Photos: The Match course offers something new at PGA National in Florida

PGA National Resort is best known for its difficult The Champion course, home of the PGA Tour’s Honda Classic and the oft-mentioned Bear Trap. That layout is water water everywhere, with enough length and hard shots to make it one of the toughest tests the pros face each year.

Three other layouts at the resort – The Palmer, The Fazio and The Estate – offer similar, traditional Florida golf experiences, if not as difficult as The Champion course.

Andy Staples decided to flip the script with a different kind of golf at PGA National. The architect wanted guests and members to have an alternative that he says is more fun and plays faster, offering a chance for regular players to enjoy reasonable challenges in a format that de-emphasizes traditional stroke-play scoring.

With Friday’s opening of his 18-hole The Match course, Staples got his wish.

It’s a completely different approach to golf, as far from what is frequently dubbed “championship test” as might be found anywhere. Staples took the former 18-hole Squire course at the resort and reimagined it, turning several playing corridors into the nine-hole Staple par-3 course that opened in July, then using much of the rest to build the new Match course.

Gone are tee markers. Gone are traditional par values. And if all goes to Staples’ plan, gone is stroke play.

In their place are runway tees that can be played from a huge variety of distances – The Match can play anywhere from 3,447 yards long up to 5,841. Instead of trying to post a number, golfers are encouraged to compete in a variety of match play formats. The winner—or sometimes the loser, depending on the chosen format—of the previous hole picks the spot from where all players in the group will tee off on the next hole.

That choice can make a huge difference in playing experience. For example, the first hole can play anywhere from 261 to 427 yards. That in itself isn’t much different than a traditional par 4 that might play 261 yards from the forward tee all the way back to 400-plus off the tips. But in this setting, all players in a group are encouraged to play from the same spot or with a designated and marginal yardage difference on each hole. For man, woman, good players or novices, the handicap strokes allotted make all the difference instead of distance.

The options and strategy on how to pick a teeing spot are vast, with the beginning and end of each tee demarcated by wooden posts that mimic boating channel markers. Straight but short hitters might want to play it forward, while long hitters might force their opponents farther back on some holes. On several other holes, it might be in the long hitter’s favor to play the hole as short as possible, providing an attempt to drive a green on what might normally be considered a shortish par 4. It’s kind of like a game of horse in basketball, and there’s a lot of interest involved – plus the occasional side-eye from opponents waiting to hear where they will be teeing it up.

The tee markers for The Match course are designed to mimic boating channel markers, with the hole number in the red triangle and the range of playing distances below in green, Photo by Jason Lusk/Golfweek

It’s not the first course to focus on match play – architect Gil Hanse’s Ohoopee Match Club that opened in 2018 in Georgia has a similar ethos, for example, and that private layout has leapt to No. 8 on Golfweek’s Best Modern Courses list for tracks built in or after 1960 in the U.S. But PGA National’s version is a prominent opportunity for public-access golfers to experience what Staples hopes will be a very different approach to golf.

Those players also will experience thought-provoking and fun greens, many of which were constructed to mimic classic architectural templates, the types of design features that make golf architecture buffs swoon. For example, a Biarritz green caps things off at No. 18, with a deep gully bisecting two distinct sections of the putting surface. Another historical template is obvious at No. 2, which features what appears to be a giant thumbprint in the middle front of the putting surface – if the hole is cut within the thumbprint, any player landing an approach within the ridges is guaranteed a great putt at birdie.

The green on No. 18 of The Match, what would traditionally be considered a par 3, is bisected by a huge gully. This templated design is called a Biarritz green. Photo by Evan Schiller/PGA National

“I am one that feels strongly that great architecture matters, and it can have a real effect on bringing people to the game and keep them there,” Staples wrote in prepared remarks that he was unable to deliver himself after being diagnosed with COVID-19 in the week leading up to the opening of the course.

“You’ll find some features on this course that you won’t find in your typical South Florida golf course,” he continued. “Each hole has been modeled after a playing strategy of some of the most famous golf hole templates from across the globe. … History has proven that these strategic concepts never get old.”

The second green of The Match course features what appears to be a giant thumbprint in the middle front, another classic template design. Photo by Evan Schiller/PGA National

So while there is much discussion about where to tee off, it’s the greens that elevate the best holes of the Match course.

“The greens are what will protect this course,” Staples wrote. “… Stay below the hole. I used the green design to ensure all levels of players will remain interested and engaged.”

It’s all an attempt to make something different and fun. Staples wrote that he wasn’t interested in making just another standard 18-hole course on the canvas that previously contained exactly that. It didn’t hurt that the Squire course was in need of renovation and was prone to becoming saturated after a heavy South Florida rainfall. Staples said there was almost no drainage built into the Squire, while the new Match course on the same property features more than 10 miles of drain pipes to promote firmer conditions.

“Most of us remember the old Squire course. A good golf course originally designed by George and Tom Fazio,” Staples wrote. “But we all know it was tired and past its useful life. It was in need of new greens, a new irrigation system and better turf. And the playability of the course was just not up to standards.”

The Match course by architect Andy Staples opened September 10 at PGA National Resort in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Photo by Evan Schiller/PGA National

Just as par-3 courses have sprung up at many top resorts to give players fun alternatives to traditional 18-hole layouts, Staples hopes golfers will focus on a new-to-them type of experience and get in the spirit of match play, forgetting about whatever total score they might be shooting. There’s a place for players to challenge themselves on the resort’s Tour-level Champion course, and now there’s a place where players can cut loose.

“The golf industry has evolved since 1983 when the Squire was first built,” Staples wrote. “There’s a newfound focus on golfer experiences, a focus on time factor and a focus on fun. We’re also laser-focused on a reduction of resources, labor and water. My vision for The Match course was to address these changes in golf.

“Instead of difficulty, they want fun. Instead of five- to six-hour rounds, they want something in under four hours, and maybe even less than three. They want a course that makes them feel good about their game and being out in nature. And they want experiences with their family and friends and they want it over and over again.”