Located off historic A1A in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida lies both the headquarters to the PGA Tour as well as the crown jewel in the TPC network of golf courses, TPC Sawgrass. TPC Sawgrass is also the host of what’s been dubbed the 5th major, the Players Championship. The overall course is an amazing test of golf that was revolutionary in its design when it opened back in 1980.
The stadium course was designed by legendary golf course architect Pete Dye. It’s a design that leaves first time visitors and players in either shock or awe. In the beginning PGA Tour players were completely turned off by the design with one player famously saying “Pete Dye had ruined a perfectly good swamp.” The player was right in one way in that the 400+ acre property was a swamp that was converted into a golf course. A lot of earth was moved in this design creating heavily contoured fairways, vast waste areas, elevated mounds for spectator viewing and bulkheads, lots of bulkheads everywhere. In a 2009 interview with Forbes, Pete Dye briefly discussed the design including how he came up with the idea for the famous 17th hole island green.
Over the years following its opening, Dye made some tweaks to the green contours and a few other elements of the course to make a more fair test of golf. Additionally, conditioning is now always at a premium. The course may be best described now as a diabolical garden. For the world’s best professionals, the overall course remains a start to finish great test of golf. However, the finish remains the most stringent test the players may see all year and arguably the most exciting and electrifying for fans.
For myself, having a chance to play the course and walk the property during Players Championship week, I find my mind wandering ahead to holes 16, 17, and 18. Yes, they are iconic and you want to see them yourself in person. Yet, as a player, you wonder if you may fare better or worse than some of the world’s best. As a spectator, it’s just great entertainment to spend time at these three holes. Whether you’re watching the final group come through with the tournament on the line, or you are camping out and watching lots of groups come through, the drama is electric all the time.
The 16th hole is a short Par 5 of about 530 yards. With any drive in the fairway, it’s decision time. One must layup or go for the small narrow green in two. What makes this hole great is that the layup is also a problem with a waste bunker and a cluster of oak trees blocking the way on the left. It would make a player layup back into the 150 yard range which leaves no easy shot in. This design forces the layup into a very narrow sliver of fairway in front of the green. For the pros, many bail out to the left of the green hoping to get a decent lie and have a chance of getting up and down for birdie. A bravely and perfectly executed 2nd shot into this green gives the player a shot at making eagle and makes 16 a major swing hole with a history of two plus shot swings among the leaders.
When it comes to the island green 17th at TPC Sawgrass, no words can do justice and aptly describe the drama. For the player, there is no bailout. You have to stand and deliver. For the spectators, it’s time to take a seat and get out your popcorn and enjoy the show. The 17th is a hole that can intimidate and fluster the world’s best. Major champion Bob Tway has the unfortunate notoriety of making the highest score on the hole back in 2005 when he scored a 12. Hey, at least he finished the hole because many an amateur golfer has emptied their entire bag of golf balls on this hole never safely reaching the green.
One dirty little secret about TPC Sawgrass is that the toughest of the three finishing holes for players is actually the Par 4 18th that plays 472 yards from the pro tees. Anyone who has stood on the 18th tee knows about it as the fairway looks like a thin green narrow ribbon of grass that is merely a border between a massive lake on the left and high rough and trees on the right. Some players will bail out to the right rough essentially surrendering par in a chance to make a bogey and move on. Players who do hit the fairway, must take on a narrow green with water on the left. There is essentially no good bailout with mounds and high rough protecting the green short and to the right.
There will be only one champion at the 2023 Players Championship. That player will have certainly navigated the three great finishing holes at TPC Sawgrass somewhat unscathed. However, the real winners will be the fans who will be treated to the great golf theater by the players who take on the challenge at the 16th, 17th, and 18th holes.