THE PLAYERS Championship: Inside the Course (TPC Sawgrass The Stadium Course)

The Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass is one of the most complete courses in all of professional golf, testing every aspect of a player's game, from the mechanical to the mental.  No two holes run in the same direction, and it's designed to ensure any style of play can win here. 

 

Every year The PLAYERS Championship elicits compelling theater, as the hazards and angles of this Pete Dye course makes playing it a mental battle as well as a physical one.  Bad results will happen to good shots, and the pressure of playing this historic venue (particularly on Saturday and Sunday) will unnerve even the best.  TPC Sawgrass is going to ask players a lot of questions about their game.  And they better have the answers. 

The par-72, 7,189 yard course has undergone changes over the last few seasons to add even more excitement to this event.  The most significant change was making the 12th hole a driveable par-4.  The hole was shortened from 360 yards to one that will play anywhere between 290 to 320 yards, creating more dramatic risk-reward situations. 

 

All the greens have been resurfaced and expanded with a robust strain of Bermuda grass for a more consistent putting surface and greater options in pin placement.  This year the course has also been over-seeded to ensure lush and green conditions.  New mounding has been created on almost half of the holes.  

And true to Dye’s modus operandi of creating visually intimidating appearances, a massive pond was placed between the 6th and 7th holes, making this potential disaster impossible for players to ignore off the tee on the par-4 6th. 

 

The par-5 16th, par-3 17th, and par-4 18th are three of the most climactic and iconic closing holes in golf, and have historically produced some of the most bitter disappointments and thrilling finishes in golf. 

Signature Hole 
You'd think a hole that’s only 137 yards wouldn't give professionals many problems, but the befuddling par-3 17th gets in players heads every year, and the water surrounding this island green acts like a virtual ball magnet. 

The safe play is always middle of the green, but things get tricky and heart-rates get ramped up when the wind comes in from the right or left.  Prop bets for the highest score here this week is over/under seven. 

Birdie Watch 
No. 16 is a hole that surrenders birdie and eagle easily, and almost 75-percent of players go for the green in two.  At only 523 yards it's a short par-5, and anywhere in the fairway gives players a realistic shot at reaching the green. 

 

Water down the right side is the most obvious defense on this hole.  However a series of pot bunkers and undulations to the right can create unwelcome headaches with a green that feeds back down to the water. 

Bogey Alert 
No. 18 is a brutally hard finishing hole.  The 462-yard par-4 fairway begins wide but narrows as the hole starts bending to the left.  Potential disaster awaits off the tee on both sides with water extending along the entire left side, and spectator mounds, sand and trees along the right. 

 

Approach shots are usually downwind, and Sunday pin positions tucked back and left bring the water into play and make hitting the green extremely tough.  It's consistently the hardest hole to get up-and-down from on the course.