The inspiration for my walk of the back nine at TPC Sawgrass came from one of my fellow members of the media.
They told me of the contrast between the last three holes of the Stadium Course and the ones before it. The difference is that of a park and a city, so I was told.
Not that I was crying foul of their observation, nor was I looking for gaps in their theory during my afternoon stroll. It is just one thing hearing about it and another experiencing it for yourself.
About 70 minutes later I arrived back in the air-conditioned media centre, sweaty and sun-kissed from the 28-degree heatwave outside with the two distinctly different worlds I’d just walked through ingrained in my mind.
To no one’s surprise, I started on the 10th hole that runs straight and curls around a corner of tall trees. Along with the bushes and shrubbery around the green, it was like I had been teleported into the Jungle Book – my favourite childhood film.
Strolling over the mound to the 11th, you are met with a fairway the size of a football pitch. The back nine at Sawgrass is blessed with natural greenery, open spaces and lushness. It is like walking through the park.
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Tranquillity gently descends upon this part of the golf course. It was Friday afternoon so, admittedly, there was no reason for palpable tension or cut-throat anxiety yet.
There was a distinguished feeling of calmness and relaxation, epitomised by the overhanging tree behind the 11th green which offers spectators some shady relief from the glaring sunshine.
A little taster of the city’s hustle and bustle comes at the Intracostal Club terrace by the 13th green, but the noise is tame. You’ve reached a serene and naturally beautiful corner of the estate here.
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The lake on 14 blends perfectly with the abundance of trees and forest. The long, raking bunkers that lay to the side of many holes at Sawgrass provide subtle reminders of the area which is surrounded by beaches, coasts and large bodies of water.
TPC Sawgrass course layout: 15 holes of calm, 3 holes of chaos
If you squint hard enough to the left of the trees that overhang the approach to the 15th fairway, you can make out the city through the trunks. The walk in the park is almost over. You are about to enter rush hour.
Once you come off the ring road to the 16th tee, the stands and hospitality patrons are in sight. Negotiating this tantalising par 5 is largely consumed by constant head pivots and glances at golf’s most famous island green.
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You’ve reached Trafalgar Square. There’s nowhere to sit. The paths to walk are narrow. By this point, you’ve broken through the wall of noise and the decibel level has overspilled compared with the muted silence of every single previous hole.
As I skirted around the commotion, Ben An faced the traffic head-on when finding the water not once but twice on the 17th hole. A quadruple bogey followed, as did an eight-over-par 80.
It is congested chaos. It isn’t the 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale (thankfully) and it isn’t relentless and rowdy. But the noise is constant and the buzz is real. The marshals have the hopeless task of lifting their hands and encouraging the fans to shut their mouths
If the 16-17 bowl is Trafalgar with its grand reputation and its historic scene that many long to experience one day, the short walk under the arch takes you to The Mall with the Palace in sight behind the putting surface of the 18th.
It is a spectacular, hectic end to a golf course that tricks you into believing it is a mouse before evolving into a monster. In my trip to find clarity on the park-city paradox that is TPC Sawgrass, I wasn’t disappointed.
The last three holes don’t only separate themselves with an increase in difficulty but also in their built-up, urban evolution.
From rural to raucous. From nature to nurture. However you could put, the last three holes at TPC Sawgrass are a different word entirely.
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