Love Letter To: The Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass

When you think of TPC Sawgrass, your mind probably goes straight to the iconic island-green 17th . And for good reason. As one of the most famous holes in golf, it grabs a lot of the attention. But visually, TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course brings it from the first tee all the way to the 18th green.

It’s a Pete Dye masterpiece. The man who also designed Kiawah Ocean Course, Harbour Town Golf Links, Whistling Straights, Crooked Stick, Medalist, I could go on and on. But TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course is special - mostly because of its place in the men’s professional game.

Every March, the golf world descends on the sunny beaches of Ponte Verda Beach, in northeast Florida. It has a major championship feel—and the stage in which these golfing gladiators compete is as spectacular as the pure golf shots they hit. TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course has hosted THE PLAYERS Championship since 1983. With built in mounds and hills around greens and tee boxes, the “stadium” design allows fans to have incredible vantage points to spectate tournament golf. Now tipping out at 7,245 yards, the golf course is incredibly challenging yet fair in its playability. It’s not a bombers paradise, nor is it a putting contest. It favors no particular style of golfer and requires you to hit every shot in the bag.

I’ve been lucky enough to have played the course numerous times. And to be honest, I prefer photographing it to playing it. As good as it is to play, it can drive you nuts as a (very) amateur golfer. That’s part of Pete Dye’s charm, to visually intimidate you and penalize you for being just a fraction off. But for all these challenges (tight windows off the tee, the 80+ bunkers, and water hazards found on EVERY HOLE EXCEPT ONE), the twists and turns of TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course make for some incredible visuals. Hence why I play this course a hell of a lot better with my camera than I do with my sticks.

After 8 years of attending the tournament, I can say that personally, sitting behind No. 4 green is my favorite spot to watch the golf. Shock and awe! Not 17?! I know I know. The Island Green gets all the hype as I said at the top of this—and trust me, I’ve spent many hours parked on that hole with a cold beverage enjoying the world’s best get their brain shredded in a blender.

But No. 4 presents its own sick and twisted rollercoaster of emotions. A short par-4, playing around 380 yards for the pros. It requires you to make a decision off the tee. Pierce a fairway wood into the bigger part of the left-to-right angled fairway, or smash driver further up to a smaller landing area. Then, what seems like a monotonous approach shot from first look, you have a water hazard staring you in the face short of the green, one pot bunker on the right, dead long left, and a massive slope in the middle of the green that will shoot balls to the left. You get all the drama on one hole, with the disaster of a water ball, the “oohs” and “ahhs” of a zipped back wedge shot, and the edge-of-your-seat approach shots from thick rough or fairway bunkers for those who didn’t find the fairway. There’s a lovely bowl around the green that allows fans to watch the action (shoutout Stadium Course). On the complete opposite side of the property to No. 17, No. 4 has its own vibe away from the big hospitality tents and packed crowds of the Island Green, you couldn’t be further away from there. It’s just you, the pros, and a cheeky little par-4 that Mr. Dye can hang his hat on.

No. 4 has had its moments in deciding a champion on Sunday. Just last year in 2024 world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler holed out for eagle from 92 yards to springboard his dominate final round 64 en route to back-to-back PLAYERS Championships. In 2021, Bryson DeChambeau ejected himself from contention with a double-bogey after toppin his drive into the water hazard. Way back 1993 Nick Price hit the shot of the tournament from the right rough, 102 yards out to 1 foot after screaming at his ball to catch the massive slope in the middle of the green. It did catch the slope… and Nick won the tournament.

No. 4 is just one example of the genius of Pete Dye. His ability to design a course that provides a stacked tournament leaderboard more often than not proves that it only favors golfers who are at the top of their game. There’s simply no faking it around TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course.