COURSE OVERVIEW
History
TPC Sawgrass was born from the dream of then PGA TOUR Commissioner Deane Beman to create a special and unique host site for the players' own tournament. Known today as THE PLAYERS Championship, it was originally named The Tournament Players Championship. Prior to this unique concept, all PGA TOUR events were created and managed by local groups or golf organizations in communities around the country. Their main purpose was to promote their businesses or local area and often benefited local charities. The early predecessor to the PGA TOUR was first organized in 1938 to formalize this schedule of events, to provide improved opportunities for the professional golfer and to further advance the charitable contributions.
The four major championships are good representations of how most events are conducted by independent organizations: Masters Tournament -- Augusta
Since 1938, when records were formally begun, the PGA TOUR has raised more than $1 billion for charity in cooperation with local tournament sponsors and organizations.
THE PLAYERS Championship, was the first event founded for the players by the touring professionals' own organization. Beman's vision was that this event would become a truly special tournament in the eyes of the players because it was, after all, their own. The inaugural tournament was played in 1974. For the first three years the event was moved annually. It was first played at the Atlanta Country Club in Marietta, Ga. The next year it traveled west to Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas. In 1976 it was conducted in South Florida at Inverrary Country Club, in Lauderhill. The following year, Sawgrass Country Club, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., just outside of Jacksonville, became the host site, where it was played for the next five years.
It was early in this five-year period that Beman conceived the idea for a permanent host course that would be owned by the players of the PGA TOUR. Beman first approached the owners of Sawgrass Country Club, the Arvida Corporation, and offered to buy their facility. They did not want to sell. Nor did they believe that Beman would ever get financing or player approval to buy a facility of their own. Arvida Chairman Charles Cobb proposed a $100 bet to Beman, in a show of business "sportsmanship," that he could never achieve his dream.
Determined, Beman sought other options to stay in Ponte Vedra Beach. He soon found allies in Jerome and Paul Fletcher. These brothers were major landowners in the area and came to share Beman's vision. So much so that they eventually sold 415 acres of wooded wetlands and swamp to the PGA TOUR for $1.
With the land in hand, approval to move forward and build this dream came from the PGA TOUR Policy Board. A formal ceremony was held to begin construction. It took place just off S.R.A1A, across from the entrance to Sawgrass Country Club. It was on the edge of the heavily wooded site that was filled with pines, palms and Palmetto scrub. To mark the occasion, Beman hit a ceremonial "first shot" with a persimmon driver. Years later, Beman recalled, "I didn't hit that one very well, so I took a mulligan. I hit the second shot right on the screws …"
For days, a determined Paul Fletcher would return to the site in search of Beman's second ball. He eventually found the ball, gnarled and chewed by some local wild critter. He had the ball mounted with an engraved plaque which he presented to Beman. It read, "To Deane Beman from Paul Fletcher. The Tournament Players Club's First Mulligan. February 12, 1978".
Beman would receive a second plaque two years later in March 1980. It showcased a $100 bill, which is on display in the clubhouse with this inscription,"To Deane Beman, the man who did what we said couldn't be done. From Chuck Cobb and his associates at Arvida, who bet on the difficulty of the task, not on the capability of the man doing the task."
The creation of TPC Sawgrass as host to THE PLAYERS was based on several unique concepts:
Working with golf course architect Pete Dye, Beman wanted a course design that would favor no particular player or style of play. To meet this goal, an extensive effort was made to design a balanced golf course. There had to be a selection of short, medium and long holes within the categories of par-3s, par-4s and par-5s.There had to be both right and left doglegs. The course routing was laid out so no two consecutive holes ever played in the same direction. With this concept, wind direction would have a more balanced influence on the field of players.
For the first time, spectator viewing was given full consideration in the design and layout of a golf course. The site was a North Florida wetland, flat and heavily wooded. Dye had noted that there were no more than 18 inches of elevation above the waterline anywhere on the property. Lakes were created not only for strategic play of a hole, but also for fill that was needed to create the contours of play and the first "stadium" mounding.
Key locations were designated around the 1st and 10th tees and at the 9th, 16th, 17th and 18th greens, where strategic viewing areas were built. These would be large, gently sloping mounds up to 30 feet high. From these vantage points, for the first time in golf, thousands of spectators would have unobstructed views of tournament play, similar to being in a baseball or football stadium.
An unexpected by-product of the lake construction was the island green at the 17th hole.What was originally designed as a small pond near the green continued to be dug for the valuable sand base found in that area. After the excavation work, nearly all of the area around the green was surrounded by water. Now it is perhaps the most famous par-3 in the world. Dye credits his wife, Alice, with the concept of building an island green after she saw the construction site one day.
Over 25 years later, the dream of a home course owned by the players, featuring an exciting course venue paired with a superior spectator experience, has come to fruition. It is the home of THE PLAYERS, annually the strongest field in tournament golf, recognized by the players as "their event." THE PLAYERS Stadium Course has consistently ranked among the top courses in the country.
In 2007, THE PLAYERS Stadium Course underwent a 14-month renovation that saw a new 77,000 square-foot clubhouse combined with major improvements to the course. Over 2.6 million square feet of new grass was installed, along with 53 million pounds of sand and 22 miles of underground piping.
The changes to the home course of THE PLAYERS ensure more consistently firm and fast conditions for the best players in the world as well as resort guests. New grasses on the fairways and greens and a state-of-the-art drainage system create premium conditions that will be present year-round. There will be no ryegrass overseeding during the winter months. In addition, minor competitive enhancements as well as extensive landscaping improvements make this worldclass golf course even better.
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