Pete Dye was a legendary American course architect who created courses that would make a player complain and moan. But the Players Championship course would have astonished Dye if he were alive. The legendary designer who once said, “Life is not fair, so why should I make a course that is fair,” wouldn’t like the setup at TPC Sawgrass for the rings of rough around the water.
Moreover, if Dye were alive, he’d have asked the helpers to get mowers and shorten the ring of rough, which made the sharp edges of the hazards ineffective. Let’s take a look at the ground and see how the hazards and architecture were affected.
Rings Of Rough Neutered TPC Sawgrass Hazards
While Pete Dye created these hazards to challenge the golfers, they served as safeguards. The edges of ponds at no. 16, 17, and . 18 had thick rough to stop erring shots from plunging into the water on Thursday’s round. The players are getting short pitches from tall grass, not a penalty or a drop.
In 1982, the winner of the event, Jerry Pate, pushed Dye and Deane Beman into the water for creating such a difficult course. He’d be disappointed to see the condition of the course now. In the past, the fringes of these greens were a bit more than the green heights. Balls that fell on the greens would bounce off, cross the fringes, and plunge into the water.
Watch your step pic.twitter.com/OgeZ7gBRU8
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 14, 2024
With the increase in rings of rough, the ball stops before falling. This creates a chance to save the ball, thus lessening the level of thrill. Patrick Cantlay‘s second shot into hole 16 traveled too deep into the green and went to the back, where the ring of rough saved the ball from falling. Standing on the board, Patrick took another shot to hole a birdie.
Viktor Hovland also got his ball back because of the rough rings. As he shot for hole 17, the ball spun backwards and stopped on the line of rough, from where he took a second shot with a putter. A similar scenario took place with Jordan Spieth on the 18th green. As Spieth took a second shot from the greens, it was supposed to roll down into the water, but got stuck midway.
Thus, it is clear that the golfers are having a softened course at TPC Sawgrass this year and buckets of birdies are being carded as a result. As of now, Wyndham Clark is leading, and it is to be seen who wins the tournament and takes home a chunk of the prize money.
