TPC Sawgrass Review: What it's like to play the iconic Players Championship course

TPC at Sawgrass Fact File

• Location: Ponte Vedra Beach, Jacksonville
• Year Established: 1980
• Par: 72
• Length (yards): 7,245
• Green Fees (weekdays): $550
• Signature Hole: Impossible to say anything other than 17, maybe the most famous hole in golf
• Website: tpc.com/sawgrass

TPC Sawgrass has been home to The Players since 1982 and it now boasts an eye-watering purse of $25m. Incredibly the property, 415 acres of wooded wetlands, was bought by the PGA Tour for just $1.

The premise is that it would be the permanent home of The Players, be owned by the players and built for the fans. The Stadium Course centres around the ability to properly see the action, no more than 18 inches of elevation above the waterline was allowed and mounding built around the 1st and 10th tees, and at the 9th, 16th, 17th and 18th greens.

The Players actually began life in 1974, and would later be held for five years at the nearby Sawagrass Country Club, but Deane Beman's dream to build a purpose-built course would soon won out. In 1979 Beman himself would hit the ceremonial first shot to mark the beginning of the construction where, aptly, he would hit a Mulligan.

Pete Dye would oversee the design with the brief to piece together a balanced course with a varied selection of long, short and mid-length holes, there would be two 5s and 3s on each nine and holes would dog-leg both ways. Interestingly, and this point probably isn't made enough, no two consecutive holes are played in the same direction so the wind would always have to be considered. 

TPC Sawgrass Course Review

 Which brings us to the island green 17th and probably the most recognisable hole in the game. So the story goes, and the TV coverage never tires of reminding us, it was Dye's wife, Alice, who suggested filling in the crater-like hole with water. In Dye's original design the water had been in play to the right of the green but it was his wife who helped put TPC Sawgrass on the map.

Now we have a 137-yard hole that can sway what has been known for decades as the unofficial 'fifth Major' and where tens of cameras – there is even one in the solitary bunker that sits front and right – will operate every March, waiting for a water ball or hole-in-one. It has changed and softened over the years, most of it very subtly, and we're all now familiar with the various pin locations which culminate with the back right one on Sunday.

We've seen Tiger Woods' 'better than most' putt in 2001, seagulls pluck a ball from the green and hundreds of players rinse their tee shots. In this year's play-off JJ Spaun would fly the green, make a six and Rory McIlroy would add a second Players title.

Part of the beauty is that it's the meat in the sandwich of a brilliant finish at Sawgrass. The par-5 16th will throw up maybe your best chance of a birdie while the 18th has played as the toughest hole on Tour all year. Here you need to commit to your tee shot and not bail out right which will leave you dead or facing a horrible approach and an even worse angle.

Water plays a huge part elsewhere, only on holes 8, 10 and 15 are you safe from a reload, and, while length is not a huge factor, the bunkers are too. Huge swathes of white sand also play a large part in your Sawgrass experience, many of them are enormous, but you can certainly see what you're doing with the course all in front of you.

Difficulty wise it doesn't rank as hard as others but there is certainly scope to get blocked out or fishing balls out of your bag if your game isn't there. The 6th tee this year drew plenty of headlines with a replanted tree which made it seem almost impossible to even get it off the tee.

Sawgrass is a typical Dye design which, as Billy Horschel attests, 'messes with your mind', and there are a number of perilous shots but that needn't matter as you're playing an iconic course which will be in mint condition. We can all probably recall a story from every hole here and, however you play or score, the only question from your golfing pals will be on how you got on at 17?

Final Verdict

In 2007 I was lucky enough to play Sawgrass on a press trip. There's no need to bore anyone with how I played or scored (badly) but I did come to the 17th tee on the back of four pars. In a new outfit, which I had purchased for this specific tee shot, and some mind lessons from a well-known golf psychologist, I then went into a free fall which saw me hit a wedge into the bleachers and my ball career 40 yards back to me. Much of the pre-shot build-up took place at x10 time, my ball hitting the woodwork then saw everything move into slow motion. I then did what many will have done before and hit a second shot but maybe broke new ground by missing the green – and the water – left which, given I can't chip, I declared unplayable so I could hit another shot.

My 9-iron then did find the putting surface but, with my mind totally scrambled, my putt finished six feet short. That obviously didn't even scare the hole and I putted out for an eight.

Every time I tell this story it grows legs but the overall experience remains the same and one of utter joy at playing such a phenomenal course. In recent years it's improved immeasurably and the bits around it (the clubhouse was still being finished) offer something very special. It might not have the history of other iconic US courses but it has enjoyed a fairly momentous few decades and, who knows with the might of the PGA Tour, it may get its Major wish one day.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars ️️️️️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️