelson beat Lanny Wadkins in a playoff. This week’s Honda Classic is the first stop on the Tour’s annual Florida Swing.

Nicklaus’ redesign includes a three-hole stretch dubbed the Bear Trap on Nos. 15, 16 and 17. Two watery par 3s with the wet stuff short and right, plus a par 4 over and around more water, typically demand bravado and supreme ballstriking as the tournament is decided.

The Champion Course ranks No. 10 in Florida on Golfweek’s Best Courses You Can Play list for public-access layouts. It also ties for No. 88 on Golfweek’s Best list for resort courses in the U.S.

PGA National Resort is home to 99 holes of golf in all and has recently undergone a $100 million renovation that includes the new Match Course by Andy Staples, which features holes that can be played from a multitude of lengths with no set par, and the new nine-hole, par-3 Staple Course.

The Champion Course will play to 7,125 yards with a par of 70 for the Honda Classic.

Thanks to yardage books provided by StrackaLine – the maker of detailed yardage books for thousands of courses around the world – we can see exactly the challenges the pros face this week. Check out the maps of each hole below.