The PGA Tour had 95 amateurs play Sawgrass leading up the The Players this week and the results from 17 are quite literally magnificent.
Some observations:
- You should watch that segment if you like golf or have any awareness to #17 at TPC Sawgrass
- I like the idea of the PGA Tour inviting 95 amateurs to Sawgrass for the day but not telling them the express purpose. They probably had to sign a waiver that said they could be filmed and that they could have audio recorded and that they could repurpose the footage for future usage. But no way did everyone know coming into this that the PGA Tour was running a shot dispersion study on #17 only. That’s why this is so wholesome and natural and there’s so many curse words and 2nd and 3rd balls.
- I’m a little disappointed to see there were more quality shots into the green compared to expectations from the montage. At one point I had just assumed they only brought in 25+ handicaps but turns out there’s way more pars than I expected
- I would probably have to hit at least 2 balls into the green. First ball is short right because I’m nervous and don’t commit to the shot. 2nd ball is deep because I juice it and that could easily bounce over or clear the green entirely. And then by the 3rd ball I’ve got a nice rhythm. I hit to 10 feet but still manage a 3 putt. I’m very tempted to score it a 4 because it’s a special moment to play #17 at TPC Sawgrass but I also don’t want to be a complete scumbag pussy.
- I’ve seen it in person (Wedding) and I was actually unimpressed. I didn’t think it was that special.
- HOWEVER. 18 was incredible. Maybe the craziest tee shot I’ve ever seen. But again I wasn’t playing guys. I was there for a wedding and left the cocktail hour with my wife on a hijacked golf cart to find #17 and #18. It wasn’t the perfect circumstance for a review by any means but I got plenty of feel for the course and facilities.
- I’m coming around on The Players being that 5th big event. Certainly the first big one of the season and that’s a confident opinion because I don’t like the Waste Management that much. I think it’s super overrated for a number of reasons. The Players is the first to have that exclusive touch and feel I like around my golf tournaments.
With That, My Favorite Tournaments To Watch On TV:
**Ryder Cup and President’s Cup excluded but are absolutely in their own tier above all this**
- British Open
- Masters
- US Open
- PGA Championship
- The Players
- Memorial
- Heritage
- Genesis
- BMW when it’s in Chicago
- Pebble Beach AT&T Pro-Am because I played Pebble Beach and it was magical
Like playoff hockey, I’m hoping The Players takes a big step forward for me this year and really it couldn’t come at better timing.
We got conference basketball tournaments starting up. Monster golf tournament into a Selection Sunday. And then March Madness starts, and I’ll have this gorgeous calm beautiful soothing golf tournament to bounce back and forth from the chaos of college basketball.
That’s good shit fellas. It really is.