What: Golf: The PLAYERS Championship
Where: Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
When: May 6-9, 2010
The famous 17th green at TPC Sawgrass - The Island Hole
Why: The PLAYERS is a set apart from your average tour stop.
First up, this is a stacked field, the strongest and deepest in golf, including the majors. In fact, the players themselves consider this the "fifth major".
Secondly, there is designer Pete Dye’s Players Stadium Course, a 7,215-yard par-72 with teeth, built in 1980 and rated consistently in the Top 100 Golf Courses lists for America.
The closing three holes are considered the toughest closing holes in professional golf with the 17th world famous as 'The Island Hole', a par-three, 137-yard white knuckle ride over water from the tee to a tiered, island green.
The 17th green from the tee box - a view that has struck fear into some of the best golfers in the worldWhat also makes the 17th unique is the spectator experience, with thousands able to watch the action from a terraced hill down the left-hand side that generates a unique atmosphere on the penultimate hole, especially on a Sunday.
The crowd 'oohs' and 'aahs' and whoops and hollers with abandon as the golfers play through, desperate to avoid the watery grave that has put paid to many a contender's hopes. It really is a piece of golfing theatre and for that alone The Players is one for the must-see list of great sporting events.
Throw in some glorious weather now the tournament has switch from mid-March to early May and what's not to love!
GETTING THERE: Jacksonville International Airport (JAX) is a 30-40-minute drive from TPC Sawgrass and very convenient if you’re looking for a flight from any of the major American cities or via a connection through the likes of Atlanta, Boston, New York, Chicago or Washington DC.
If you’re looking for a direct flight from Canada, Europe, Central or South America your nearest airport for direct flights is Orlando International (MCO), which lies 145 miles south and is a 2.5 hour drive.
Both British Airways and Virgin Atlantic fly direct from London Gatwick with Virgin also offering direct flights from Manchester, while Aer Lingus operates daily from Dublin as well as connections through New York’s JFK in partnership with JetBlue. Lufthansa also flies between Frankfurt and Orlando.
GETTING IN
Tickets for The PLAYERS go on sale in early December with links provided through http://www.pgatour.com/.
In 2009, a daily admission cost US$30 for all three practice days, Mon-Wed while tournament tickets for indivudal days cost $75. Parking cost $25 per day or $75 for a weekly ticket.
The tournament also introduced for 2009 a family ticket which included 2 Adult Grounds Admission tickets, 2 Youth Grounds Admission tickets and 1 Parking Pass for $149.00 as well as weekly admission tickets.
WHERE TO STAY
If you come to Florida you’re going to need a rental car so choice of accommodation can be determined not just by price but on how far you are prepared to drive to the course each day.
The nearest stadium to the course is The Marriott Sawgrass Golf Resort & Spa, Travel + Leisure magazine’s No.1 golf resort in Florida, but during tournament week you can be sure it will either be a) block booked for the golfers, VIPs and Tour officials or b) extremely expensive.
We have stayed there (because someone else was paying!) and we can tell you it is a very nice place with bedrooms recently refurbished by its new Irish owners, a fantastic spa and an Irish pub and nightclub in-house. Staying there during non-tournament weeks will also guarantee a tee time on the Players Stadium Course.
Across the way is the Hilton Garden Inn Jacksonville/Ponte Vedra, which our spies tell us is very nice and much cheaper than the Sawgrass Marriott.
Further afield, there are plenty of hotels in Jacksonville Beach, which is the hub of the tournament nightlife with plenty of bars, clubs and restaurants as well as being, as the name, suggests, on the beach.
There is a new Courtyard By Marriott Oceanfront in Jax Beach which does everything it says on the tin while opposite across North First Street is a very nice Fairfield Inn and Suites.
In fact, most of the major mid-price hotel chains have properties on North First Street or close by, near to the ocean and a short walk from the town’s lively nightlife.
A little further inland, check out the hotels on Butler Boulevard, the main road in from I-95 and the Jacksonville ring road to the coast while a 20-minute drive from TPC Sawgrass is another set of hotels, most notably the Holiday Inn Towncenter (1-904-854-8000) off Baymeadows Road, where we stayed for the 2009 tournament and got six nights for a little over US$450 for a very nice room with free wi-fi, a flat-screen TV with HBO and the Golf Channel among the viewing choices.
It was recently opened when we stayed there, with a bar and restaurant, a short drive from the course and close by to plenty of other eating establishments. Recommended.
When in Jax: Take the A1A coast road a few miles south from TPC Sawgrass to visit the delights of St Augustine and the nearby World Golf Village, home to the World Golf Hall of Fame. This place is a great golfing museum packed with memorabilia including a mock locker room stuffed with the game’s greatest mementos from clubs and bags to scorecards and trophies. Also an IMAX movie theatre and two great golf courses, including the King & Bear – the only course co-designed by Palmer and Nicklaus - a restaurant on the property owned by actor and golfing nut Bill Murray and his five brothers called, appropriately the Murray Bros. Caddyshack. Check it out during tournament week and you’re bound to see some Tour ‘faces’ – caddies, commentators and former greats. Maybe even a gopher.
Home from home: Jax Beach is a great spot for nightlife and there’s a decent Irish pub on First Street, the main drag, called Lynch’s. Has a dart board, rugby and Premiership football on TV, a good selection of beers and live music some nights.
Eating out: There are literally dozens of good restaurants in and around Jacksonville Beach, too numerous to mention. Here are a couple of the ones we’ve sampled or had recommended.
The Thai Room – great and reasonably priced Thai restaurant on the A1A as it turns into 3rd Street through Jax Beach. – 1286 South 3rd Street, Jacksonville Beach, FL 32250; Tel: (904) 249-8444
Bonefish Grill – highly recommended seafood restaurant, part of a chain but don’t let that put you off. Ste 302, 2400 3rd St, Jacksonville Beach, FL - (904) 247-4234
Roy’s – part of a chain of “Hawaiian Fusion” restaurants but at the higher end of the quality scale. 2400-101 South 3rd Street, Jacksonville Beach, FL 32250, Tel: (904) 241-7697
Mojo Kitchen – as recommended by Stewart Cink on Twitter no less. The US Ryder Cupper called it “my new favorite area BBQ joint” and who are we to argue? - 1500 Beach Blvd.
Jacksonville Beach, FL 32250; Tel: (904) 247 6636
Plus, it being America, literally dozens more restaurant chains along the main coast road A1A,
Local brew: Orange Blossom Pilsner – try a drop of this honey and orange blossom flavoured lager from nearby Orlando.
Event website:www.tpc.com/sawgrass/