ShotLink: The ins and outs of PGA National Champion course

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Par is always a good score at the 479-yard par-4 6th hole at PGA National.

Mar. 1, 2011

The Honda Classic is one of the most stern tests on TOUR, thanks to the PGA National Champion course.

Toughest Courses on TOUR (Non-Majors)

Rank	Course	Par	Yds	Avg	Over par	Tournament Name
1	PGA National	70	7158	71.64	1.64	The Honda Classic
2	Aronimink Golf Club	70	7237	71.218	1.218	AT&T National
3	Montreux G&CC	72	7472	73.026	1.026	Reno-Tahoe Open
4	Quail Hollow Club	72	7469	72.918	0.918	Wells Fargo Championship
5	Bay Hill Club & Lodge	72	7353	72.892	0.892	Arnold Palmer Invitational

The George and Tom Fazio-designed course (later redesigned by Jack Nicklaus) has an abundance of sand and water, and when the wind blows even wedge shots turn unpredictable:

Courses with the lowest birdie or better percentage inside 125 yards

Rank	Course	Pct.
1	PGA National	17.3
2	Montreux G&CC	17.57
3	Bay Hill Club & Lodge	18.1
4	Firestone CC (SC)	18.85
5	Aronimink Golf Club	19.41

Hitting fairways is a start to playing PGA National well, but by no means a guarantee for success:

Courses with the lowest birdie or better percentage from the fairway

Rank	Course	Pct.
1	Innisbrook Resort	16.4
2	PGA National	17.22
3	Ridgewood Country Club	18.26
4	Aronimink Golf Club	18.51
5	Firestone CC (SC)	19.02

Par is always a good score on the par-4 sixth and par-3 15th, again especially if the winds are up:

Toughest holes on TOUR (non-majors)

Rank	Course	Hole	Par	Yds	Avg. over par
1	Torrey Pines (South Course)	12	4	504	0.405
2	PGA National Champion Course	6	4	479	0.387
3	TPC San Antonio	1	4	454	0.376
4	Palm GC	18	4	454	0.375
5	PGA National Champion Course	15	3	179	0.364

The signature stretch is the "Bear Trap" of the 15th, 16th and 17th holes, and the name is well earned:

Toughest 3-hole stretch on TOUR (non-majors, any 3 holes)

Holes	Course	Total RTP
16,17,18	Quail Hollow Club	+1.009
15,16,17	PGA National	+0.803
14,15,16	PGA National	+0.722
8,9,10	Pebble Beach Golf Links	+0.662
6,7,8	Montreux G&CC	+0.647

The 604-yard par-5 finishing hole is a risk/reward par-5 ... with an added emphasis on the "risk":

Par 5's with the lowest birdie or better percentage when going for the green

Rank	Course	Hole	Yardage	Pct.
1	PGA National	18	604	22.22
2	PGA West (PC)	14	569	25
3	TPC San Antonio	8	604	29.41
4	Ridgewood CC	3	588	32.81
5	CordeValle Golf Club	12	605	33.33