Greetings Golfers,

Yesterday was the opening round of the Players Championship at the TPC Sawgrass. You know, the course with the island green. The wife of the course architect  is the one who came up with the idea. Alice Dye helped Pete with many projects … but this was her claim-to-fame.

Is it a bucket-list golf course? Probably. But not a must. Most of us have limited time and money, so we have to prioritize. It’s fun to play, and the 17th green is an “experience”.

Some people live for “experiences” … even if they’re not so good. For example, about 25 years ago I played Sawgrass as a single. They paired me up with 2 other single players … ironically, both were from Chicago. I knew that I was off to an odd day when after introducing myself, one of the guys asked if I knew a girl he went to college with from Minnesota – my wife. Seriously.

However, it got even weirder. The other guy told me that he was a sales rep and always played Sawgrass when he was in the area. He must of been successful at sales because it was a pretty expensive round of golf – and I don’t mean just the green fee. He opened the jacket compartment of his golf bag and showed me that it was full of golf balls. You can’t believe how many golf balls were in there. Yet, it wasn’t enough. He refilled after 9 holes. Seriously.

Is it that difficult of a golf course? No. In fact if you’re pretty straight, you’ll have no problem. We played off the standard tees – not the back tees. I’m sure it’s a different course from back there. But, we played the 17th hole – the island green – from the back tees. It wasn’t windy and really wasn’t that scary. Two of us hit the green … I think you know who didn’t.

Cheers,

Tom Abts
GM/Head PGA Professional
tabts@deerrungolf.com

Deer Run Golf Club
8661 Deer Run Drive
Victoria, MN 55386
(952) 443-2351
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