Home of THE PLAYERS Championship; the par-3 17th 'Island Green' (an Alice Dye idea) is the most famous single hole in modern golf. Ben Crenshaw derided the 1982 debut as 'Star Wars golf'.
This course is in our GSPro library — pull it up in any bay and play it wall to wall.
No. 17 — Island GreenSignature
Par 3 · 137 yds
Not part of Pete Dye's original plan — the surrounding land was mined out for the sand needed to build the rest of the swampy course, leaving a crater, and Alice Dye suggested ringing the leftover green in water, creating the most recognizable single hole in golf; entering 2026 it played to a 3.16 stroke average with a 21.3% bogey-or-worse rate despite its short length.
"Because of an ongoing licensing dispute, GSPro lists this course as 'DPC Sodgrass' rather than its real name — tell members to search that if they can't find it. Alias confirmed across multiple GSPro course lists. (Don't confuse it with the separate 'Sawgrass Country Club' build — that's the neighboring private club.)"
Pete Dye's 1980 masterpiece, built for the PGA Tour out of a Ponte Vedra swamp, invented stadium golf and gave the game its most copied hole. The island-green 17th wasn't even planned — excavating the site's sugar sand left a crater, and Alice Dye told Pete to just make the green an island. The course is pure target golf: distance means nothing without angles, and the Players Championship has been decided in that closing amphitheater every March since 1982. Over a hundred imitation island greens later, the original still terrifies.
Everyone, once. It's the most accessible way to take the exact exam the pros take — same tees available, same island, same knees knocking.
16-17-18 is golf's most famous finish: a reachable par 5, the island-green 17th where the tournament turns every single year, and the water-hugging 18th. The 17th alone — 137 yards of pure psychology — justifies the trip.
Honestly brutal for beginners — forced carries, bulkheads, and the 17th shows no mercy. But that's half the fun; play forward tees, budget a sleeve for the island, and enjoy the bucket list.
Three hours from Wesley Chapel and genuinely bookable — this is the Florida bucket-list round for our members. Play it in the bay first; knowing the angles at 16 and 18 is worth real strokes.
In GSPro and it's a Clubhouse staple waiting to happen — the island 17th is even more nerve-racking in a sim because there's no wind excuse. Perfect closing-hole skins game; every member should stripe (or drown) one here at least once.
Resort-public and bookable, but steep: 2026 rack rates run about $550 in summer and $750 in peak season. Staying at the Sawgrass Marriott is the easiest route to tee times.
Source: https://tpc.com/sawgrass/the-players-stadium-course/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TPC Sawgrass, https://friendlygolfer.com/best-gspro-courses/, https://pinhuntinggolf.com/best-gspro-courses/ · high confidence
