MIAMI - Suppose you had one of the more famous and historic golf resorts in the country with an impressive and intriguing history and tradition, which seems to rise magically from the Florida swamps. Include a killer nickname, “The Blue Monster”, and a four-decade association with the PGA Tour.
But to keep their spot among the lead pack in an ever-competitive resort business, the owners of the Doral Resort knew they needed to take immediate action to keep their fabled golf property from relying on its past glory.
The plan was an overall multi-million dollar renovation, the recruitment of golf industry expert Marriott Golf to run the five-course golf property and bringing back golf legend Greg Norman to add some finishing touches to his Great White Course originally built in 2000.
The results have been buffo by just about any measure used as the 2005 Doral PGA Tour tournament, the Ford Championship, was one of the most memorable of the year with a back-nine Tiger Woods-Phil Mickelson duel won by Woods.
As part of the restructuring of the 2007 PGA Tour schedule, Doral will now play host to a World Golf Championship event, exposing more world class golfers to the legendary South Florida lure and mystic.
“We feel very honored and excited to be part of historic properties like Doral and to help make it even better than ever before,” said Marriott VP of Golf Operations Claye Atcheson.
What they didn't expect was a fall 2005 hurricane which passed almost directly over the property, taking out 3,000 trees, several hundred on the Blue Course alone, and a multi-million dollar insurance bill.
But with all the storied resort has been through in 45-plus years, a hurricane, a new golf management company and a future world golf championship event, were only the latest milestones in a full and choice history.
New York real estate developer Al Kaskel came to Miami in the late 1950s looking for a good land property to purchase, but what he found was an uninhabited swamp just 15 minutes from the Miami airport.
But working with Florida golf architect Dick Wilson and possessing more imagination than anyone else on the Florida South Coast, he designed his own championship course which he began in 1959 and opened two years later. The PGA Tour followed in 1962 and has stayed ever since.The matter of creating one of the more recognizable names in golf was an easy one. Kaskel simply combined the first names of his wife Doris and himself to fashion Doral Golf and Country Club.
Today, it's known as the Doral Golf Resort and
Spa with the Marriott touches improving each course over a multi-year, $10 million dollar renovation project.
While Miami resident and PGA Tour golf legend Raymond Floyd did some renovations on the Blue Course in the 1990s, Wilson's original masterpiece has endured through the decades.
It has been played by almost every famous golfer ever to lace up his spikes in the latter half of the 20th Century and the winners list at the Doral PGA Tour event reads like its own section of the World Golf Hall of Fame; Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino, Ben Crenshaw, Steve Elkington along with Floyd, Norman and
now Woods.
While there are four other courses on the 640-acre resort, including Norman's White, the Gold by Floyd, Silver by Jerry Pate and often overlooked Red layout, the Blue is still listed as being the overwhelming favorite of resort guests and visitors world wide.
The nickname “Blue Monster” may be a bit of a misnomer, as there are doubtless tougher and more sprawling courses elsewhere than this one with a 130 slope rating from the back tees at 7,288 yards and par 72. But what makes this one so tough and memorable is the combination of challenges.
There are the long, narrow fairways with seven of the par 4s over 400 yards from the back tees, the deep, tangled Bermuda rough, hundreds of trees (at least before the hurricane and the insurance-financed replacement) undulating greens, and dozens of bunkers and water hazards. In fact, the blue in the Blue Monster could stand for the water which comes into play on 14 of the 18 holes.
The par 4 18th remains one of the most famous, non-ocean finishing holes in the U.S. The dogleg left design forces golfers to face the water once, if not twice on fairway shots. The signature fountain in the huge lake and the palm trees have been copied nationwide (See Texas' twin Tour 18 layouts for an example).
You can be cruising along with a fine score on the Blue layout until the water, rough or trees, sometimes a combination of three, will trip you up and send your score into unwanted directions.
If the courses overwhelm your game, there's always top 5 national teacher Jim McLain, who moved his teaching headquarters to Doral in 1991 and now offers anything from video analysis to group lessons or private one-on-one tutoring. McLean has been featured on the cover of Golf Digest more than any other teacher over the last five years.
If the hard work on the course or on the practice range is a bit much for you, one of the nicest new additions at Doral is a newly constructed three-story spa. Anyplace where you stroll past a babbling fountain and up a series of marble staircases to your spa treatment, has got to be pretty nice, and Doral certainly doesn't disappoint. The 80-minute Blue Monster massage is perfect for taking out any on-course soreness or for limbering you up for your next golfing challenge.
When you finish your treatment, you saunter back to your courseside room, wearing shorts and a golf shirt at any time of year (this is the 70-80 degree Florida tropics year around) and decide where to spend your evening entertainment.
South Beach is probably 20-30 minutes away, the original Joe's Stone Crabs is nearby and Shula's Steakhouse is still undefeated as a local favorite. All in all, Al Kaskel's swampy South Florida vision has turned out very good indeed. You're not likely to find Miami Heart big man Shaq on Doral links, but All-Star teammate Dwayne Wade is a nearby resident and can be found on the Blue Monster during his off-season. The Miami Beach “beautiful people” are nearby as well.
Marriott's future and Doral's past seem like a winning combination as one of the most interesting and historic golf courses seems poised for another interesting 21st Century run.
KNOW BEFORE YOU GO
Doral Golf Resort and Spa
Location: Miami, Florida in a busy city airport business district.
Getting There: Lots of nonstop flights from all major cities in Texas. The resort is just 15 minutes from the airport and a good cab driver can get you there without getting on the freeway.
Weather: Warm in the 70-80 degree range almost all of the time. Rain in the afternoon a strong possibility with humidity most of the time, but good golfing climate.
Attractions: 5 resort golf courses, three-story spa, huge resort lodging, tennis and dining.
Best non-golf activity: An after dinner taxi ride to nearby South Beach is a must for the younger set. A daytime trip to the historic Orange Bowl is big for sports fans.
Best Nearby Golf: Miami Lakes public course owned by Don Shula, Crandon Park public layout big on historical value.
More Information:
800-9-DORAL-9
www.doralgolf.com
www.doralresort.com
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