Legendary Course Designer Who Once Said, ‘Life Is Not Fair, So Why Should I Make A Course That Is Fair,’ Wouldn’t Be Happy With Rings Of Rough Around Water At The Players This Year

Players Championship

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. 

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. 

Post Edited By: Manaal Siddiqui
Patrick Cantlay Viktor Hovland Wyndham Clark

About the author

Avatar photo

Suchita Chakraborty

Suchita Chakraborty is a senior golf writer at The SportsRush. She did her post-graduation at St. Xavier's University. For a year now, she has developed a riveting inclination toward golf, with Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy being her top-tier motivational figures to indulge in the sport. She even lives by the words of the Hall of Famer, "You can always become better", which impels her to excel every day. Her strong suit in golf is covering the LPGA Tour, especially the nooks and crannies of the international event, the Solheim Cup. As a pastime amusement, Suchita also engages herself in reading about golf controversies. Her favorite pick is ‘LIV and Let Die’ by Alan Shipnuck, which covers the PGA-LIV beef.

Don’t miss these