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Doral’s Blue Monster, PGA WEST’s Stadium Course Join TPC Fold
Just when you thought things were tough in the golf business the PGA Tour announced two new deals expanding their marketing reach in resort golf, adding to the TPC brand that already includes 11 daily fee and 19 private facilities. Arguably the best known of all these is the TPC Sawgrass, home of The Players Championship.
The Blue Monster at Doral Golf Resort & Spa in Miami and the Stadium Course at PGA WEST in LaQuinta, Calif., have inked agreements to be part of the PGA Tour’s network of TPC branded courses. Effective Nov. 1 the names change to TPC Blue Monster at Doral and the TPC Stadium Course at PGA WEST.
David Pillsbury, President of PGA TOUR Golf Course Properties responsible for the TPC courses said, “We are extremely pleased to bring these two outstanding golf courses into the TPC family through new licensing agreements. This marks the beginning to a licensing strategy to bring select resort and destination facilities into the TPC fold.”
Pillsbury has indicated the strategy is to expand the number of TPC-licensed courses by adding high-end facilities.
The Blue Monster has been part of the PGA Tour rota since 1962 and presently hosts the World Golf Championships-CA Championship while the Stadium Course previously was a TPC licensee and the location for the finals of Qualifying School several times.
In the late 1950s, real estate pioneer Alfred and Doris Kaskel purchased 2,400 acres of swampland with the intention of building a golf course and hotel. In 1962, the Kaskel's dream came true when they opened a hotel and country club that featured the Blue, Red and Par 3 golf courses. They named it Doral - a combination of Alfred and Doris.
After marrying Doris, the Kaskels moved south from New York and built the Doral Beach Hotel and the Carillon Hotel on Miami Beach. Once the Country Club was built, guests were transported from the Beach to the Country Club for a day on the golf course.
In the second year of operation, the Kaskels hosted the first Doral Open Invitational, Florida's major PGA event. Alfred offered $50,000 in prize money to attract well-known golfers. To put it in perspective, according to the South Florida Golf Foundation, there were only three other tournaments being held in Florida at the time with a combined total of $65,000 prize money.
Today, the Doral Golf Resort & Spa, located at NW 87 Avenue and NW 36 Street, is internationally famous for its golf courses, especially the Blue Monster, and still hosts the PGA Tour Tournament every year.
