The Blue Monster

Recent modifications to The Blue Monster are the main talk at this weekends World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship. Mr. Donald J. Trump employed architect Gil Hanse to redesign this historic course to provide new and definitely greater challenges to the professional field. Situated within the heart of Trump National Dorval Resort in Miami “this 7,608 yard course features a series of strategically placed deep bunkers, long flowing fairways, interesting undulating greens, deep Bermuda rough and a challenging assortment of water hazards – all of which combine for a course that requires both length and finesse to score well.”

After two rounds, the goal of making this course a challenge was achieved. The Blue Monster is bearing its teeth and taking a bite out of every professional. Only three players had sub-par rounds on the second day and four players under par at minus one for the tournament (and tied for first) remind all golfing pundits of the US Open. If that is not proof that this course is tough, then maybe we need another toughness gauge!

The Blue Monster is designed to be a challenging course. However, is the redesign of the course really causing the pros scratch their heads, talk to themselves, or look to the sky in disbelief? Maybe, but many of the comments coming off the course point more to the conditions. The course is dry, greens hard, and the wind – gale like!

Rickie FowlerVerified account‏@RickieFowlerPGA – Ya the breeze was quite strong today💨 RT @jtedscott: Can you say windy? #3-197 hole, PW 205 yds. #4-211 hole, 3 iron 175.

Keegan BradleyVerified account‏@Keegan_Bradley – Had to lay up 3 times today and non of which were par 5s. #2par3‘s.

Sergio Garcia ‏@TheSergioGarcia 14h – So challenging out there today with the wind. Other than two holes I played pretty well. Let’s see if we can get back into it tomorrow!

The wind is expected to continue through the entire weekend. Therefore, moving day will be very interesting. How much risk are the pros willing to take move up the leader board? How tight can they cut the corners with 25 mph winds moving their ball? When a course is playing this tough, any player within 10 – 15 strokes who can score two sub-par rounds of 3-4 under are back in the hunt. Moving day is going to be fun for the fans!

The Blue Monster, through the Trump National Dorval Resort, is a fantastic venue. The fans appear to be appreciative of the new course, the new challenges and the picturesque landscape. I am not so sure about the professionals who have navigate their way through this beast, but if the winner of the this marathon will definitely earn the PGAs motto “These guys are good!”

I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!

Recently, I signed up for the fantasy golf league at the PGA Tour. It is very easy to use and the program is intuitive and anyone can choose four players each week for the upcoming tournament. Always trying to learn new things, I thought it would be a great way to understand trends, stats, who is hot, and who is not. So far, all is going well, but I am not learning too much yet.

The biggest challenge for the first three weeks (including the World Match Play event) was my lack of knowledge about many of the journeymen players. Each week, some always steps up and throws a wrench into the standings. Personally, it is fun for the tournament, but not so good for my scores. As an example, I took Phil Mickelson last week at the Honda Classic. We all know that was a bust because he did not make the cut. My other players finished a high 54th and a low 35th. Can’t win with picks like that. That stellar performance had me 74th place at the Honda Classic.

This week is the World Golf Championship-Cadillac Championship. The players will compete on a newly renovated “The Blue Monster“. It is longer and has more holes with playable water. But for the golfing élite, it is a challenge they all relish.

This week I picked –