Sensational Sawgrass

SOS – Strategy on Seventeen
One of the unique things about the TPC Sawgrass is that the property is populated by volunteer “docents” (storytellers) from the community who are trained to provide assistance or information to anyone who wants it—including impromptu guided tours of the course and clubhouse. Our storyteller was Gerald W. (Doc) Stokes, a 78-year-old former professor of history and philosophy who gave us a local’s perspective on the course’s most famous hole.

The Tee Shot: “This is the thing [about seventeen], you can spin it back into the water, or if you hit it hot it’ll go over. It’s a real soft, high, floating shot that’s required to stay on the green. There’s usually a wind in the face and you can hit a bit more aggressively, but if you get it way up in the air you’re messing with the wind because it’s invariably swirling here. It’s swirling, but it more comes from the left to the right. If the wind isn’t howling, I tell people make sure that you aim to the left of centre of the green well enough to allow for the wind, because the wind is going to take it twenty yards. I’ve just seen it happen too many times, and I’ve played out here too many times myself.

The Green: “Now you can see the slope [of the green] here. You can see how undulating it is, but they took about thirteen inches off the top of it. When Tiger made that “Better than Most” putt, coming down that hill, it was so dramatic because it was going to roll right off. That year there were ninety-nine balls in the water from the pros and that’s outlandish. That’s why they shaved it off.

The Bunker: “The small bunker there isn’t the bailout people might think it is. It doesn’t work. From here you can barely see it, it’s so deep. It’s like a pot bunker at St Andrews; it’s deep, real deep and it’s very difficult to come out of there soft. It’s such a difficult shot to come out of there and keep it on the green.

The 2008 PLAYERS: “Sergio, one of his shots was there on the cart path [walkway]. He putted from the cart path. I felt for Paul Goydos, he played so well and had such a great personality. Such great quotes. He was relatively unknown but I had followed him as he moved up from the Nationwide Tour. He won before some ten years ago. I loved his attitude; I just loved the way he took it. It was sad that he lost by hitting into the water.

The Other Course
The TPC Sawgrass is home to not one but two world-class courses. Dye’s Valley Course, younger sibling to the famous Stadium Course, is another fabulous track but one that is often overlooked by visitors who come with clubs in tow. This is a mistake, according to the locals, because not only does it feature all the ingredients of a Pete Dye classic—the liberal use of water, railroad ties and heavy mounding—but it’s also a much friendlier test. Not as long as the Stadium Course and with bigger greens, a round on Dye’s Valley is a comparatively soothing affair. As one regular told us: “It’s more favourable for regular play. You can relax on the Valley. Relax on the Stadium Course and you’re toast.” Completed in 1997, the course has hosted events such as the SENIOR PLAYERS championship and the final stage of Senior Qualifying School.