|
Trump
National Doral Miami, known as host to the PGA TOUR for over
50 yeafirs, and home to the World Golf Championships-Cadillac
Championship, joined The Trump Hotel Collection's portfolio of
spectacular five-star hotels when it was purchased by Donald
J. Trump in 2012.
Steeped in tradition,
the heart of Doral has long been the historic golf course called
the “Blue Monster.” Only Colonial Country Club in Texas
and Augusta National have hosted the PGA TOUR pros longer than
Doral's storied Blue Monster. Next year, in March of 2015, the
Cadillac Championship - a World Golf Championship - promises
to be even more spectacular as the resort celebrates its 53rd
anniversary.
The history of
Miami’s iconic golf resort started way back in 1959 when
Doris and Alfred Kaskel decided to build the Doral Hotel and
Country Club (named from a combination of their names) and opened
it in 1962, welcoming golfers to a new clubhouse and the Blue
Monster. That same year, the Kaskels hosted the Doral Open Invitational,
one of Florida's earliest PGA events, which also benefited the
American Cancer Society, and a grand tradition of annual PGA
tournaments on Doral’s Blue Monster was born. It was the
largest purse in Florida at the time at $50,000 and one of the
top purses on the PGA TOUR in 1962.
The tournament
was played from 1962 to 2006. Then, in 2007, the introduction
of the FedEx Cup caused a change in the PGA TOUR schedule. The
WGC-CA Championship, a World Golf Championship event cosponsored
by the PGA TOUR, moved from October to March and took the Doral
Open's spot on the schedule. This championship was renamed the
World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship in 2011.
Architect, Dick Wilson 1904-1965
 When
Alfred Kaskel hired Dick Wilson to design a championship-caliber
course at Doral in 1960, Wilson was one of the very best golf
course architects of the post-World War II era.
Born the son
of a contractor in 1904, Wilson grew up in Philadelphia where
he got an early taste of golf course construction as an assistant/water-boy
during the construction and re-designing of Merion Golf Club.
A fine athlete who attended the University of Vermont on a football
scholarship, he joined the design team of Bill Flynn and Howard
Toomey after college. Wilson became a construction superintendent
with Toomey and Flynn, and oversaw the implementation of Flynn's
re-design work at Shinnecock Hills in 1931. The Depression’s
impact on the golf course design business eventually forced Wilson
to take a job as a pro/greenskeeper at Delray Beach (Fla.) Country
Club.
Pete Dye, who
also has an appreciation of Dick Wilson's work said that his
father, "Pinky," spent quite a bit of time playing
golf with Wilson at Delray Beach Country Club in the 1930s. "After
the war, there was a need for golf courses," said Dye. "Dick
was a good player, and he made a strong golf course." A
subtle version of Wilson' work during this era can be found at
Seminole, where Wilson updated Ross's scratchy bunkers and gave
them a more - modern curvilinear form.
The Blue Monster's
par-4 18th is Wilson's most famous hole. The closer has always
required two perfect shots: a tee shot that avoids water on the
left and a bunker complex and trees on the right and then an
approach over water into a narrow green that slopes toward the
hazards. The Blue Monster’s 18th hole has long been known
as one of the toughest holes on the PGA TOUR.
Wilson often
relied upon elevating the putting surfaces. He did it at Bay
Hill in Orlando (1961) and even more so at Doral-Blue in Miami
(1962). In the absence of any native elevation change, this was
how he created both visibility and drainage. Also, he would usually
set the axis of the green diagonally 30 to 45 degrees, and then
place a sprawling bunker on the inside of the short angle.
The result was
instant strategy, with the front portion of the green open and
the back part accessible only to a strong, accurate shot. More
often than not Wilson's reliance upon the modern power game of
aerial golf was also evident in his large putting surfaces.
Wilson incorporated
the many man-made lakes at Doral for two reasons. Firstly, because
it made the course challenging, and secondly, and most importantly,
digging out lakes gave him the fill he needed for building up
his tees and greens.
Today, a generation
after his passing, Dick Wilson's designs rank among the country's
most recognizable for their spare, modernist style, and strategic
bunkering. It was a formula that typified the age.
The beautiful new clubhouse at Trump National Doral Miami sits
behind the 18th green of the Blue Monster.
Now,
more than five decades after his death at age 61 in 1965; Wilson
is back in the spotlight as the “newly redesigned”
Blue Monster re-opened in spring of 2014 after a major renovation
by world renowned golf course architect, Gil Hanse.
Donald J. Trump
bought the iconic golf resort, which was in bankruptcy, for $150
million on June 11, 2012. Work on the Blue Monster began on April
1, 2013, a few weeks after Tiger Woods won the 2013 WGC-Cadillac
Championship. Construction proceeded smoothly and the course
officially re-opened for play on Dec. 13, 2014.
When the PGA
TOUR arrived in March 2014 for the WGC-Cadillac Championship,
Winner - Patrick Reed and the other players found a longer, more
challenging layout that was much improved yet still very true
to the original Dick Wilson design and the fans also found it
to be better viewing with better lines of sight and massive mounding
and more access to the players and the holes they wanted to see.
Likewise, the Golden Palm, Red Tiger and Silver Fox courses will
all be brand new and spectacular.
Situated on nearly
800 acres in the heart of Miami, Florida, Trump National Doral
features five championship golf courses, including the legendary
Blue Monster. The golf resort also boasts 700 expansive guest
rooms & suites, designed by Ivanka Trump and world-renowned
architects WATG including newly redesigned Deluxe Villa Guestrooms,
Garden View Rooms and Golf View Rooms as well as the luxurious
Suites at The Spa at Trump National Doral.
The newly renovated
Miami Resort offerings also include more than 100,000 square
feet of indoor and outdoor spaces and luxurious ballrooms. The
resort’s new recreational amenities include new pools, fitness
facilities, golf practice facility, retail shops, indoor and
outdoor restaurants & bars, a full-service Spa and Salon
and an extensive children’s program.
Historically,
Doral has long been regarded as one of the most exceptional golf
resorts in the world and the completion of the ongoing $250 million
renovation signifies the Trump family’s continued commitment
to restoring and surpassing that reputation. “Right now,”
says Trump, “our focus is completing our vision for this
iconic property and making it the epicenter of Miami tourism
for many years to come.”
Trump National
Doral Miami is very much a sought after global golf destination
that world-travelers and residents alike can enjoy. If you’re
a serious Florida golfer, don’t worry, the legendary Blue
Monster is still open to the public for daily fee play just like
it’s been for the last 50-some years, and so are Trump National
Doral’s other four championship courses. But, if by chance
you also wish to vacation for a day or two, rest assured that
there is no finer golf resort in Florida than Trump National
Doral® Miami.
Pages 16 - 17 - Summer
2014 Florida Golf Magazine ©Copyright 2014, All Rights
Reserved.
Trump
Golf Commits to Environmental Certification by Audubon International
 The
Gary Player Villa at Trump National Doral Miami, Gary Player
& Trump Family Preside Over Grand Opening
Tiger Woods attends Opening of The Tiger
Woods Villa at Trump National Doral Miami
Trump National Doral’s Newly Re-imagined
Meeting & Event Space
Unveiling The “New” Blue Monster
at Trump National Doral Miami, by Joe Stine
|
