It starts with a foreboding plaque featuring a massive, intimidating bear, accompanied by a warning from its creator, Jack Nicklaus: It should be all about guts and glory. This isn't just an introduction to three golf holes, it's a statement of intent. Welcome to The Bear Trap, one of the most famous and feared stretches in all of golf. This article will break down exactly what The Bear Trap is, why it ruins so many scorecards, and provide a clear, coach-approved strategy for helping you survive it - or any wickedly tough stretch on your home course.
The “Bear Trap” is the nickname for holes 15, 16, and 17 on the Champion Course at PGA National Resort in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. This three-hole stretch - a demanding par-3, a heroic par-4, and another terrifying par-3 - is known as one of the ultimate tests of a player’s nerve and execution, especially under pressure during the Cognizant Classic (formerly The Honda Classic) on the PGA Tour.
The name is a nod to the legendary Jack Nicklaus, “The Golden Bear,” who redesigned the course in 1990 and again in 2014. The holes perfectly embody his design philosophy: challenge the best players with dramatic risk-reward shots that demand both physical skill and mental toughness. He didn’t want players to win by just stumbling across the finish line, he wanted them to earn it. And earning a good score through this stretch is a tall order, indeed.
To truly understand the genius and terror of The Bear Trap, we need to walk the holes as a player would. Each hole presents its own unique set of strategic problems, and one mistake often bleeds into the next.
The ordeal begins with what looks like a straightforward par-3 on the scorecard. Standing on the tee, you'll see a green that runs diagonally from front-left to back-right, almost completely surrounded by water. The prevailing wind typically blows from left to right, pushing any shot that starts even slightly right perilously closer to a watery grave.
The Strategy Problem: A pin placed on the right side of the green is the ultimate sucker pin. It practically begs you to take it on, but physics and psychology are working against you. The left-to-right wind fights a draw and aids a fade, making a shot at a right-hand flag extremely dangerous. Any push or small fade finds the water. Overcooking a draw to fight the wind brings the back bunker or more water into play.
A Coach's Advice:
After (hopefully) surviving the 15th, you step up to a demanding par-4 with water swallowing the entire right side of the hole from tee to green. From the tee, the question is how much of the dogleg you dare to cut off over the water to leave a shorter approach. From the fairway, the approach is played to a green bunkered on the left with - you guessed it - water ready to gobble up any mishit to the right.
The Strategy Problem: It’s a double-jeopardy hole. The tee shot tempts you to be aggressive, but bailing out too far left leaves a much longer, more difficult second shot. The real trouble, however, is the approach. Even from a perfect spot in the fairway, you're faced with a mid-to-short iron into another green with an enormous hazard. Standing over that approach, the large body of water is all you can see.
A Coach's Advice:
The grand finale of The Bear Trap is yet another difficult par-3 where water is the primary defense. The green is narrow, bunkered on the left, and has a water hazard licking at its front and right edges. Despite its relatively short yardage for tour pros, this hole consistently ranks as one of the hardest on the course. It’s an exposed green, meaning wind is a massive factor, and it requires absolute precision with a short iron.
The Strategy Problem: It’s the mental fatigue and the culmination of the prior two holes. You’ve just navigated serious danger, and now you have to hit a precise wedge or short iron to a small target under pressure. The visibility of the water and the small size of the green makes many golfers freeze up, leading to a de-accelerated swing and a chunked shot that falls short, or a weak flare out to the right. Both lead to a penalty stroke.
A Coach's Advice:
Beyond the water, wind, and difficult angles, the true difficulty of The Bear Trap lies in its psychological impact. It’s a mental grind built on three foundational pillars of pressure.
There is no let-up. On many courses, a difficult hole is followed by a friendlier one to let you either recover or build momentum. The Bear Trap is a relentless barrage. Each shot is packed with consequence, and there is no room to relax. Bailing out on one side often just plays you into a more difficult position for the next. The constant, looming presence of water messes with your thinking and often causes golfers to steer the ball instead of making a free swing.
Holes 15, 16, and 17 come at a point in the round when your mental and physical energy is already waning. Whether you’re trying to protect a good score or save a bad one, these three holes can make or break your entire day. A string of good play can be wiped out in just 15 minutes of bad decisions or swings.
The reputation of The Bear Trap precedes it. When you arrive at the 15th tee, you’re not just playing a par-3, you’re entering The Bear Trap. That plaque and that name get in your head. You start thinking about all the things that could go wrong instead of focusing on the one thing that can go right: a good, solid golf shot.
So how do you take these lessons and apply them to your own game, whether you're playing PGA National or just facing the three hardest holes on your local course? The answer is to replace fear with a plan.
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