Most people like to save the best for last, at Golf Aficionado we love our desert! After spending our first day at PGA Golf Club playing the Ryder Course and Dye Course, we moved onto the final course, The Wanamaker. Designed by Tom Fazio, members at PGA Golf Club affectionately refer to the Wanamaker Course as “The Wannie.” Out of the three courses at PGA Golf Club, the Wanamaker is the alpha dog. Talking to several members at the club when they want a challenge, they head over to the Wannie. If PGA Golf Club was hosting a major tournament, there is no doubt the champion would be determined on the Wanamaker, appropriately named since The Wanamaker Trophy is presented annually to the winner of PGA Championship.
During the trip, we had the luxury of playing the Wannie twice, after playing all three courses, we ended up taking a vote to decide which course we would replay before heading home. It was a bit of a heated discussion, but in the end, we all wanted another go at the Wanamaker. Both rounds on the Wanamaker were a real test, full of highs and lows. I thought, playing a second time would make things so much easier, but that wasn’t the case. Have you ever heard the phrase, “ignorance is bliss”? Whatever knowledge we gained from the first round wasn’t rewarded; everyone in our group ended up scoring worse the 2nd time around.
Less to do about course knowledge, our poor scores the second time around can be directly attributed to our decision to tee it back. Our first round on the Wannie we played the standard tees at 6095 yards. Before our second round, I talked the group into moving back to the standard/tournament combo tee which plays at 6304 yards. Not a huge difference, right? Well, that’s what I thought! The extra yardage made a considerable difference, as everyone in the foursome shot well over their handicap, and everyone was several shots worse than the first round we played on the Wanamaker.
Course Overview
The Wanamaker has many traditional hole layouts, with a few that offer unique and challenging twists. The tee boxes and fairways are in ideal condition, leaving no room to have an excuse. The bunkers are massive, in perfect condition and plentiful (usually more than six per hole). The greens can have significant undulation and are very fast. Approach shots make you think every single time, and in many cases, the green has a significant drop off to the water. The higher handicappers in our foursome found it too long and tough, but as the only single digit index in the group, I can tell you this was a terrific and fair test of golf, making me use every club in my bag.
What’s unique about this course?
The Wanamaker stands out in Florida due to its significant undulation, where most courses in Florida resemble a pancake. The teeth of the course are the countless bunkers, many so steep that you can’t see the fairway in front of you. Most holes finish on elevated greens that often slope off demanding precise approach shots. By now you’re probably starting to realize why the higher handicap golfers in my group struggled the most this trip on the Wanamaker.
The Best Holes #6, #7, #14 and #18
#6: The most memorable par 3 of all three golf courses at PGA Golf Club. The tee shot is a good 50 feet higher in elevation from the green below. A beautiful pond is on the left and front of the green. The green slopes severely from right to left, with a bunker on the left side of the green as well as behind the green. The backside bunker has palm trees inside the bunker…yes, in the bunker…so cool. Gauging your distance because of the slope decline was tough, especially with the wind at our back. The green like so many at PGA Golf Club was a challenge to read. One of us, hit it from the bunker into the pond, while the other barely got it out of the bunker only to watch the ball trickle 30 feet, within inches of the hole, I doubt he planned that, but regardless it ended up being the shot of the weekend.
#7: A par-5 that you can reach in 2, but that would take significant courage as the green is surrounded on three sides by water, with bunkers in front. There are 13 bunkers on this hole, with water all along the left-hand side. Tons of undulations form a snake-like fairway that leads up to a difficult approach shot. The 7th is one of many holes where the green is surrounded by and slopes off to the water. If you go slightly long, you’re wet. One of us thought they hit a good approach, only to find that their ball rolled off the green and into the water. It’s not a long hole and has a reasonably wide fairway, but mishit any shot and you will pay the price. If you can keep it straight and land your approach, you’ll finally find an easy par.
#14: I loved the 14th hole as its uphill the entire way which is so uncommon in Florida, a real treat for us Floridians. The uphill approach is manageable but hard to see where the fairway ends and begins. Knowing your way around the course certainly helps. The green is long, narrow and tucked away, but surrounded by mounds sloping towards the green.
#18: The definition of a true championship finish. Hit a 3-wood to the left side of the fairway, avoiding the water on the right with this sharp dogleg par-4. A good tee shot leaves you with a “moment of truth” approach. I used an 8-iron to attack this sharp-angled approach to a green guarded by water and a wooden retaining wall. There is no room for error if you want to attack the pin. The safe approach would be aiming to the left-side of the green. If you take the safe approach and miss just a little, you will have a very steep downhill chip shot with water behind the green. Finish with a par here, and you feel like you handled your business like the pros.
Wanamaker Course @ PGA Golf Club Course Rating 4.5 out of 5
Out of the three courses at PGA Golf Club, the Wanamaker earned our highest rating. Just edging out the Dye Course, the shot making aspect of the Wanamaker propelled it past the other courses on property. While you can’t go wrong with any of the golf courses at PGA Golf Club, we did find the Wanamaker to be the best reflection of championship golf. The Wannie is a true test that never feels gimmicky and requires you to use all 14 clubs in the bag. We highly recommend PGA Golf Club, either as a member or part of the visiting public, you’ll be hard pressed to find a better value in golf. 54-holes kept in pristine spread over three very different golf courses; you can’t ask for anything else!