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Stephen Szurlej

Trump National Doral: Blue Monster

4400 NW 87th Ave

Miami, FL 33178-2101

United States

Telephone

Primary: (305) 591-6634

Fax: (305) 591-6413

Toll Free: (800) 936-7259

View Website

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Overview

The linchpin of the famous four-course complex previously known as Doral Golf Resort, the Blue Monster had hosted a PGA Tour event annually from 1962 to 2016. The fearsome layout was designed by Dick Wilson in 1962 and set the template for the modern south Florida course with lakes galore, deep bunkers and greenpads elevated above the fairways for drainage and aerial target golf. Several questionable renovations in the 1990s and early 2000s moved it away from the original Wilson look, and the design was lost for a period of time. Always intended to be a course presenting shot-making demands for good players, the Blue Monster was given added bite by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner through the creation of new slopes and ridges on several holes and the excavation of new lakes on the par-3 15 and drivable par-4 16 to add more excitement to the finish. But they wisely left the legendary 18th nearly untouched. Why mess with history? The changes were completed shortly before the PGA Tour took the course out of its annual location.

About

Holes 18

Length 7590

Slope 146

Price $695

Facility Type Public

Designer Raymond Floyd/Jerry Pate/Greg Norman/(R) Gil Hanse

Awards

Ranking history:

100 Greatest Public: Ranked, 2003-'04, 2013-'14, 2017-'24.
Highest ranking: 56th, 2003-'04.

100 Greatest: Ranked for 22 years from 1969-'90.
Highest ranking: 77th, 1985-'86.

Best in State: Ranked 18th, 2015-'16. Ranked 24th, 2017-'20. Ranked 25th, 2013-'14. Ranked 27th, 2021-'24. Ranked 30th, 2025-'26.
Previous ranking: 27th.
2025-'26 ranking: 30th.

Panelists

Ratings from our panel of 1,900 course-ranking panelists

4.1

100 GREATEST/BEST IN STATE SCORES

Shot Options

6.9876

Character

6.8393

Challenge

7.3582

Layout Variety

6.9206

Fun

6.7229

Aesthetics

6.8302

Conditioning

7.0742

Reviews

1 / 10

Review

“Lots of Water and Bunkers."

2025

2 / 10

Review

“Unfortunately, the area had a lot of rain prior to our play. The course was wet in the bunker area is very beat up. That said the course still cracks a punch. Risk for wart only seen on the part 5's. Green complexes are solid. But in general, there is not a whole lot options on how to play this course. The character of this course is basically built on its previous history. 18-hole is fairly iconic. There are some other quality holes but again length off the TV which shots to the milligram are predetermined."

2025

3 / 10

Review

“You can play a distance that in comfortable, yet the approaches can be a tough task with pins tucked over traps. It’s a real test if you want one!"

2025

4 / 10

Review

“Trump National Doral Blue Monster is one of the more famous courses in South FL due to it being featured on the PGA Tour every year for decades. It looks and feels like a "classic" Florida course - mostly flat, lots of water threatening many holes, and typically very lush. The course is challenging, but fair and gives the player plenty of shot options on most holes. While the conditioning is usually quite green and lush, the fairways do not offer a lot of roll and are truly "firm and fast". Green complexes are fairly basic, reasonably well protected. But the bunkering is also fairly straight-forward and not very difficult to navigate. Overall a nice experience, on a very pretty course, with enough challenge to keep things interesting for most all players."

2025

5 / 10

Review

“Solid Florida designed course. Water, water everywhere. It was a fair test of golf not at tournament conditions, but wind and rough offered a challenging defense this day. The greens was particularly slow for this quality of a course. The rough around the greens especially was deep. Only shot option out of that rough was a bunker shot. The slow greens helped keep balls on the green due to no spin. The rough around the greens also prevented many balls from cascading down into bunkers, hazards or water. So the long rough was both a blessing and a curse. Generous fairways, two long par 3s playing over 200 yrds. Large greens. Don't go pin seeking. I had a lot of fun playing this course and it solidly sits in the top 30 in Florida. I"

2025

6 / 10

Review

“Solid Florida golf course. Well-maintained, and can be a real challenge from the back tees."

2025

7 / 10

Review

“The Blue Monster has a number of really exceptional Par 4 and 5 holes where the lakes and bunkers are positioned well for players to take on additional risk near the hazards and get rewarded. The greens are well oriented to receive the shots from the proper spots. A number of the inland holes do feel quite homogenous with tight fairways flanked by bunkers playing to large greens. The par 3's are a relative weak spot with 4 and 9 playing almost identically, and the 13th is a fairly monotonous long par 3. Overall Doral's hazards and large greens create a unique and challenging golf experience"

2025

8 / 10