TPC Sawgrass and the World Golf Village
03.23.2020 - Bucket Golfer - ~12 Minutes
While in the throws of old man winter, I dreamed of warmer days of spring ahead and getting back on the links. But then I thought, why wait? Going over the bucket list’s warmer venues took us down to Florida. Having played TPC Sawgrass in video games since the IBM PS/1 back in the early 90s, Sawgrass was a must for the first Florida jaunt. In addition to Sawgrass, we had some time to play at World Golf Village’s King and Bear.
Travel gear/prep
A small confession: prior to this trip, the last time I travelled via plane to play golf would have been in the late 90s. My old travel case was this hard yet flimsy shell that I remember working quite well but after 20 years, I didn’t trust the integrity of the plastic. After doing some homework, a lot has changed in 20 years in travel bags! I ended up going with Club Glove’s Last Bag Collegiate travel bag with a stiff arm. It seems bullet proof having rivets at key stress points and a massive skid with rollers. I had some side impact / crush concerns about going with a soft travel bag vs a hard case, but the Last Bag Collegiate did a great job.
Day 1
Flying into Orlando
Living in flyover country, direct flights can be hard to come by. The nearest commercial airport to TPC Sawgrass, Jacksonville International Airport, had no direct flights from airports where we live. Since we’re flying with clubs, direct flights were a requirement for us. Orlando International Airport, about 2.5 hours from TPC Sawgrass, had tons of directs from our airports, so we chose Orlando. We didn’t realize it initially but this gave us the opportunity to broaden our golf trip as the drive from Orlando to TPC Sawgrass goes right by the World Golf Village. More on that later.
Sawgrass Marriott
Besides stopping for lunch, we made a b-line to Sawgrass Marriott from the Orlando airport. The resort has a lot to offer, including a scaled down replica of #17. We stayed in a villa room for the first night and then stayed in the main tower the second night. We used TPC Vacations to book the trip and the package room was in the main tower. We contemplated seeing if we could stay in the villa for the second night but heard that the main tower may have better views of the course and has recently been renovated. Overall, the villa was nice and spacious but perhaps a little dated compared to the main tower. Once unpacked, we headed for the range.
Practice facility
TPC Sawgrass’ practice facility is next level with a massive range, short game area, and multiple putting greens. A large portion of the range was being preserved for THE PLAYERS Championship so that left a smaller than desired hitting area. When we arrived, there was not much grass left due all of the use throughout the day. The big eye opener to us was the cost for a small bag of range balls…20 bucks! We were taken back a little by the cost, but once we were out on the range hitting balls to a full scale size replica of #17, we forgot all about the cost and how amazing it was to be at one of the PGA TOUR’s most recognized stops. After the range, we rolled a few and were surprised at the speed of the greens. I last played golf in Florida about 20 years ago and recall the greens having traditional bermuda attributes: smooth with moderate speeds. These greens rolled very true and very fast. Once we wrapped up putting practice, we headed back to Sawgrass Marriott for a bite.
Alice and Pete’s Pub
Sawgrass Marriott has several restaurant options but we elected to eat at Alice and Pete’s Pub (TPC Sawgrass designers, Mr. and Mrs. Dye). If there was a low spot of the trip it would have been this place. Not that the service, food, or drink were bad, but it didn’t live up to being called Pete and Alice’s.
Day 2
Breakfast at TPC
Breakfast was included within our golf package the day of our tee time. When booking the package, I really didn’t think much of it honestly. I figured it was going to be something a little nicer than a hotel breakfast buffet but that’s about it. I was wrong. The breakfast at the TPC Sawgrass clubhouse was incredibly memorable with spectacular views of the courtyard and the course and food to match. Included within the price of the package, we could order anything we wanted off of the breakfast menu, made to order. I had the Salmon Benedict: poached eggs + tequila cured salmon + english muffin + chipotle hollandaise + charred roma tomato = tasty. I’ve never had tequila cured salmon before and was blown away. It was a great start to the day and provided enough energy to get me through the morning and much of the afternoon.
Clubhouse private tour
After breakfast and a little range time, we received a private tour by one of the locker room attendants. He gave us access to the private locker room where we got to sit in the famous barber’s chair surrounded by all of the names of the PLAYERS champions over the years. It turned out that the locker room attendant grew up in the same small town I was from! Very small world.
Darin our caddie
My buddy and I walked TPC Sawgrass to see and experience more of the course. To walk Sawgrass, you have a few options: pull cart, carry, or caddie. We opted for a double bag caddie because we also wanted some local knowledge as this was our first time playing the course. We met Darin our caddie about an hour before our tee time and went over the ins and outs with us: how he reads greens, what types of assistance he offers, etc. He was phenomenal and would recommend to anyone if the course you’re about to play offers caddie services, go for it, especially if it is your first time playing the course. Darin’s knowledge of TPC Sawgrass was impressive; I gathered quickly he had some serious game of his own right. On the tee he’d go over optimal landing areas with club selection advice but would also advise of the safe miss areas. Darin impressed us with his stamina, carrying two bags filled with enough balls to make it through a water laden course.
The round
Our round started out with a small hiccup. The other two individuals within our foursome were a no-show. Not that I’m anti-social but was a little glad we were able to play as a twosome because it allowed us to take our time and soak it all in. Before our tee-time, the starter handed us keepsake island green heavy duty bag tags constructed out of metal. I would advise against using it as a bag tag if you carry; it’s that heavy. Our round started on time and the first tee jitters came and went. We were actually playing TPC Sawgrass! It was the realization that we were living a dream. I’ll spare you the play-by-play gore and let the photos in this post speak for themselves except for two holes: #6 and #17.
Hole #6
Pete Dye considered hole #6 his most favorite hole on the course. A relatively short par 4, it has a lot of really great design elements that reward a not so lengthy tee shot down the middle with an easy approach shot. Our Caddie Darin advised us to hit our 230 yard shot off of the tee to keep the palm trees out of play on either side of the fairway. My buddy, against Darin’s advice, pulls out the big dog. I recall his tee shot being well struck but a tad left and nailed the palm trees. He had a decent lie in the rough and turned out to be a good angle based on the pin location. His approach shot landed just short of the hole, trickled up, and dropped it in for eagle! It was pretty incredible to watch the ball go from visible to gone. Darin was a bit in disbelief thinking the ball must have rolled past the hole and disappeared in a swale. I listened and walked away with a par.
Hole #17
By the time I got to #17, I was hardened (aka beaten down) by the previous 16 Dye-abolical holes for whatever outcome. The walk from 16 to 17 has to be one of the more intimidating walks in golf as you have full visibility of your future target, the island green. In all honesty, the green seemed bigger in real life than on TV so that instilled some confidence. Playing 130 yards to the pin with 123 to the middle, I was in between clubs. I decided to go with wedge. I pured it and it was tracking. For a moment I thought…”this could be it, my first hole in one on one of the most iconic holes in golf”. Well, that didn’t happen. It landed a few feet past the pin and bounced over the green. I heard the ball nail the temporary bridge/deck structure that Sawgrass installs to keep foot traffic off of the earth bridge before the PLAYERS. I thought my ball was surely wet but turned out to be ok! I did not get up and down but gladly walked away with a 4.
The quality of the course, clubhouse, and staff did not disappoint. The rye overseed made everything look carpeted and the “greenness” really popped. I have never experienced a golf course as lush as TPC Sawgrass Stadium. Some of the shots I feared the most were out of the bunkers in that tricky distance range of 50-75 yards. But the pristine sand made it fairly easy to pick clean. The greens were definitely faster than expected and also very smooth and true. As for the clubhouse, besides the mentioned restaurant and bar, the pro shop had all of our merch needs carrying all major apparel brands. After our round, we took our TPC Sawgrass bag tags to the locker room attendant where they engraved our names and our scores on #17.
Pusser’s
For dinner on game day, we ate at Pusser’s Bar and Grille immediately next to Sawgrass Marriott. The restaurant is named after Pusser’s rum, the original rum of the British Navy. Pusser’s had live music when we were there and really enjoyed the ambiance and vibe. For appetizers, we enjoyed some raw oysters and crab dip. For my main entree, I had the Grouper Ponte Vedra: pan-seared, topped with sautéed jumbo lump crab meat and sauce béarnaise, served with fresh vegetables and garlic parsley potatoes. It was ridiculously good.
Day 3
King and Bear
Since we decided to fly into Orlando, the World Golf Village made for an easy stop on our way back to the airport, so we played at the King and Bear. The King and Bear, the only Nicklaus/Palmer collaboration, had a significantly reduced pucker factor from the TPC Sawgrass PLAYERS Stadium. King and Bear was not easy by any means but the course had ample sized fairways and there was almost always a bailout area. The course was in excellent condition and had very fast greens. I did something on this course that I have never done before; I fell into a pond! My drive came to rest near a pond on the other side of a swale (couldn’t see the danger off of the tee). I had to lean forward to keep myself stable on the ledge of the pond but knew it was going to be dicey swinging. Sure enough, right after impact my left leg took a quick dip. Another memorable experience about this course: cart paths on multiple holes end into sandy waste areas. It felt weird driving a cart what essentially looked like natural sand bunkers.
Murray Bros. Caddy Shack
So this stop was completely unexpected but so glad we did it. Right after we played the King and Bear, we were in the mood for some grub. On the way to the course, we noticed signage for Murray Bros. Caddy Shack bar and grill located near the World Golf Hall of Fame so that’s where we went. The food was great (I had the nachos) but the memorabilia stole the show as the restaurant doubled as a shrine to Caddy Shack the movie and other Murrary Bros. golf outings. If you’re into Caddy Shack the movie, it is a must stop. If you like great bar food, it is also a must stop. My only regret here was not ordering the pool water cocktail. I’ve added that to the list of reasons to come back to the area.
That’s the gist of my first “away from home” bucket list trip with hopefully many more to come. TPC Sawgrass and the World Golf Village area should be on every golfer’s itinerary. As Gary Player says in ad spots for the World Golf Village, “for the love of golf, you’ve got to go”.