PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FL

TPC Sawgrass and Sawgrass Marriott Resort & Spa announce the first everTOUR PLAYER EXPERIENCE, allowing everyday golfers the chance to live like a PGA TOUR professional at one of the Travel + Leisure Golf “Top 10 Best Golf Resorts in the World.” “TOUR Player fans” become a part of the rich heritage of TPC Sawgrass and experience the magic of storytelling through activities and amenities that closely emulate a day in
the life of a PGA TOUR player.

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FL

Sawgrass Marriott Golf Resort & Spa and TPC SAWGRASS offer anxious
golfers the chance to PLAY BEFORE THE PLAYERS PLAY at Northeast Florida’s eminent golf and spa destination. Thisyear, linksmen who PLAY BEFORE THE PLAYERS PLAY will get a shot to sink their putt on the 17th hole Island Green before any of the PGA TOUR players have the chance during THE PLAYERS on May 5-11, 2008. Packages are available January 2- April 30, 2008 starting at $720 per golfer.

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FL

Sawgrass Marriott Golf Resort & Spa -- the Official Hotel of TPC Sawgrass and Home of THE PLAYERS -- offers golf enthusiasts the chance to take a swing at Dye’s Duo including rounds of golf on the renowned THE PLAYERS Stadium Course and Dye’s Valley Course while staying at the magnificent 65-acre sports playground, located along the Atlantic Coast between Jacksonville and historic St. Augustine.

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TPC Sawgrass teams up with America Supports You

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FL

Underscoring the PGA TOUR’s long-standing commitment to give back, the TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. will conduct fundraising for U.S. troops and their families as part of America Supports You (ASY) -- a nationwide program launched by the U.S. Department of Defense that recognizes citizens’ support for military men and women and communicates that support to members of our Armed Forces at home and abroad.

“On behalf of the PGA TOUR and TPC Sawgrass, we feel privileged to have the opportunity to give back to the brave men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces who so selflessly put their lives on the line every day to ensure the freedom of all Americans. We invite the entire community to join us in our fundraising efforts on their behalf,” said TPC Sawgrass General Manager Bill Hughes.

Fundraising activities at TPC Sawgrass will be held on Monday, September 25, 2006 with the Second Annual America Supports You Charity Golf Tournament hosted by local PGA TOUR player Frank Lickliter II. The event begins with registration at 10:30 a.m. and lunch at 11:00 a.m. Immediately following lunch, participants will attend a dedication ceremony to U.S. Troops, followed by the shotgun start tournament at 12:30 pm on TPC Sawgrass Valley Course. Each foursome of golfers will play with an enlisted member of the military. Dinner after the tournament will be proudly sponsored by Carrabba’s Italian Grill.

The field will be limited to the first 120 players to enter. Entry is a contribution of $300 per player or $1,000 per foursome to the ASY initiative. Other sponsorships are also available. Entry will include a complimentary round of golf on TPC Sawgrass PLAYERS Stadium Course and a free one-hour golf lesson beginning in November 2006, upon the grand opening of the TOUR Golf Academy at TPC Sawgrass. One-hundred percent of the proceeds will be contributed to the America Supports You fundraising initiative.

Proceeds raised at TPC Sawgrass as well as 22 other TPCs across the country will be distributed equally to three outstanding beneficiaries:

• Homes For Our Troops -- A non-profit organization supported by TOUR player Phil Mickelson that adapts or builds new homes for accessibility for servicemen and women returning to America with serious injuries and disabilities.
• Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund -- A non-profit organization supported by TOUR player Rory Sabbatini that provides financial support for the families of military personnel lost in performance of their duty.
• Wounded Warrior Project -- A non-profit group supported by TOUR player Frank Lickliter that provides unique, direct programs and services to meet the needs of servicemen and women severely injured in the line of duty.

Allison Barber, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Internal Communications and Public Liaison, said of the program, “We are very appreciative to the PGA TOUR, TPCs and PGA TOUR players for their hard work, generosity and support of our troops. This extraordinary effort will go a long way toward assisting members of the U.S. military both here and abroad.”

TPC Sawgrass is located at 150 TPC Drive, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 32082. For sponsorship opportunities or to participate in the America Supports You Charity Golf Tournament, please call Matt Borocz at (904) 273-3374.

ASY Sponsor

• Carrabba's Italian Grill
• North Florida Sales
• Susan Budreau / Tournament Solutions
• Chandler Altman / Golf Design
• Southeastern Paper Group / Terry Miller
• Old Master Putting Company / Jim McKee

Hole Sponsor

• Mr. & Mrs. George Williams
• Naders Pest Raiders / Randy Nader
• Go Mini's / Bill Norris
• Pack Rat / Mike Heard
• Swisher International, Inc.
• Re/Max Coastal Real Estate / Michele Smith BRAUD Design/Build Inc. / Pete Braud
• 300 Club
• Admiral Adjusting Company
• Northrop Grumman

2006 Awards and Recognition

• Golfweek, America’s Best: Top 100 Modern Courses, TPC at Sawgrass Stadium Course, #14
• Golfweek, America’s Best: State by State Guide, TPC at Sawgrass Stadium Course, #1 in Florida
• Golfweek, America’s Best: Top 100 Resort Courses, TPC at Sawgrass Stadium Course, #7
• Travelgolf.com, Florida’s Top 10 Courses, TPC at Sawgrass Stadium Course, #9
• LINKS Magazine, Resorts Most Likely to Visit?, Sawgrass Marriott Resort and Spa 44%
• Golf Digest, The Best 75 Golf Resorts in North America, Sawgrass Marriott Resort and Spa #34
• Golf Digest, Best Places to Play, TPC Sawgrass 4 ½ Stars

Changes abound for TPC Sawgrass

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FL

Beginning in late March at the conclusion of this year's PLAYERS Championship, TPC Sawgrass will undergo a massive renovation that is sure to continue making the tournament, course and facility world class when work is completed in early 2007.

In 1980, former PGA TOUR Commissioner Deane Beman and course architect Pete Dye invented a new way to present tournament golf with the creation of the Stadium Course. After more than 25 years of play and tournament preparation, the course will be closed for a few months beginning this spring in order to tweak the fairways and greens. Because of hospitality demands, the current clubhouse will be torn down and a new clubhouse will be built that can handle the demands of visitors to the resort during the year and create suitable space for various functions during PLAYERS week.

The tournament's date change, from its current late March slot to May 7-13 in 2007 and early May in years to follow, will allow for drier, warmer conditions and more daylight. An additional result will be more extensive coverage from The Golf Channel and NBC. NBC's weekend coverage in 2007 will have limited commercial interruptions, later air times (2-7 p.m., Saturday and Sunday) and broadcasts in high definition.

The course work is necessary in order to present premium conditions year-round. The course was built on marshland that causes the playing characteristics to change dramatically after rainfall. During a week of wet conditions, the winning score has averaged 13.6-under par, while weeks with little or no rain, the winner's total has averaged 8.5-under. The course will not be lengthened from its current 7,093 yards but made it play to its original "firm and fast" conditions.

The fairways renovation includes removing the current topsoil, adding extensive irrigation and fresh sand, totaling 24,000 tons of organic material removed, which equates to filling of seven miles of dump trucks. Already, five fairways (Nos. 1, 2, 4, 5 and 9) have been reworked. Every green will have a subsurface mechanical drainage system installed to hydrate in dry weather and vacuum water in wet weather.

Amenities will be developed that place the fans and the tournament's Proud Partners, UBS and PricewaterhouseCoopers, closer than ever to the game. Fans will be able to walk the 16th, 17th and 18th holes on a continuous elevated level. A new entryway from the main parking lots, complete with a Walk of Fame, interactive exhibits and merchandise, will be added.

The dramatic new clubhouse, to be constructed in less than a year, will accommodate at least twice as many special events and fits the architectural flavor of Northeast Florida. A temporary facility, to the right of the first fairway, will be in place during construction to handle resort guests and those playing the Valley Course, which will not close during this project. The new clubhouse will offer premium views of the ninth and 18th holes and will be fronted by a lawn where spectators can gather. It will also be constructed closer to ground level.

Visitors coming to play will also notice additional improvements. A short-game area and TPC Golf Academy with indoor hitting bays will be added to the current practice facility. A caddie program began earlier this year, with the caddies also serving as "storytellers" for each player.

Sawgrass receives recognition

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FL

The Tournament Players Club at Sawgrass has been ranked No. 29 in the U.S. and No. 50 in the world in Golf Magazine’s Top 100 Golf Courses listings (September 2005). Sawgrass was also named the No. 7 Best Golf Resort in the U.S. and the No. 1 Best Golf Resort in the state of Florida for 2005 by Travel and Leisure Magazine.

Designed by world-renowned golf course architect Pete Dye, the TPC at Sawgrass is the flagship facility to the PGA TOUR’s Tournament Players Club Network and serves as home to THE PLAYERS Championship. The club recently announced plans to initiate an expansive renovation program in 2006. Improvements will include significant infrastructural work to the famed Stadium Course and the construction of a new Mediterranean Revival-style clubhouse.

“We are extremely pleased that the TPC at Sawgrass has received this recognition, and are excited about further enhancing the quality of experience we will provide our TOUR members, resort guests and THE PLAYERS Championship patrons and sponsors through the renovation program,” said Vernon Kelly, president of PGA TOUR Golf Course Properties, who was project manager for the TPC at Sawgrass when it was under construction in the late 1970s. “We’re confident these enhancements will transform the TPC at Sawgrass into a unique five-star golf facility befitting the growing status of THE PLAYERS Championship and the resort.”

Work will begin upon the conclusion of THE PLAYERS Championship (March 20-26, 2006) and be completed in time for the 2007 tournament. While the Stadium Course is scheduled to reopen late in 2006, the Valley Course will remain open throughout construction, with golf shop operations working out of a temporary facility until the new clubhouse opens in 2007.

Actions speak louder than words at Sawgrass

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FL

When Rob Strano began learning sign language, he was unsure what his application for the skill might be.

However, its purpose became clear when Strano realized there was a severe void in the community for golf programs targeted at deaf individuals.

"There was no one offering quality golf instruction to the deaf," he said. "I knew I had to change that."

In the spring of 2004, he did just that, launching the first golf camp for kids taught entirely in sign language. From May 24 to 26, the camp was brought to the Tournament Players Club at Sawgrass, where more than 50 six to 18 year-old students from the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind enjoyed three days of instruction. The camp was taught by Strano and fellow PGA professional Wally Armstrong, with the assistance of Stan Gustetic, Florida School for the Deaf and Blind's Administrator of Related Services.

Utilizing a variety of unique teaching methods and visual aids -- such as a figure to model the various movements of the golf swing, the students learned golf fundamentals, along with golf rules and etiquette.

"When a student is having difficulty with the golf swing, I will have them use the figurine to show me how the body should look at that point in the swing," Strano explained.

This innovative approach to golf instruction has proven to be very successful. However, learning to play golf is just one of the many benefits of Strano's camp.

"The tremendous amount of self-confidence, self-esteem, and sense of accomplishment achieved by these students is really remarkable," said Armstrong. "We had a little girl here yesterday, a really tiny one, and the first time she hit the ball, she smiled so big it stretched from ear to ear!

"That's what makes the camp so important for the kids and so rewarding for those of us on the teaching end. It was an extraordinary experience for all of us."

"I was extremely honored to be a part of the camp," said Shane Ponchot, TPC at Sawgrass Group Outings Coordinator. "It was very gratifying to see the smiles of the kids after each good shot and to see them grow not only as golfers, but also as confident young people, in just three short days.

"I feel fortunate to work for the TPC at Sawgrass where I have the opportunity to make such a significant impact on kids from the local community."

Strano was equally pleased with the reception the camp received from Sawgrass employees.

"The entire staff has been great. From the starter to the golf shop employees, to the waitresses, we couldn't have asked for better treatment.

"If we need balls, they're here. Ice, it's here. It is incredible how great everyone has been," he said. One aspect of the course proved to be most exciting for the students -- hole No. 17's spectacular island green.

"If we had had more balls, they would still be out there trying to hit the island green!" said Strano.

Both TPC staff and students are looking forward to their return next year.

Sawgrass' 17th: How a legend was built

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FL

If necessity is the mother of invention, the 17th hole of the Stadium Course at the Tournament Players Club at Sawgrass is a gifted child.

Originally intended to be bordered by water on the right side only, the hole evolved into the famous island green due to needs elsewhere on the course. As architect Pete Dye was building the course on swampland, a good pocket of sand -- a rare commodity -- was discovered in the area around 17.

"We needed good, quality sand for developing the fairways," recalled then-PGA TOUR Commissioner Deane Beman, who was the mastermind of the TPC network. "As the holes started developing we needed more and more sand, and that's where the good sand was so that's where the lake is."

After the sand was harvested and much of it used to create Nos. 15 and 16, Dye was left with a gaping hole in the ground and an even larger dilemma.

"We had this big hole in the ground without any green," Dye said years later. "Alice [his wife] said, 'Why not just make an island green?' I said, 'I dunno.'

"It always was supposed to have been a par 3. It was to have a lagoon of some variety, but I really didn't have any concrete prepared plan."

The makeshift plan to incorporate the man-made crater into the design of the course was implemented, and perhaps the most treacherous and terrifying 132 yards in golf was born.

"Everybody wanted to see this course that the players feared," said Pete Davison, the PGA TOUR's vice president of golf course properties and director of operations. "They also wanted to play it. It no question has elevated (THE PLAYERS Championship)."

The 17th green measures 90 feet deep, 87 feet wide across the back and 50 feet wide across the front. A ridge dissects the middle of the green with a 2-foot drop from the upper rear to the lower front. There is also a lower tier on the back right -- a foot lower than the upper level -- which is exactly where you can expect to find the Sunday pin placement.

"I don't think anyone thought that hole would become what it is," said Beman. "It's only 130 yards maximum until you are playing for something important."

Like the $6-million mother of all purses at THE PLAYERS Championship.

Golf ball diver discovers hidden treasures

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FL

Spahn has a different outlook than most who come to the Tournament Players Club at Sawgrass.

"The best hole out there is No. 17," he said sadistically. "The more water the better."

No one knows more about golf course hazards than Spahn. During the last 11 years he's survived an alligator attack and three water moccasin bites. He's also been pinched countless times by crabs, and he has been on the wrong end of catfish barbs more often than he cares to remember.

"I've been bitten by about everything you can find in these waters here," said Spahn, who also lost a chunk of his hand to a snapping turtle. "It's an occupational hazard."

No, he's not the world's unluckiest golfer. He just makes his living off the misfortunes of others. As a golf ball diver Spahn has spent more than a decade traveling the Southeast gathering unanswered prayers and overblown egos from the bottom of lakes and ponds.

"The best day I ever had was 15,000 golf balls," Spahn said. "I probably could have gotten a lot more but I wasn't prepared for that many."

On average Spahn is in the water four hours a day and harvests 5,000 balls. While he says he has seen too many courses to name the one that yields the most, he certainly knows where to search at the Stadium Course, host to THE PLAYERS Championship this week.

"I do see a lot of balls go in the water at Sawgrass because it's a difficult layout," Spahn said. "[No.] 17 is the best."

Spahn's worst experience came at nearby Sawgrass Country Club. While feeling along the bottom of a lake for golf balls -- visibility is almost nonexistent because of the silt that gets stirred up -- he encroached on an alligator.

The 7-foot reptile responded by taking a bite out of his arm.

"He just grabbed me and let me go," said Spahn, a Northern Shaolin Kung Fu instructor who has been practicing the art for 35 years. "Normally they grab and start spinning and try to drown you or twist your arm off. I have a few scars on my arm, but that's about it.

"I was lucky he was small."

Small, though, is a relative term for Spahn, who said he missed by inches being snapped up by a 13-footer in South Carolina.

"I was real lucky then," he said.

He's been nearly as fortunate in his underwater treasure hunt. Aside from the fact he said a good golf ball diver can make "a lot of money," Spahn has stumbled upon some rather unique finds.

For starters he's got a collection of about 500 golf clubs he's pulled from watery graves, presumably tossed by their frustrated owners.

"About a year ago I found a whole set of graphite-shafted Pings complete with two wedges, a putter and two metalwoods, all in one spot," Spahn said. "Apparently the guy liked the bag, though, because I didn't find that."

Eight years ago Spahn discovered what he believes to be one of former President George Bush's golf balls. Spahn said Bush played a round at Marsh Landing in Ponte Vedra Beach a short time after losing the election to Bill Clinton.

"It's a Titleist and it has the presidential logo on it and his [George Bush] signature imprinted on the ball," he said.

One of Spahn's more outlandish recoveries include an aerial bomb, which he came across while diving at a course that was built near an old bombing range. He's also found an entire telephone booth, a bowling ball and a discus.

He also seems to latch onto every fishing lure lost by thrill-seeking golfers who presumably have found birdies scarce.

"I usually find those the hard way," Spahn said.

Spahn might get hooked on the job quite often, but he's equally hooked to his job.

"I like my office," Spahn said. "There are a lot worse places to spend your days than on a golf course -- even if you are working."

Super man

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FL

Spahn has a different outlook than most who come to the Tournament Players Club at Sawgrass.

Caring for one of the world¹s most difficult golf courses is a never-ending chore where gripes and moans are more common than high praise.

"The rough is too high." "The greens are too fast." "The sand is too soft." Fred Klauk, superintendent of golf at the TPC at Sawgrass, has heard them all. For almost 20 years Klauk has overseen the care and condition of one of the most difficult and most famous courses on the planet. And each spring, as 144 of the best professional golfers in the world gather at the Sawgrass Stadium Course to test their skills, Klauk often finds himself at the receiving end of biting critiques and pointed questions about the cut of the grass, a tree limb that hangs out over the fairway or greens as soft as a pingpong table.

Klauk, 50, has learned to take the barbs and praise in stride. Instead, he prefers to concentrate on preparing his staff of 68 and his golf course to accommodate not only the sport's superstars but also the tens of thousands of fans who will trample over nearly every inch of the 440-acre TPC at PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem (left) walks the Stadium Course with Klauk. Sawgrass facility. Klauk says he is more concerned with THE PLAYERS Championship achieving major status in the golf world. And, according to the Florida native and University of Florida alum, the only way for that to happen is by having a course that is difficult but fair to play. "As to whether the course is fair or unfair," Klauk says, "I think the players who hit it in the fairway aren't going to complain too much. We want players to be challenged by the course and have respect for it. I believe that is what we have done."

The course conditions during THE PLAYERS and all other official PGA Tour events are determined by specifications determined by the Rules and Regulations Committee for the PGA Tour. However, Klauk admits the layout of the Stadium Course has become more challenging since 1994. Several tees have been moved back 20 or 30 yards to return some of the length the course's original designer Pete Dye had in mind when he created the 18-hole, par-72 layout in 1980. Klauk believes the added length is necessary to counter the Tour's growing cadre of heavy hitters, players strong enough to shoot for par-5 greens with medium irons on their second shots. 15-year superintendent Fred Klauk keeps the greens at Sawgrass meticulous.

In addition to stronger and more athletic players, Klauk says the reason for longer drives off the tees in tournament play is the manicured condition of the courses. In years past fairway grass was cut to a length of three-quarters to half-an-inch in height. Today the standard fairway height is three-eighths of an inch. The result of the close-cropped grass? Balls that roll farther. "We are cutting fairways at tee height now, cutting tee height at greens height, and greens height as high as the felt on a billiards table. That is one of the biggest advantages for the player right now," he says.

Klauk has been superintendent at the TPC at Sawgrass since 1985. Sawgrass is the first of 22 Tournament Players Clubs (TPC) built around the world. These high-profile, superbly maintained golf courses are wholly owned by the PGA Tour. Prior to beginning his tenure at Sawgrass, Klauk, who earned his degree in agricultural horticulture, was superintendent at the TPC at Eagle Trace from 1983 to 1985. The father of three insists he never takes it personally when a player shoots a good round or a bad round at a course he is responsible for. "Fred Couples shot a 63 at Eagle Trace when I was there. Then he shot the same score here," he says. "If a course is a little bit soft and the players can aim at the flag sticks and hit it close, they should be rewarded with low scores."

According to Klauk, the keys to scoring well at Sawgrass are accuracy and consistency. Players who don't possess an all-around game will find it tough going. "If you look at all of the past champions, they have all been very successful tournament players. This is a very difficult course. You have to hit the ball straight, especially with the condition of the rough. And accuracy with your iron game is paramount with the greens being so small."

On Course: Dye-namic design

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FL

There is more than just the famed island green. There is an evergreen ideal. There is an enduring aura to a golfing landmark, born not only of the challenge that it represents, but also of the caliber of players who have excelled on its tempestuous topographical features.

There is a legend behind the landmark, too, an iconoclast who took an idea for a golf showplace from another visionary and, literally, ran it into the ground.

The Stadium Course at the Tournament Players Club at Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., is the home course for the PGA TOUR's member players and site of THE PLAYERS Championship-the crown jewel of the TOUR schedule, offering the richest purse and attracting the best field in professional golf.

But that is just the functional description of the Stadium Course, conceived by former PGA TOUR commissioner Deane Beman and brought to fiery life by Pete Dye, one of the most influential architects of the last 50 years. Such a description omits the enchantment it evokes and the unmitigated exhilaration and infuriation it provokes.

Dye envisioned designing a place that was combination club and resort. With the help of his wife, Alice, he ended up creating a mystical playground that hosts more than 40,000 rounds per year.

"I can't explain it, but that place just has a feel about it and a lot of people pick up on that feel," Dye said recently. "They just want to go play that thing, even if they know they're going to get their brains beat in by it."

Much of the mysticism of the TPC at Sawgrass emanates from its regal stature. Before the Stadium Course came along in 1980, few golf courses that hosted championships were accessible to the general public. Most major championships took place on private layouts. The TPC at Sawgrass, one of 21 in the Tournament Players Club network, changed the dynamics of golf participation in the U.S. Now, the average player could test his abilities on the same 7,093-yard crucible where the world's finest players displaced divots.

No matter that the test was so arduous that not even the touring professionals enjoyed the Stadium Course at first. The layout has since been softened, made "more fair," but its firm, small, undulating greens and angular fairways require exacting shotmaking. Of course, the amphitheater mounding alongside the holes engenders a feeling of intimacy while at the same time making players feel like they are performers on a grand stage.

Negotiating the layout induces an anxiety that drove the first winner of THE PLAYERS Championship, Jerry Pate, to hurl himself into the pond beside the 18th green. Pate pitched Beman and Dye into that same pond for good measure.

The measure of a fine course can be taken by studying the caliber of players who have conquered it. Little wonder that the list of winners of THE PLAYERS Championship includes the game's biggest names, including 2001 champion Tiger Woods. Among the others: Hal Sutton, Fred Couples, Tom Kite, Steve Elkington, Davis Love III, Lee Janzen, Nick Price, Justin Leonard and David Duval.

Of course, no player shined more than Greg Norman did in 1994, when he tied Couples' course record of 63 on the way to a staggering 24-under-par total of 264 that remains the record for 72 holes.

And no hole is more memorable, more photographed, more famous than the par-3 17th at the Stadium Course. The 17th hole, only 137 yards, was an accident -- a rich irony considering that much of the TPC at Sawgrass and the network of TPC courses came to fruition through careful planning and bold foresight.

Dye originally intended there to be a small lake adjacent to the green. But the soil around the green site contained the best sand for filling in fairways on other parts of the marshy property. Before anyone noticed, three-fourths of the area around the green had been removed. Pete and Alice immediately remembered a watery hole at the nearby Ponte Vedra Club, designed by Herb Strong, and the island 17th was born.

The touring professionals dread the hole, since no lead is safe until it is navigated. Fans who attend the tournament love the hole for its unpredictability, savoring the good shots as well as the doomed.

And the many visitors who play the course - via an associate membership or as guests of the posh Sawgrass Marriott - dream of staring down the diabolical little hole. They seek to prove their mettle as shotmakers-no matter that their success rate is stunningly low. Course staff estimates that 120,000 to 150,000 balls are recovered from the watery depths each year.

But they usually meet triumph and disaster just the same. With a smile.

So it is with the enduring allure of the TPC at Sawgrass, which is more than a stomping grounds for the golf's elite or a resort for die-hard enthusiasts. It is the first of its kind.

It is a home for all players.

Architect Bio: Pete Dye

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FL

Pete Dye has never had any qualms about taking risks, infusing new ideas into classical design concepts, or building some of the most startling, intriguing and difficult golf courses in modern design. Because of this adventurous spirit, Dye is considered in many circles to be the most influential course architect in the last 50 years.

Dye, whose ideas have been tempered by sound strategic guidance from his wife, Alice, an accomplished amateur player, enjoyed a successful insurance practice in central Indiana before finding his true calling as a course designer.

Seldom working from set plans or elaborate blueprints, Dye sculpted his visions with a hands-on approach that has increasingly come into vogue in recent years. Especially in the early design days, Dye was not averse to hopping on a bulldozer to attain the kinds of features he sought for his courses.

Though viewed as a maverick with a penchant for stirring controversy - the byword for his work is "Dye-abolical" - Dye's philosophies are grounded in the old-style concepts. A month-long trip to Scotland, golf's home country, in 1963 influenced his work significantly. There Pete and Alice discovered railroad ties shoring up bunkers, smallish greens with bold movement, tiny pot bunkers, sandy waste areas, and angular, rolling fairways guarded by strategically placed hazards.

Of course, practically all these features can be found on many of his courses, including his most famous design, the Stadium Course at the Tournament Players Club at Sawgrass. Even the stadium golf aspect he incorporated at the behest of former PGA TOUR commissioner Deane Beman is reminiscent of links holes routed through natural mounds and dunes.

In addition to Sawgrass, Dye has created some of the most difficult layouts in modern history, including PGA West, the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island, and Whistling Straits. This tends to overshadow some of his most subtle and brilliant work, most notably Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head, SC, a relatively short but strategically enthralling course he built in collaboration with Jack Nicklaus.

Sawgrass has undergone various changes since it opened in 1982, but it still stands as one of the finest representations of his ability to meld modern and classical concepts to create holes that are strategically exacting and visually striking.

Josh Watkins

Josh Watkins, her only child, was killed in Fallujah, Iraq on Oct. 21, 2006. Watkins, a 25-year-old corporal, was on routine patrol when a sniper shot him.

Watkins' body arrived at Dover Air Force Base a few days later. He was originally scheduled to come home on leave at the time of his death, but his mother says that her son volunteered to help restore order to the violent Iraqi province of Al Anbar.

To honor her son, Watkins Vazquez decided to try to establish a scholarship in his name at the University of North Florida, where her son attended for three years before joining the Marines. His mother made him promise to return to school, and Watkins had been salting away tuition money to keep his word.

Watkins Vazquez was telling her story to the Mortgage Bankers Association when she met the David Pillsbury, the President of PGA TOUR Golf Course Properties.

Pillsbury immediately pledged $10,000 of the PGA TOUR's money to help start the Marine Corporal Joshua Watkins Memorial Scholarship, and Watkins Vazquez has remained close to the TOUR ever since.

Watkins Vazquez spoke on Monday during an "America Supports You" event at TPC Sawgrass, which was aimed to raise money for the Wounded Warrior Project. During her speech, Watkins Vazquez shared a poem she had written to her son during his deployment.

"Honor our military, thank them, and shake their hand. They are all our heroes," Watkins Vazquez told the attendees, who were on hand to play in the "America Supports You" Charity Golf Tournament.

The golf was forgettable -- heavy rains washed away the round after a mere two holes -- but a live and silent auction raised tens of thousands for various charities that benefit six ASY military homefront groups that directly support U.S. troops and their families.

PGA TOUR player Frank Lickliter hosted the event, which has become a staple of Lickliter's ongoing work with the Wounded Warrior Project. Lickliter was continuously called upon to augment the auctions with promises of individual instruction, which he handled with his trademarked quiet humor.

The highlight of the event was the brief pre-auction speech given by Watkins Vazquez, who has worked with the PGA TOUR in recent months to raise money for various military causes.

Watkins Vazquez was introduced to the event's attendees by Pillsbury, who called Watkins Vazquez "wonderful example of a true patriot."

Watkins Vazquez told the story of her son to the dozens of attendees at the "America Supports You" Charity Golf Tournament, and by the time she finished, many people were openly crying.

It is something Watkins Vazquez is used to. She tells her story often, and is prepared to do so as many times as required to raise money.

Her son's image is seen every day by thousands of Jacksonville commuters on the I-295 interchange. A large billboard -- anonymously donated -- shows Corporal Watkins' solemn image, with the words "Home of the Brave" above his image and lifeline.

"[Josh] was a toe gunner attached to the 2nd Tank Battalion. For most of the time he was on a gun turret," Watkins Vazquez said. "Towards the end, he had just gotten promoted and was made a vehicle commander.

"He volunteered for his last mission. He was supposed to come home Oct. 30, and I couldn't understand why he was out on a mission. He volunteered to be one of five guys [that] would patrol the main highway in and out of Fallujah."

She vividly recalls one of their final conversations.

"Mom, I don't know what you see on TV over there, but we Marines know we have a job to do," Watkins told his mother. "We'd rather do it here than have anything ever touch American soil again."