The Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass is one of Pete Dye’s most famous golf course designs. At 7,245 yards, the par-72 course is one of the most difficult on the tour, and a favorite bucket list course for all golfers to ‘check off’.
Pete was hired by PGA Commissioner Deane Beman to fulfill his dream to build a home course for the PGA Tour professionals, and create a tournament there called the Tournament Players Championship that could become a fifth major tournament. Beman bought the land from Jerome and Paul Fletcher, major landowners in the area who believed in Beman’s dream so much that they sold 415 acres of wooded wetlands and swamp to the PGA TOUR for $1!
Pete used this opportunity to build what he called a ‘stadium course’ for spectators, implementing built-up hills and plateaus adjacent to each hole in his design to provide excellent views of multiple golf holes for patrons-which was critical in making the tournament a fan-favorite. The idea for this came from Glen Abbey Golf Club in Canada, where there were constructed spectator mounds–and Pete ran with this idea throughout the full course layout.
Construction proved to be very challenging, as the land acquired for the course was mostly marshland inhabited by deer, alligators, wild board and rattlesnakes. In order to have a sandy soil base for the Bermuda grass, Pete dug up all of the top layers of muck to get to natural sand, then dug up the sand and put the muck in its place–essentially flip-flopping the two layers in the northern Florida marshland![1] He dug up huge areas to create lakes, used the sand to serve as a foundational layer for the course, and then used the muck to help build up the elevation around the fairways and greens to create contours which would serve as huge spectator mounds (in some cases 3-stories high)!
For clearing out low lying vegetation across the course, Pete drew upon what he had seen done on many courses in Great Britain–bringing in a small herd of goats to clear away the vegetation. However, as the herd grew to nearly 50 in number and some were found to be climbing to the top of the clubhouse, Beman had the goats given away. [1]
The area around what would become the 17th hole proved to have the best sand to serve as the foundational layer for fairways, so a huge cratered pit had been dug up in that area, continually growing in size as construction for holes 1-16 progressed. Realizing that the pit was too massive to refill for the par-3 17th hole, it was Alice Dye who recommended to Pete to only build up the green and then just fill the rest of the crater with water. Thus, the famed island green at #17 was created, one of the most famous golf holes in in the world.
At this time, nearly all of the greatest golf tournaments were played at private clubs where the average fan rarely had a chance to play. Beman and Dye wanted to change this to ensure TPC Sawgrass would be a course whose design and character that would be accessible to play by all golfers of various skill levels, favoring no particular player or style of play. To meet this goal, Dye took great care 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, with many different tee locations. 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 (to balance the influence of wind). [2]
When the course was finally completed in 1981, Pete was thrilled with the final product. He was quoted as saying:
“Everything here is the dead opposite of Augusta. That course is pretty pretty; the Players Course is mean pretty.” – Pete Dye
He felt that professionals would love the challenge that the course provided, and that the average golfer would also love playing where the pros played. However, the inaugural Players Championship tournament in 1982 provided a different response from professional players than anticipated.
The tee box on #18 during The Players championship
During the practice rounds of the 1981 Players Championship, grumbling from players started to grow. Jack Nicklaus, Craig Stadler, Fuzzy Zoeller and Tom Watson were critical of the course design. Stadler felt that there was “too much luck involved out there” when playing into precise landing areas and fast, firm greens. Nicklaus said “I’ve never been very good at stopping a five iron on the hood of a car”, and Zoeller asking “where are the windmills and animals?”. Watson was the most vocal, saying “this course is 90% horse manure, and 10% luck”.[1] However, the spectators loved the course. With great viewing lines to watch professional golfers languish, it was a spectator’s dream. And fortunately for Pete Dye and the tour, Jerry Pate won the inaugural tournament at 8 under par, two strokes ahead of Scott Simpson and Brad Bryant. Jerry Pate then proceeded to throw Deane Beman and Pete Dye into the lake off of the #18 green, and proceeded to jump in himself![3]
Jerry Pate’s water festivities at the end of the tournament drew national attention to the Players Championship tournament, and the tournament has grown in notoriety and prestige ever since. Former critics have since been won over by the course–and it is now a favorite of all tour professionals and spectators alike. Beman and Dye’s dream of creating a 5th Major has come true.
References
[1]-“Bury Me in a Pot Bunker”, by Pete Dye with Mark Shaw, Chapter 10.
[2]-TPC Sawgrass website at https://tpc.com/sawgrass/history/
Links
TPC Sawgrass Yardage Book: https://tpc.com/sawgrass/wp-content/uploads/sites/51/2020/07/2019-Rory-PS-Yardage-Book-1-1.pdf
Extensive history of TPC Sawgrass (with excellent construction photos): https://www.todays-golfer.com/features/course-features/the-making-of-tpc-sawgrass/
Video of Jerry Pate throwing in Pete and Beman at first Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass: Video