Has the Champion Course at the PGA National lost its allure? Golf enthusiasts are raising eyebrows and voicing their concerns after the PGA Tour’s recent swing through Florida. This part of the tour is notorious for its four consecutive events in the Eastern Time Zone, all of which are ranked among the top nine most challenging sites. The PGA National’s Champion Course, in particular, has been a formidable non-major venue on the tour for the past decade, with a score average of 71.41 (+1.41 to par). However, recent events suggest that this once-treacherous course has lost its bite, inciting complaints from both players and viewers.
The Champion Course, constructed by Tom and George Fazio in 1981 and redesigned by Jack Nicklaus in 2014, has long been a beacon of golfing excellence. Its glory days include hosting the 1987 PGA Championship and the 1983 Ryder Cup, and its stringent layout, featuring the legendary “Bear Trap” (15th, 16th, and 17th holes), has tested even the most seasoned golfers. Yet, recent changes to the course have sparked controversy.
In a bid to modernize, an additional acre of fairway grass was introduced in 2023, and the 10th hole was stretched by 20 yards to 550 in 2025. The result? An ostensibly less challenging course that has lost its unique edge. The “Bear Trap” now seems less formidable, and in a recent tournament, only 4 out of 72 players scored over par. This is a stark deviation from the course’s reputation as a demanding venue.
The golf community hasn’t held back in expressing its disappointment. Pro golfer Joel Dahmen took to Twitter to express his nostalgia for the old PGA National, reflecting a growing sentiment among players for a return to the challenging conditions that once defined the tournament. Dahmen’s tweet begs the question: Have the course administrators diluted the challenge to accommodate lower-scoring players?
The concerns extend beyond the players. Stakeholders and spectators alike are perturbed by the changes. Journalist Daniel Rapaport highlighted the severity of the situation, tweeting about the unusually low number of players scoring over par. Fans, too, are lamenting the loss of the tournament’s distinctive character, with one stating, “Championship Management at the tour completely ruined this event.”
The criticism doesn’t end there. Some worry about the broader implications for the PGA Tour, with one comment comparing the course’s transformation to the downgrade of a championship facility to a municipal course. Others question the impact on the competition itself, suggesting that the course now favors putting skills over a diverse skill set.
Daniel Berger, one of the tournament’s competitors, noticed the change in competitiveness, stating, “I thought I played well, but then someone shot 59. Clearly, the course was not the old Bear Trap that we’re used to. But still a great start to the event…”
As discussions continue, the future of the PGA National’s Champion Course hangs in the balance. All eyes are now on the golf community as they weigh the course’s rich history against the evolving landscape of the game.