The par-3 17th at TPC Sawgrass and The Players Stadium Course is one of the most famous tee shots in the world. After all, the golfer is looking at a relatively small target surrounded by water in pretty much every direction.
What makes the hole compelling beyond the island green and the thousands of people surrounding it is that the tee shot is not all that long.
On the TPC Sawgrass scorecard for The Players Championship, the 17th hole is 137 yards long. That distance is measured from the standard tee box on the hole to the center of the green. For most professionals, that's a 9-iron or a pitching wedge to the green. For the best players in the world, that should be a simple shot. It's what makes it so humbling when a player hits a ball in the water.
However, that tee shot can change distances -- and it does every day of The Players Championship. While the tee box doesn't shift too much forward or backward during the championship -- mainly side to side -- the hole location can move substantially on the green.
Typically, the most common pin locations on the 17th hole are in the front middle of the green to create a potential funnel for an ace, then back right over the bunker on Sunday, and the occasional back left hole location to encourage players to go deep and into the water behind the green. The different locations change the distance of the hole, making it play anywhere from 120 yards to 147 yards.
Regardless of the distance, the shot is intimidating because of the water surrounding it and the mild expectation and hope from fans that something strange -- either great or horrible -- will happen on the hole. Over the years, the 17th hole has proven pivotal to winning The Players, along with the preceding par-5 16th hole and the exceedingly difficult par-4 18th hole.
