Practising in the dark is usually for golfers desperately chasing a good feel after a hard day at the office.
But when you’re given a tee time before 8 am in March in Ponte Vedra, balls are flying under the floodlights well before dawn begins to crack.
Arriving at a golf course in complete darkness is never not weird, especially when you trudge into the course grounds at the same time as the security staff, kitted in their thick yellow jackets, beginning their day-long shifts.
“We can’t tee off until it’s light anyway!” was always the inane shout before playing in a Sunday medal, but there is no rest for the world’s top professional players grinding ahead of the first round of The 50th Players Championship with their Trackmans in hand and training aids laid on the ground.
My alarm was set for 5.30 am as I ventured to the Stadium Course in Florida but, while my eyes were unsticking during my drive down the Interstate 95 highway to the venue, the players were slipping on their gloves and looking down over their opening practice shots.
Not that I needed a torch attached to my cap (my free 50th Players cap, don’t you know), but the route to the practice facilities was barely visible. Like the walk to a football ground for an evening kick-off, I headed for the floodlit part of the sky that signified the driving range, backdropped by the national flags of each competitor in this week’s field.
I scurried around the clubhouse and various staff buggies and tents to find a host of golfers emerging in the shadows.
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On the chipping green was 2016 US Ryder Cup hero Ryan Moore who would have the honour of hitting the tournament’s opening tee shot on the 1st hole, along with Michael Kim, Zac Blair and Ben Taylor.
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I ambled by the putting green to find fan favourite and Netflix star Joel Dahmen standing with a bald man who, to my surprise, wasn’t his caddie.
The man who is his caddie, Geno Bonnalie, soon appeared on the scene wrapped up with hat and hood over his head – the look many people on site went for on a chilly morning at TPC Sawgrass.
The ground was mostly occupied by the event’s stewards and volunteers donning their sky-blue quarter-zips. Their all-important rope work became more strenuous as more and more players started streaming from the clubhouse to begin their warm-up routines.
Despite the morning dew covering the course, I was stunned by the speed of the putting green. I was convinced each of Dahmen’s three 20-footers would stop six feet short, but they all scared the hole.
Like I said, it was dark. But a dark driving range makes for sensational shot-tracing opportunities. Golf balls never looked so white as Taylor Montgomery, Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Troy Merritt sent iron shots soaring into the black Floridian sky.
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The island green in the middle of the range was surrounded by the same mist that hovers above each lake along the Palm Valley road that loops around PGA Tour HQ next to the golf course.
The silhouette of the clubhouse became more grand as the sun began to wake up. The gradually rising temperature didn’t stop Aaron Rai from fully insulating himself with two gloves (I know, I’m not stupid).
The Rolex clocks dotted around ticked towards the first tee time of 7.40 am and as the sky became lighter, the stars on the ground began to appear.
Daylight made the putting green clearer, a sensation Justin Rose sympathised with as he rolled in six-footer after six-footer in his methodical, well-drilled fashion.
Much like Bonnalie, Tommy Fleetwood‘s towering caddie Ian Finnis was in turtle mode with the hood. His long-haired boss stood out more than usual with his bright, white Nike top on.
Tom Kim entered the fray but appeared frozen to his core. With his head tucked into his green hoodie and his hands planted in his pockets, he tentatively picked up his putter to make the first strokes of his day.
For Moore and his playing partners Blair and Chesson Hadley, their relief will come on Friday after being awarded a tee time a little before 1 pm, but a new wave of competitors will open their car doors on Friday morning, asleep but awake, to make the jaded journey to the driving range.
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What a morning on the TPC Sawgrass driving range! Tell us who you think will dominate The Players Championship first round on X!
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