TPC Sawgrass: The Invention of Stadium Golf

The Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass, the annual site of the Players Championship, changed how tournament golf courses were designed. In the late 1970s, PGA Tour commissioner Deane Beman bought a soggy tract of Florida forest for $1 and sought to carry out his vision for a "stadium golf course." He hired architect Pete Dye for the project, and Dye delivered a wild, diabolical course that was initially scorned by the pros. Since then, the Stadium Course has abandoned many of its stadium-like earthworks and rugged aesthetics. The strategic character of Dye's design remains, however, and TPC Sawgrass is still one of the most interesting and exciting venues on the PGA Tour.
Featuring commentary by Deane Beman, Jerry Pate, Tom Doak, Sean Martin, Garrett Morrison, and Andy Johnson
Still images courtesy of the PGA Tour
Edited and produced by Cameron Hurdus
Footage by Andy Johnson
Story by Garrett Morrison
Additional graphic animation by Matt Golden
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Timestamps
0:00 Introduction
1:06 The Land
1:55 The Design
2:21 Stadium golf
4:41 Hole Strategy
7:16 The Evolution of the Stadium Course
9:00 TPC Sawgrass's Legacy

[@ericknopik2852]

What an awesome video! TPC Sawgrass is a spectacular course for tournament golf. Those last three holes are one of the best closing stretches in the game.

[@theroughlife873]

The quality of this video is unbelievably good!

[@nickwatson8557]

TFE team, this is fantastic!!!

[@Supermahon949]

The golf course is certainly great, the story is fantastic, and the legacy will forever be felt.
But as a fan of this channel, this is a revolutionary video. The done footage is always great, it's really felt here. The audio is up a notch, the production quality is 👌 and the graphics are lovely! Great work guys! Every video is better than the last, and this one is a leap forward.

[@b6surus]

So happy I got a PFG ad leading into this video 🥰

[@ryanbarath1916]

Absolutely spectacular video!

[@bradleycosper8815]

This is amazing.

[@nickschwear1610]

Damn this footage is beautiful

[@zaner5000]

Thank you for excellent videos like these!

[@JorgePortaMirave]

Great job!!! What a video you have put together!!

[@kellymctavish2745]

I wish every course hired you guys to make their promo videos!

[@JamesTribe]

Great video, could you do a follow up video featuring a single hole and talk about the strategy depending on where the pin is located, length of drive, risks/rewards, etc.

[@jc22558]

The Players move back to March has been beneficial to TPC Sawgrass. The course plays much better for tournament golf when it is overseeded. The colors seem to pop more and the rough plays a much bigger factor vis a vis the angles than it did during the May dates. I never used to think Sawgrass was an interesting course, but the last few Players Championships have changed my mind on it.

[@lessmith5285]

Thanks for a great video! I was watching one year and Curtis Strange was in the left fairway bunker on #14 and after he hit his shot, which was not a good one, you could hear him say “ I hate this g****mn motherf****ing golf course!”