The Sawgrass course in Ponte Vedra Beach, outside of Jacksonville, Fla., features arguably the most famous golf hole in the world. The 17th, sometimes called the "island hole". Though it's not a true island, it sure looks like one to golfers standing on the tee. Water all around, with only a thin strip of land in the back connecting it to the "mainland".
A true island green would be problematic. As in, how would the golfers get to it to putt? Kayaks? Swim, while holding the "flat stick" in their mouths? Though it conjures up an interesting scenario, that probably wouldn't work out so well.
This course hosts the Tournament Players Championship every year and, though it's not officially a "major", it might as well be. Like any major, all the big boys are there and they consider winning the TPC to be a very prestigious accomplishment indeed.
The 17th hole itself is very mysterious. Some estimates say over 100,000 golf balls a year are hit into the water surrounding the green between the pros, club members and tourists. Yessiree, it takes BALLS to play the 17th at Sawgrass. Sorry. Ahem.
But for the professionals it really shouldn't be that dificult. Consider:
It's actually quite a short par 3, by PGA standards. From the tee to the middle of the green is only about 140 yards. And it's hardly a "postage stamp" green. The putting surface itself is over 20 yards deep and 30 yards wide. This is a HUGE target area for the best players in the world to shoot at, especially when most use mere pitching wedges off the tee. You'd think the best players in the world couldn't miss it. But they do, lots of them. Maybe it's a mental thing that affects some of them.
Consider poor Aaron Baddeley. He held the all-time record for hitting the most balls in the water on this hole over the years. Twenty eight of them. In the second round of this year's tourney, AB put two more into the drink to widen his dubious lead. Let's just say Aaron has a way of playing the island hole, um, quite baddeley. But hey, a record is a record. Might as well pad the stats when one gets a chance -- right?
There are others the hole doesn't seem to bother at all. Robert Allenby has played it 45 straight times and never made a sploosh. Ricky Fowler just made it 15 times in a row without having to take the walk of shame to the kiddie tee for a third shot. Alas, given the same huge green to shoot at, Aaron got another one wet from from the duffer relief area -- well less than 100 yards away. As Charles Barkley would say -- turrible. And given HIS golf swing, wouldn't it be interesting to see Sir Chucklehead take a few whacks from the tee at the 17th? But I digress.
Granted, yours truly has never set foot on the Ponte Vedra Sawgrass TPC course, so I wouldn't know what it feels like to tee off on 17, much less in front of thousands of people, TV cameras, and the huge pressure that comes with playing in such a tournament. However, in my younger years I was indeed a PGA member of a slightly different sort. Pretty Godawful Amateur.
It will be interesting to see how things shake out on the weekend. Instead of the usual 10 shot cut margin -- there's over 70 players crammed within 8 of each other. A lot can happen, up or down, with a lot of players, and likely will. But you just know that in the final round on Sunday, the top couple guys will feel a few butterflies when they stand in the tee box of the 17th hole. Put one in the drink, and likely lose a million bucks and a title. No pressure. But still, given the short hole and the size of the green, it shouldn't be that hard for a top pro to land one safely on the putting surface.
Closing thought: 100,000 balls a year in the water around that single hole? That's a bunch. You just know they retrieve them because they have value for resale or charitable purposes, but how? Do they have a scuba diver on the grounds crew? A custom made shop vac with a long tube where a guy on the surface in a rowboat can suck them up?
Thing is, every golf fan knows all about the island hole and all the water surrounding it. Thousands of golf balls are hit into the water and sink to the bottom. What we DON'T know is what becomes of them.
A theory. You don't build a ritzy golf course like Sawgrass without some serious planning and forward thinking. Maybe the bottom of the pond surrounding 17 is shaped like a steep funnel. Any ball sinking to the bottom will quickly roll into a pre-designed conveyor system beneath the green itself and, presto, pop out on the other end in the pro shop. Isn't that sort of what happens on your average putt-putt course? The ball goes into the 18th hole, disappears, and before you can walk back to return your putter, they already have it ready to go for the next guy?
Now THAT would be planning.
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