On March 20th, to the surprise of many Tiger Woods PGA Tour golf fans, the Playstation Store had available two new courses for our enjoyment. The first course I reviewed was Turnberry (the site of the 2009 British Open). The second course is the Doral Golf Resort and Spa. This course is the annual host of the WGC-CA Championships since 2007, when Tiger Woods won the event for the 6th time since 1999. Below is my hands-on look at this new course (all difficulty levels set to medium and average):
HOLE 1 – PAR 5 – 504 YARDS - The first hole of Doral is very narrow and very straight. Palm trees are thick on both sides of the fairway, so an accurate drive is key if you’re looking to start off under par. The green is littered with bunkers on all four corners, but the green itself is fairly large. I was able to get on in two, five feet from the pin for an eagle to start off the round. -2
HOLE 2 – PAR 4 – 346 YARDS – This hole appears to be reachable in one with max power and the wind behind your back; however the green is somewhat raised, so it would take a great hit coupled with a great push from the wind to do so. This hole will punish you for trying as there are three bunkers right in front of the green around 310 yards off the tee. If you don’t have much power, there is a bunker behind the green that can cause fits on your approach if it is off. I was able to tee right in front of the green and pitch and putt for a birdie. -3
HOLE 3 – PAR 4 – 382 YARDS – According to the voice over announcer, this is the hardest driving hole on the course. He really isn’t lying because the fairway bends to the right and is fairly narrow. There is a group of two very tall palm trees and a shorter tree around 215 yards off the tee that you may want to try and dodge if you’re looking to drive 300. If you really have a lot of muscle, there is a water hazard dipping into the right side of the fairway about 330 out that can cause fits off the tee if you’re going for it. All in all, a solid drive will clear even the tall palms by plenty. The approach to the green isn’t too tough, but the green is fairly long. I was able to put it 5 feet away, but choked on the putt as it was a little tricky at the end. Two putted for par. -3
HOLE 4 – PAR 3 – 215 YARDS – The front and right sides of the green play like an island hole where any miscue will cause the ball to get wet. Even an overdrive could cause the ball to become wet as it slopes right down towards to water in the rough past the green. You’ll have to try not to overcompensate avoiding the water because of two bunkers sitting on the left of the green. I had to hit a 3-iron off the tee, so it bounced fairly hard once it hit the green. Left it 20 feet from the pin, and had to two putt to make it a par. -3
HOLE 5 – PAR 4 – 367 YARDS – Might as well call this one Bunker City. 240 yards off the tee, there are 4 bunkers to the left, and two to the right. Just in front of the green is another series of three bunkers which are about 330 out and will punish those trying to reach the green in one like the 2nd hole. I was able to drive just in front of the bunkers by the green, pitched 3 feet from the hole, and walked out with a birdie. -4
HOLE 6 – PAR 4 – 413 YARDS – This hole has another narrow fairway, but if you’re a 300+ yard driver, you have room for error as the landing area off the tee is wide open. The approach to this green is tricky as it is a long narrow landing uphill. Down the hill diagonally on the bottom left and top right of the green are deep bunkers that make you forget how easy the drive was. Thankfully my approach was spot on and three feet to the pin. I was able to string together birdies here. -5
HOLE 7 – PAR 4 – 407 YARDS – This is another narrow drive with a slight bend to the left. There are a lot of palm trees littering both sides of the fairway about 275 yards off the tee. It’ll make an inaccurate drive tough, but if you accurately drive it, you shouldn’t have any problems here. The approach has a steep bunker in the front right of the green and a more shallow bunker past the green on the right. There is one other bunker on the front left, but I don’t think it will come into play much. I learned a good lesson at paying attention to my %’s as I accidentally hit my approach with full power into the rough past the green (OOOOPS), and then approached it 25 feet to the pin. Thankfully I nailed the 25-footer to get out of there with some dignity after not paying attention. 
-5
HOLE 8 – PAR 5 – 502 YARDS – Another narrow approach, but your tee shot will be the least of your worries on this par 5. The left side has trees and a cart path, as well as water for the very long hitter. You’ll wanna keep your drive on the right as it’s fairly wide open on the 1st and 2nd cuts of rough. The approach to the green is tricky as if you’re short, it’s going to get wet. If you try to play it safe and hit it too far, you’ll be in the sand. In playing with friends online, this hole gets me quite a bit. I’m able to beat my demons and leave my 2nd shot 3 feet to the pin, knocking down eagle. -7
HOLE 9 – PAR 3 – 158 YARDS – This is the shortest of the par 3′s at Doral, and as the voice over guy says…you’ll usually play into the wind or into a crosswind. Hitting it short, or shanking it left, will result in the ball getting wet. So if you miss, you’ll want to miss long and straight on this kidney shaped green. I knocked this tee shot right on the pin, 3 feet away; however, I laid out a very horrible putt and walked away in shame with a par. -7
HOLE 10 – PAR 5 – 528 YARDS – This long hole is straight an narrow, but if you’re able to drive it 320+, there is quite a lot of room to land your drive. If you shank the drive to the left, you’ll get wet. The green is very close to the water on the left hand side, and can easily get wet if you misstep here. I was able to get it within 7 feet in two and make up for the bad putting on hole 9 to walk away with an eagle. -9
HOLE 11 – PAR 4 – 336 YARDS – This is a choose your own adventure hole as there is a 100-yd bunker right in the middle of the fairway stretching from 200 to 300 yards out. You’ll want to decide if you want to hit the fairway off to the left or the fairway off to the right. The landing zones on both sides are very narrow meaning you’ll not hit this fairway some of the time. For 300+ drivers, you’ve got more room on the right side to drive. I was able to pitch it well and work my putter even better for a birdie on this one. -10
HOLE 12 – PAR 5 – 583 YARDS – This hole is one of the longest holes on the PGA Tour. As is the case on most holes, this one is narrow and straight…but you do have a little room on both sides of the fairway if you have a slight misstep. From 100 yards on in, there are roughly a dozen sand traps you need to try to avoid as you go for the green. I’m going for the green in two about 275 yards out, with a 3-wood, but hit the lip just in front of the green rolling into the sand. My sand save wasn’t too great and had a horrendous birdie putt. I was able to two putt my way to par though. -10
HOLE 13 – PAR 3 – 229 YARDS – This is the longest par 3 on the course and PGA Tour, and I have to try to use my 5-wood to be able to get on the green. It’s a straight shot, but bunkers litter in front of the green on the left and right, and there is another bunker on the back right of the green as well. Not to mention the pin is uphill from the tee box. Scrambling out of here with par is an accomplishment. I did a 3/4 swing with my 5 wood and was able to knock it 3 yards to the pin. Unfortunately downhill putting is an adventure for me and I just missed the birdie putt and two putted for par. -10
HOLE 14 – PAR 4 – 416 YARDS – Yet another narrow landing off the tee on this hole. You have a little bit of rough room on both sides, but there is a pesky tree on the left side that will give you fits if you’re off to the left. Not much danger to the approach outside of the a bunker on the front left. I put a little too much power into my approach and landed it 41 feet to the pin. Made the putt of the round here (downhill even) to set the course record. Very surprised I canned that putt. -11
HOLE 15 – PAR 3 – 156 YARDS – Very tricky par 3 here. The green is not wide at all, and is somewhat raised with bunkers on the front, back, and left of the green. With it being uphill 3 feet, it makes club selection somewhat dicey too. I was able to get an 8-iron to stick to the green 5 yards away from the pin. My putter is working downhill for some reason and I was able to nail it in for birdie. -12
HOLE 16 – PAR 4 – 346 YARDS – This is one of those short par 4′s that you can’t help but to try to reach the green off the tee. It is uphill and fairly tough though with two bunkers in front of the green covering the entire length basically. In addition to avoid trees that are straight on from the tee, you’ll have to line up to the right of the green and draw back to the left. I decided to try to be the hero and ended up in the front right bunker. I was able to recover out of the bunker easily and nail it down for birdie. -13
HOLE 17 – PAR 4 – 397 YARDS – Wide landing spot for the tee shot (by Doral’s standards), while this the easy part of the test, your approach to the green will be the fun part. The green is nearly 60 yards long, and there are bunkers all long the front side with one on the back. I was able to pitch it short of the hole to avoid the steep drop off in the middle of the green, but my putt was too hard. Thankfully the green was level and I was able to knock in the 2nd putt for par. -13
HOLE 18 – PAR 4 – 414 YARDS – The final hole of Doral is one of the most recognizable holes in the world and has been ranked as one of the hardest finishing holes in all of golf. With that said, the tee shot is fairly easy and a lot of room to land on the fairway if you can hit 300+. You’ll wanna keep this left as the right side is littered with bunkers and trees that start about 275 off the tee. You’ll want to avoid leaving your approach short as it will get wet. A long approach will end up in sand as well. I left it about 9 yards from the pin giving me a very tough downhill putt that I ended up missing barely and walking away with a par to finish at -13.
I ramped up the difficulty on this one compared to Turnberry since I have played this course quite a bit since it was available for purchase. The course itself is very beautiful with the sun getting ready to set and the orange tint in the fairway on some of the dead or worn grass spots. This course definitely deserves to be in Tiger Woods PGA Tour as it is a staple of the golf season every April.
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