“I’m just not sure that you’ll ever have a major championship with an island green for the 17th hole.”
David Toms doesn’t care for the TPC Sawgrass course - and he doesn’t hide his feelings on it.
“I’d probably rather be on my ski boat this weekend than playing here,” he said after shooting 73 Saturday for 6-over 222 after three rounds of The Players Championship.
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“I’ve never played very good here,” Toms said. “I don’t [...]
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Paul Azinger doesn’t like you
Paul Azinger doesn’t really want to deal with you. The GCSAA blog followed Fred Klauk, the superintendent for TPC Sawgrass, for a few hours on Wednesday going through his routine. Something of note occurred at the 4:10 mark. (Abate is assistant superintendent Jim Abate.)
4:10 p.m. — While waiting for the rep to deliver the club, [...]
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It’s deja vu all over again
Well, the talk all week leading into the Players Championship were “firm and fast”. If I had a nickel for every time I heard that phrase the past month regarding TPC Sawgrass, I’d have half the check the winner’s going to pocket. (By the way, when are we going to see “firm and fast”?)
Get ready, [...]
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“He just comes off sometimes the wrong way, kind of Scott Hoch-ish, where he says things he probably shouldn’t say.”
Chris DiMarco’s words on first round Players Championship leader Rory Sabbatini’s comments on Tiger.
“I want Tiger,” Sabbatini said. “Everyone wants Tiger. I want him to pick it up, and we’ll be up there late on Sunday.”
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Sabbatini sounds like he’s requesting his own “thank-you-sir-may-I-have-another” moment. Sabbatini had a one-shot lead over Woods entering the final round [...]
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“The most successful courses, the ones everyone wants to play, are the most difficult. I didn’t make it that way. That’s just the way it is.”
Short interview with Pete Dye in today’s Star-Tribune has a few interesting quotes.
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Celebrating Pete Dye
Pete Dye.
You have to be a golfer to appreciate that name - he’s the true evil genious. Being a golfer and having a deep, rooting interest in golf course architecture, he’s my inspiration for my passion of golf course design.
And yet it’s bizarre how much, looking back on my golfing career, he has directly influenced [...]
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The TPC arms race
TPC Sawgrass just spent $60 million renovating its fairways and building a nice new palace to the PGA Tour - which cost twice the original budget.
TPC Atlanta - at an ancient 12 years old - has been undergoing improvements including replacing its rough - all of its rough.
TPC Boston, younger still than Atlanta, is undergoing [...]
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Media not so wild about the FedEx Cup?
The Jacksonville Times-Union golf writer - who apparently doesn’t want to associate his name with the article - made this interesting statement.
The media need to quit fighting the FedEx Cup points race. It’s the Tour’s basic competitive structure, but I’ve had writers swear to me they will never mention in their game story what a [...]
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Sawgrass Super: “…which is the way it should be for a major championship.”
Hmm… the advocates of golf’s fifth of the four majors are stepping up. Sawgrass’ superintendent Fred Klauk is ready to declare it so.
“We’ve had a lot players tell us that the course is in great shape and that it’s a fair setup as long as the greens don’t get too fast,” Klauk says. “Fortunately, we [...]
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“It’s American golf. It’s entertainment. The fans want to see a car wreck, and that’s what it is.”
Australian golf course architect Michael Clayton made that statement regarding the 17th hole at Sawgrass.
Personally, I find that sad commentary on American golf. For the most part, though, he’s right about the 17th hole summarizing what many Americans’ want out of their golf - ultimate risk and ultimate disaster. Sure, if the participant succeeds, he’s [...]
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