(Photo and video by Tanner Latham)
“Good luck on #17.”
The valet guys at the Sawgrass Marriott in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL whisper it when you toss them your keys. Our breakfast waitress winked when she said it while dropping off the check. No surprise, really. This is arguably one of the most famous holes in golf, and if you play the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass—-home to THE PLAYERS Championship kicking off today—-it’s the hole that’s stuck in your head from your first swing on the practice range until your final putt on 18.
Why?
A super-short par 3 shouldn’t be that big a deal, really. From the pro tees, it’s about 132-yards. When my dad and I stepped on our tee box—-the more forgiving forward tees-—it was right around 100 yards to the center. Of course, there is the fact that the green is an island. Yeah. An island. If your shot's short, long, right, or left, you dig around in your bag for another ball.
But all my dad needed was one shot to get on the green. Here's the video to prove it. He walked off the island with a par and a big ol' grin.
