The Champion Course at PGA National

The Champion Course at PGA National: Designed by Tom and George Fazio, the Champion course was originally dedicated to Jack Nicklaus, and subsequently redesigned by him. This is the most celebrated of the five 18-hole layouts here at PGA National. It's also home to the Honda Classic and the infamous "Bear Trap".

Like another high-profile PGA Tour venue on Florida's east coast (the Blue Monster at Doral), this wonderfully crafted layout may not at first glance look a menacing test of golf. Much of the terrain is relatively flat and there's not much to look at beyond the course perimeter except for houses, resort condos and holes from the resort's other courses. But don't be fooled by the layout's relaxed demeanour. Once you've fired your first tee-shot at the gently sloping downhill opener, the challenges and considerable charm of these immaculately groomed links quickly assert themselves.

Aside from its excellent conditioning and undoubted challenges, the real joy of the Champion Course lies in its wonderful interplay of gently rolling fairways, many small reed-lined lakes, excellent bunkering, and elegant stands of pines and prodigiously tall palms that break-up the layout's innate openness. By the time you reach the intimidating "Bear Trap" (the seriously water-protected par-3 15th, par-4 16th and par-3 17th) your game may already have been given a bit of a mauling.

If you get through the "Bear Trap" with scorecard relatively intact, beware the Champion's closing hole. This good-length par-5 is tightly flanked on the right by PGA National's largest lake; a threatening line of bunkers guards the hole's leftside ... a closing hole that provides a wonderfully scenic finale to a really testing and enjoyable golf course.

Stay&Play: luxury onsite accommodation is available at PGA National (see Where2Stay section below).