Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass at Ponte Vedra Beach

Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass at Ponte Vedra Beach

Certainly the date change, which brings with it much dryer weather has had something to do with the fact that the course today has different characteristics.

But calling it a ‘new course’ is perhaps of an exaggeration because the world-famous, original Pete Dye Stadium layout is unchanged.

For instance the beautiful but potentially deadly island hole at the 17th is still there in all its glory.

It’s the actual playing surface of the course that is new.

Starting at the first tee and ending at the 18th, the entire course was torn up shortly after the 2006 tournament, and upgraded with 26,600 tons of sand, 2.6 million square feet of new Bermuda grass, 116,600 feet of pipe for irrigation, and 19 acres of sod for landscaping.

The intention was to upgrade the playing surface and make it firmer, faster and more challenging and bring more into play, new mounds, like those to the right of the 9th green, 200 new trees made up of oaks, pines and palms, new natural waste areas, lower-level bunkers, greenside chipping areas and water hazards.

Previously the wet weather in March meant the course had to be over seeded with rye grass, but this won’t be necessary any more and, according to Dye, will make for a better course year round.

World No 2 Jim Furyk was speaking for the vast majority of his Tour colleagues last year when he said that while THE PLAYERS is not an official ‘major’, the US PGA Tour’s flagship event is easily its most glamorous showcase, and is now in a position to offer turf conditions that better relate to way the course was always intended to play.

Dye never wanted the thick rough guarding the fairways and greens; he wanted hard and firm conditions.

“The thing is, Furyk explained, when the tournament was held in March, the weather was cooler, and coming off winter, there wasn’t enough heat to grow the dominant Bermuda grass.

“It had to be over seeded with rye,” he said. “There was simply no other choice. But when you over seeded, you have to wet it down to keep the over seed. But we don’t want to see a golf course wet.”

The move to May has meant that over seeding in the last couple of years wasn’t necessary.

“In my opinion,” said Furyk, “It (the over seeding) ruined the style and the playability and the way that golf course should be played. It’s a much better golf course played firm and fast.”

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Article Source : Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass at Ponte Vedra Beach : ArticleBase

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