There are few golf courses that host (don't say major, don't say major), let's say, important, tournaments that the regular person could play. It's one of the things that make golf the best.
Not everyone can shoot foul shots at Madison Square Garden, catch a touchdown pass at AT&T Stadium, or trade volleys at Centre Court at Wimbledon.
However, some of golf's greatest stages are open for anyone (with a high enough credit limit) to hit and chase their golf ball around the course. St. Andrews, Pebble Beach, Bethpage Black, and TPC Sawgrass.
Most of the publicly accessible courses that the PGA Tour plays aren't too well known on a hole-by-hole basis. Yeah, you can play TPC Louisiana, but can you remember any hole? Probably not. Same with Innisbrook or Sea Island or Puntacana or Silverado or TPC Deere Run.
And, no offense to the tournaments those courses host, but they are ordinary, "run of the mill" golf tournaments on the PGA Tour.
But TPC Sawgrass is different. It hosts The Players Championship. The fifth major (or not, maybe).
There are certain holes that everyone who has a remote interest in golf probably knows. Number 12 and 13 at Augusta National. Number 16 at TPC Scottsdale. Number 18 at Pebble Beach. And, of course, number 17 at TPC Sawgrass.
From the moment the tee time is booked, it's hard not to think about 17. "Will my tee shot hit the green?" "What is the walk from 16 to 17 like?" "Will I even be able to make contact?" "How many golf balls do I need to bring to ensure one of my shots from the tee box hits the green?" Thoughts like these races through the mind weekly, daily, hourly. It's one of the most iconic shots in golf!
While no. 17 can be a scorecard wrecker, there are 16 golf holes at TPC Sawgrass that the golfer encounters first and must be played with precision to not wreck the scorecard before the island green.
Not to worry if you think you eliminated - or at least reduced - the thoughts of the 17th on the range and just focus on getting a good warm up in, there's a target on the range at about 130 yards out with some bulkhead in front. It's almost like they want to get in your head before your round even begins!
TPC Sawgrass is best played - as are most golf courses - walking. It's even better with a caddy. First tee introductions can be awkward and usually the minute you say your name to me, I forget it. Fortunately, my caddy's name was easy to remember: Jason and he was from Australia. It's always good to remember your caddy's name.
Like first tee introductions, the first hole at TPC Sawgrass is awkward. There's nothing comfortable about it. The fairway seems impossibly left and the further left you go, the shallower the green is on your approach. I'm all for strategic design and playing the angles, but the first hole is not a gentle handshake. It's more like a slap in the face forcing you to wake up, be alert, and focus on the task at hand.
Sometimes that rude awakening appears on the scorecard, too; especially when you blade the approach over the green leaving a ticklish downhill chip. Who needs pars? Sixes bring the average price per stroke down.
Struggle on the first hole and you're immediately offered a chance to get one back at a shorter par five on the second hole. Unless you pull the approach to the left into some mounds and pot bunkers or push your second shot right into the water. Other than that, no big deal.
The second hole showcases the design philosophy of three of the four par fives at TPC Sawgrass: reachable and scorable with two good shots, but difficult with a miscue or less than committed shot or two.
The key to playing bucket list courses is, if you can, to play them twice. The first time around there is a combination of excitement, nerves, anxiety, anticipation, and uncertainty that does not lend itself to good golf. The first time around TPC Sawgrass I was six over through four; the second time: even through four. I know that no one cares about scores, but just having one loop under your feet makes a second time around much more relaxed and stress free.
The front nine at TPC Sawgrass is generally regarded as the more difficult side. Challenging par fours at holes five, six, and seven are followed by a long par three at the eighth.
In a well-timed visit by the beverage cart on the eighth green, it was time for a beer. (I'm sure at least some professional golfers who compete at The Players would also enjoy a cold beer around that time of the round!)
I offered a beer to my caddy, who said "I'm an Aussie, I'm not going to turn down a beer." I couldn't argue with that logic. It didn't help that he essentially had to chug it as we walked up the ninth since I don't think he was supposed to drink while on the job. As we got to the tenth green, he suggested I was on my own to read the upcoming putt.
The 11th hole is another great par five. Similar to the second hole, it requires two good shots to get to the green. A poor drive to the left will find a large bunker (or a patch of grass in the bunker) and a drive to the right will be in pine straw and potentially blocked by trees. Then, a decision is required on lay-up: will you try to carry the water to the left fairway and leave a shorter approach, or stay short of the water and have a longer approach over the water and a large bunker?
Golfers attempting to hit the green in two shots also must be mindful of their distance and direction: water looms right of and behind the green, and a closely mown collection area on the left of the green leaves a ticklish chip.
Much like the front nine, the middle third of the back nine contains the most difficult holes of the set. The 14th hole is particularly nasty: a long par four with rough and fescue filled moguls on the right of the fairway and a lake lining the left side of the drive zone. A long iron approach that bends slightly the to the right is no picnic either: a large bunker on the left and knobs, knolls, and pot bunkers on the right await errant shots.
We've done a good job at trying to keep to the task at hand and focus on the hole that we are playing, so far.
Walking off the 15th hole, there is no mistaking where you are: you're at the gauntlet at TPC Sawgrass - holes 16, 17, and 18. An iconic, difficult, exhilarating finish. A quick glance at the scorecard could identify how you want to play these final three holes.
Playing poorly? Why not go for 16 in two and pin hunt at 17? Playing well? That makes for a bit of a more difficult decision. Do you play slightly more conservative to preserve your good score and be able to brag to your friends about your success? Or is the high green fee enough to you to say "I paid a crap ton of money for this round, we're going for it and having fun." And if you pull off the shots, isn't that a better and cooler story than just a good score?
That is what Jason and I decided: let's go for it on 16. In one round, I blocked my approach so far to the right I think the tree in the middle of the lake bordering the fairway of 16 and surrounding the 17th might have been in play. (Unfortunately there was no boat or kayak to the less infamous island with the tree, so even if I landed there, I would have to take a drop - or swim across a potentially gator and snake filled lake.)
But it's the story that matters, and sometimes in golf, we relate more to the failure of trying pull off a hero shot than to playing well and shooting a low score. And it's a more fun story to tell at the bar over a cold beer.
When the pin is in its traditional Sunday location on hole 17 - way to the right - the smart play is over the small pot bunker (as if the target doesn't seem small enough, there needs to be a bunker on the island?!) and to use the slope to feed it down to the hole.
I put my tee in the ground, put the ball on the tee, and take a club from Jason. Pick a target. After a final check of the wind and a quick peek at the flag, it's time for my chance at one of the most famous shots in the game.
I put a good swing on the ball, the flight was right on the line I wanted. As the ball apexes, I begin to think about how I am going to celebrate my ball landing on the green. The ball comes down on to the island, just left of and at the top of the lone bunker. In real-life slow motion, the ball takes the slope down the side of the bunker. It rolls, and rolls, and rolls to an ultimately unsatisfactory result with a plop in the water.
I held finish and my pose for the camera was ultimately all for naught.
But that's why I recommend playing courses twice. Because the second day, when the pin was in a bit more friendly location - if there can be such a thing with a green fully surrounded by water - my tee shot went over the flag on the front of the green and tried to take the slope behind it back to the hole. Did I make the 12 foot birdie putt? No. But did I hit the green? I did.
Island time is supposed to be stress free. Time at island at TPC Sawgrass is stressful.
The entire golf course is stressful.
But the good thing about it? We can all play it. We can all try our hand at one of the most iconic courses and most iconic shots in the game.
TPC stands for "Tournament Players Club," but for 51 weeks of the year, when it is not hosting the PGA Tour, the TPC is "The Players Club."
That's what makes golf special.
Comments