Mitzvah Files: Less Bermuda Rough At TPC Sawgrass

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Rusticize the place! 

As previously reported, changes are coming to the TPC Sawgrass after The Players. And great news, the clubhouse is getting bigger!

As I write for Golf World, my Sawgrass sources say we will see Bermuda roughs reduced and more sand/pine needle/scrub areas brought closer to the fairways to recapture some of the original Swamp Golf aesthetic.

Longtime readers know I feel a Pinehurst-like restoration to the original Pete Dye vibe would look livelier, more interesting, more environmentally-responsible and more visually intimidating. Done right, it might even justify the price of golf here in the way that Pinehursts's renaissance has restored a singularity to No. 2.

Check out the aerial comparison from 1982 at Golf Course Histories. It speaks for itself.

As difficult as the TPC remains, today's equipment and conditioning means the TPC Sawgrass has been left behind and green speed is one of its last defenses. It's an unfathomable notion given that this course was viewed as too tough when it opened, and the bermuda rough lining the fairways has not instilled much fear.

Jason Day hitting iron-3-wood to the once unreachable 9th? Dustin Johnson launching a 372 yard drive there as well, and too many other instances of players able to bomb and gouge has to be an alarming sight for those insisting the course should not be updated. I will argue until I'm blue in the face that there was not an intentional effort to reverse the low scoring by the tour staff on Saturday, but a strong case can be made that the green speeds we saw are motivated by a desire to keep an immacutely-groomed, scoreable course relevant.

As for the look of the TPC, two-time former Players Champion Steve Elkington noted this on Twitter:

Ultimately, the weird dynamics we saw at TPC Sawgrass boil down to one thing: the fear factor has been lost.

Getting that back won't be easy because of modern driving distance prowess, but at least bringing back some of the rusticity to TPC Sawgrass--and a few back tees--would help for the long term good of The Players.