Doral's Blue Monster Reopens After Renovation

Officials with Doral Golf Resort & Spa in Miami, Fla., have announced that the Blue Monster Golf Course, a 2007 World Golf Championship venue, has re-opened following a four-month renovation.

One of five championship golf at Doral, the Blue Monster underwent a series of refinements designed to enhance the overall golf experience at Doral, as well as prepare the course for the CA Championship, a World Golf Championship event that will take place March 20-25, 2007.

“As with any golf course that is considered a world-class property, the Blue Monster needs constant refreshing to ensure consistent playing conditions year-round, while continually providing a memorable experience to the tens of thousands of golfers that play the course each year,” said Darrin Helfrick, general manager of golf. “Equally important, many of the projects that took place during this refinement phase will enable our team to provide a stellar venue when golf’s best players compete on the Blue Monster during the 2007 CA Championship.”

Highlighting the refinements to the Blue Monster was the re-grassing of all 18 greens, as well as the practice putting green, with TifEagle Bermuda. This will provide more consistent turf conditions on the greens year-round, and create firmer, faster putting conditions.

The Blue Monster project also involved a course-wide landscape renovation, as well as a complete bunker make-over of all bunkers on the course. The project included a complete cart path replacement, featuring new concrete to help improve course management. This was highlighted by the installation of special 10-foot-wide paths, with extra re-enforcement added to a few strategic areas of the course to help in CA Championship tournament set-up.

Added Helfrick, “Anyone who has played the Blue Monster, including the Tour professionals who compete here annually, know that this is a course defined by character and competitiveness. As such, this refinement has enabled us to maintain the Blue Monster’s identity, while at the same time enhancing the overall playing conditions, aesthetics and maneuverability of the golf course.”

The 693-room Doral Resort, which is managed by Marriott International and officially named the Doral Golf Resort & Spa, A Marriott Resort, joined Marriott’s portfolio of 60 resorts in August of 2004. In managing the golf business operations at Doral, Marriott International enlisted its in-house golf management arm, Marriott Golf, the world’s largest resort golf management company, and the first in-house golf management team ever established by a lodging company. Currently, Marriott Golf oversees more than 150,000 rounds of golf per year on Doral’s five championship golf courses, managing more than 500 corporate and group outings per year.