They don’t come much bigger than The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass, which is the PGA Tour’s flagship event.
Once a year, we get to watch the best players in the world tackle the famous Stadium Course and a certain little par 3 over water to an ‘island green’.
Back in the late 1970s Dean Beman, who was the PGA Tour commissioner, wanted to create a permanent destination for The Players Championship, the only event owned by players on the professional tour.
After acquiring 415 acres of swamp and wooded wetlands, architect Pete Dye and his wife Alice Dye were consulted with a view to designing a special new layout with spectators in mind.
TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course
The 17th hole on the Stadium Course attracts a lot of spectators during The Players Championship
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Fast forward to 1982 and the Tournament Players Championship (as it was called then) moved to TPC Sawgrass. Although the Stadium Course divided opinion, the course, which is now widely regarded as one of the best public courses in the US, provided a unique viewing experience.
The par-3 17th is the signature hole and never fails to provide its share of great drama. Even the best players in the world can doubt themselves when there’s a slight breeze, and plenty of wedges (and balls) have ended up in the lake over the years.
The home of golf’s ‘fifth Major’ might be open to the public, but the cost of playing The Players Stadium Course starts at $550 per player. Outside of June-August, that rate climbs to $750 per player.
TPC Sawgrass Dye’s Valley Course
The fifth hole green on the Dye’s Valley Course at TPC Sawgrass
(Image credit: Getty Images)
The second course at TPC Sawgrass is Dye’s Valley Course, where pot bunkers and deep grassy basins around the greens are key characteristics, just as they are on the Stadium.
Also designed by the late Pete Dye, as well as Bobby Weed and player consultant Jerry Pate, who won The Players Championship in 1982, Dye’s Valley sits adjacent to the Stadium.
The course, which is also very highly regarded, opened in 1987 and has played host to several Korn Ferry Tour events.
If you want to get a game on here and lose a few more balls in the water – yes, there’s a fair bit of this – it won’t set you back quite so much as its pricy neighbor. In fact,…
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