Day 1 at TPC Sawgrass: Shaking Hands

The day after Valentine's Day, hubby and I flew down to Ponte Vedra, Florida, to spend a few days at TPC Sawgrass. In case you don't know, TPC Sawgrass is home to two championship courses, the Players Stadium and Dye's Valley Course. The 17th hole par 3 at the Players Stadium course is one of the most famous golf holes in the world. Each May, during The Players Championship, you'll see the world's top golfers take aim at this heart-shaped island green and either miss completely or land the shot only to have the ball dribble off into the water. If they make it on, then it's a nerve-wracking putt or two or even three. The green has some diabolically tricky breaks that make it a challenge for the pros. But that doesn't stop regular golfers coming to try their luck here. Last year, about 120,000 golf balls were fished out of the water here. That's a lot of lost balls.

We arrived in the early afternoon and checked into the Sawgrass Marriott. Contrary to popular belief, you don't have to stay at the Marriott to play TPC Sawgrass, but if you do, you'll be closer to the course than anywhere else. Our room had this view of the 13th hole of the Stadium course across the water: 

To be honest, this Marriott could use a renovation. It's a busy resort, but we had stains on the curtains and the armchair looked so worn and dirty I had to put a towel over it before I sat on it. The bedsheets were clean, but I wouldn't go barefoot on the carpet. Enough complaining about the hotel, though. It is what it is.

To get into the Sawgrass frame of mind (by the way, sawgrass is a kind of grass and it is sharp like a saw), we headed over to the Clubhouse, which is about a minute away by car from the hotel. Even in low season, this place is bustling. As you can see, however, the weather was not the greatest. It was cloudy and drizzly. Temps were only in the mid-60s.

 

The Clubhouse is open to the public, and there are two restaurants for public dining, one casual and one more formal. We opted for the casual restaurant, Nineteen, and got seated outside on the covered verandah. There were several other couples and foursomes around, mostly older white people who looked rich and retired. Our waiter was super-friendly, though, and made us feel comfortable and welcome, as if weren't just another couple of golf tourists from up north.

I ordered the appetizer of kobe beef sliders, which was a big enough portion for me to consider it lunch.

My husband ordered a barbecue chicken sandwich that had avocado slices on it and came with fries.

Our waiter told us he gets to play TPC Sawgrass for free. I asked if he was some kind of golf pro, and he said no, he "only" shoots in the 80s.

After lunch, we went back to our hotel room for a nap. Then we returned to the Clubhouse to hit balls at the practice range. We brought our golf bags to the cart drop and staff members loaded them onto a cart. The practice balls come in green drawstring sacks that you get at the pro shop. We got three sacks apiece. We drove over to the practice area and then another guy in a golf cart suddenly drove along after us.

"Sir, sir," the guy said to my husband. "You can't wear jeans at the practice facility."

I looked at my husband. He was indeed wearing jeans. The only other pants he'd brought were golf shorts and it was too chilly to wear them. Rather than run back to the hotel to change, he decided to go buy a pair of golf pants at the pro shop. About 15 minutes later, he returned wearing golf shorts because they didn't have any long pants in his size.

"How much were they?" I asked.
"Forty-eight bucks," he said.
I shook my head.

Once we started hitting balls, it was so foggy I could barely see where the balls landed. The shortest flag was 88 yards away. The next one after that was 123 yards, then no flags till the 200-plus yardage. This is definitely a practice area for the pros.

The ground was hard and the grass was worn down to show soil. It was like hitting out of other people's divots.

There is an area reserved for tour academy students and pros, but the public is not allowed there. I bet their grass is greener.

After my husband finished his sacks of balls, he watched me hitting the rest of mine. I had been focusing on practicing with my 8-iron, in preparation for the 17th hole at the Stadium Course, which is 92 yards from the forward tees. Then I switched to woods and driver. My driver was piddling around 150 yards, as far as I could tell.

"You don't really do that 'shaking hands' thing," my husband said quietly.
"Huh?" I said. "Oh yeah."

"Shake hands" was a tip we had seen on the Golf Channel recently. Greg Norman was explaining that when he drives, he reaches his arm out like he's going to shake someone's hand. It encourages good extension. I hadn't tried it yet. But somehow, in the shadows and fog, and with my husband's voice calm and devoid of any hint of offering advice, I was open to trying it out.

So I tried it. On the takeaway, I extended my left arm like I was going to shake someone's hand. My follow-through felt slower, but more effortless in some way. It felt the same as those long breakthrough drives I'd had on the back nine that day I'd played with Seri a couple weeks ago. The result was the same: a monster drive.

My husband smiled. And so did I. I had finally found a way to repeat my long (but really pretty average) drive. Would this help me out on the Stadium Course? Stay tuned to find out...