Trump National Doral Miami - Blue Monster Course

Let me qualify my experience at Trump National Doral by saying that I had the pleasure of playing with the owner. As you may imagine, golf with the "Big Boss" has it's advantages. The service was impressive and the golfers on the course ahead of us just "got out of the way." I learned later that everyone we played through got drinks on the house. Donald Trump is very proud of the New Blue. And he should be. Gil Hanse has done a fabulous job of taking a golf course that had one hole you would remember, preserving that 18th hole, and adding 17 more you will remember for a lifetime. The Old Blue was dated, faded, and somewhat boring. The New Blue is an instant classic. The work done here is not simply a new coat of paint. Hanse told me he cut down to the bones and rebuilt the all important parts of the course you can't see. Drainage and conditioning will be dramatically improved. As for the parts you can see, improvements are delightful. Significant elevation changes, large undulating greens, classic bunkering, and strategic design all come together to make this a visually interesting and very challenging golf course. We won't know how the scoring will play out for New Blue until there are couple of Cadillac Championships in the books. My intuition is that scoring will be more difficult than Old Blue but not dramatically so. While New Blue is longer, the greens are more generous and misses on the proper side provide an opportunity to save par. Wind will always be the biggest factor in scoring on this property.

Please note that I rated conditioning as 4 rather than 5. This is due to the fact that grow-in was not quite complete when I played. I think conditioning will be a bit of an issue for the 2014 Cadillac Championship. The greens will likely be inconsistent in speed and firmness. And a few fairways on the back nine are not 100% covered. Apparently, not even Donald Trump can make grass grow quicker. But getting this course to where it is in the short time available is nothing short of miraculous. And long term, conditioning will be outstanding.

When all construction is complete, Trump National Doral will be a true golf destination resort. Serious golfers will appreciate the thought and effort that has gone in to revitalizing this iconic property. Certainly Donald Trump is a divisive character that has more than his fair share of detractors. But even his harshest critics will have to admit that what he has accomplished here is very impressive. Mark my words. Before all is said and done, Donald Trump will be known and respected as a "golf guy." After spending a day with him at Trump National Doral his love of the game is evident.

This course is definitely iconic and outstanding!

Big wide fairways beautiful landscape pretty manicured bunkers. Greens were in great shape. Little slow greens for a club championship but I guess 47 wasn’t playing.

It was best to see the stands start going up for The PGATOUR coming. Was it worth $600 not really especially after coming from Scotland and playing those Trump courses.

I was in Miami and played as a 'bucket list' course. At the end of the day, it's in the middle of Miami, next to the airport and has the layout you'd expect.

Flat. Limited, if any, interesting elements (dog legs, blind shots, hills etc). The bunkers are described as deep but they're nothing unusual. The water is on a lot of tees and sometimes hidden off the tee, but not particularly interesting visually (no fauna to decorate it etc). Pace is horrendous - 6 hours. It was cart path only which are only on one side of a whole meaning a trek for clubs.

Greens in excellent condition and run true. Staff were OK, but slow, put my clubs on the wrong cart, no welcome.

This is the most expensive course I've ever played by a long way - not worth it unless you want to be able to say you've been.

For $600+ you’d expect much better conditions. The pace of play was criminal, especially because there were caddies leading these slow groups around the course. I wouldn’t play here again if it was half the price.

My son and I played the blue monster for the first time. He’s nine years old. We had a wonderful time. He played from the reds and I played from the whites. It’s definitely a long course. Very difficult greens. Lots of subtle break. Awesome course.

Love Trump National, have played all 4 courses on this property now! But very disappointed in value for what you get on the Blue Monster! I think the other courses at Trump National are a great value, but I probably not play this course again for the price, $800 before 2pm, and $500 after 2pm, course was nice but not worth the money, I only paid this price because I wanted to have played all 4. Golden Palm, Red Tiger, Silver Fox all worth the price, but unfortunately not for Blue Monster, you get just as good of an experience if you choose to play the one of the other courses

You’re paying for the name. $700 total after fore caddie fees and the tip (which are mandatory at $30 even for underperformance as my very unenthusiastic, and lethargic fore caddie pointed out). It’s gorgeous but it’s not worth the price nor the prestige it thinks it deserves. Three other courses here are still over priced but in just as good, if not better, shape for half of what you pay (or more) for the Blue Fraudster. Disappointed to say the least.

Very windy day on a great golf course. We played 36 that day. Guys we were with wanted to buy Blue Monster gear but they close the Blue Monster pro shop at 4????? Seems silly to have it separate from one of the best pro shops ever. Huge selection and square footage. Should have built the Blue Monster shop connecting to main pro shop. Course was great. We played in 4 hours. Perfect