No man is an island, but I hit the island green!

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Last Friday three friends and I loaded up and drove 8 hours south to play a round of golf at the TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course. It was a trip that we’d been discussing for probably eight or nine years, and when Uncle Sam sent us all $1,200 to stimulate the economy, it was on.

The Sawgrass Marriott is your typical swanky resort. The beds were soft, the TV’s were flat, and the breakfast was yummy. Oh, and according to our waitress, had we woken up ten minutes earlier we’d have eaten Belgian waffles with Morgan Freeman.

Our tee time at the Stadium Course was 9:09AM, so we arrived about 6:09AM, and hit range balls and practiced putting until we were exhausted. Then we found out our tee time had been pushed back 20 minutes, because Vijay Singh called the night before and requested a foursome of his friends be squeezed in.

When we finally made it to the first tee, I was scared to death. Not because people were watching or the shot was particularly demanding, but because I had paid a lot of money for the round, and there were no guarantees that I was going to play well. As cool as the course was, shooting 105 isn’t my idea of a memorable trip.

Fortunately I did play well. Shot a 41 on the front nine, and it could have been lower had I not been pulling short putts. Our forecaddie, John, was a great guy, and knew everything about the course. He told us where to aim, where not to miss, and when we made the greens, he could read our putts like a diamond-cutter.

I played well on the back nine too, but staying focused was difficult knowing what lurked on #17.

The island green on #17 stays hidden when you play the course. Much like the best horror films, the monster is out of view until near the end. But when you clear the last mounds on #16 fairway, about 100 yards from the green, there it is. 140 yards of terror, just staring you down. I contribute my bogey on sixteen to the seventeenth hole. It’s hard to make a four foot putt when you know you are minutes away from a watery doom.

So we get to the 17th tee and the fourcaddie says, “130 to the front, 133 to the pin.” That’s right, the pin was cut 3 paces on the front of the green. My friend Scott hit first, and sailed a pitching wedge over the flag, safely onto the back of the green. Then Jeremy, who knocked one stiff, right over the pin to about 15 feet. Then it was my turn, and the last thing I remember was looking down at my ball and telling myself to hurry up and swing before I become paralized with fear. I swung, the ball went right, but not too bad, and landed 20 foot long and right, then spun back down the ridge, and left me a relatively flat 20 foot putt for birdie. Finally my friend Chris had his turn, and with the pressure of potentially being the only one of the foursome to not hit the green, Chris made a great swing, threw his hands into the air, and watched his ball land safely on the back of the green.

John the forecaddie said in his 3 years of working the Stadium Course, we were the first foursome he’d had to all hit the green on #17 with their first swing. Of course he may tell every group that, but it made us feel good nonetheless.

Chris, Scott and Jeremy all three-putted for bogey on #17, while I made my par. Not a great end to the story, but it beats four balls in the water. And for all the talk about #17, it’s not the last hole, as I found out with my double-bogey on 18. Even so, I shot an 83, and was thrilled. It was a truely memorable round of golf, and I hope to play their again one day. But even if I don’t, I’m one for one on the island green!

Here’s my shot on #17

You can watch all of our shots here.