Southeast
Southeast
TPC Sawgrass, Florida
The island green at 17 is the most famous par-3 in golf, and for $550 and a forecaddie you get to stand on that tee yourself.
Overview
TPC Sawgrass sits in Ponte Vedra Beach, a quiet stretch of Northeast Florida coastline about 30 minutes southeast of downtown Jacksonville. It is a pilgrimage destination rather than a sprawling golf region: you come here for one specific course, one specific hole, and the chance to walk ground you have watched on television every March since you started caring about golf. The trip works best as a two-or-three-night, one-marquee-round affair for a group willing to spend real money on a single tee time.
The golf centers on THE PLAYERS Stadium Course, Pete Dye's 1980 amphitheater design and the host of THE PLAYERS Championship. It is 7,215 yards from the back, par 72, and relentlessly demanding in the way only Dye can be, with the island-green 17th waiting at the end to decide how you remember the day. The overlooked half of the property is Dye's Valley Course, a 6,864-yard Dye and Bobby Weed collaboration that runs $400 or more cheaper and is a genuinely strong golf course rather than a consolation round. Groups that play both come away arguing about which was the better test, which is the highest compliment Dye's Valley could ask for.
Practically, this is an easy trip. Jacksonville International handles the flying, the Sawgrass Marriott puts you a short walk from the first tee, and the beach, the ocean, and a handful of very good restaurants are all within a few minutes. It suits foursomes and eightsomes of serious golfers more than it suits families, though non-golfers do fine with the Atlantic right there. Plan around March: during THE PLAYERS Championship week there is no public play at all.
Courses · 2
THE PLAYERS Stadium Course
Public · Championship
$550-$900
Best for: Serious golfers checking off a genuine bucket-list round. Not the place for a beginner or a casual afternoon, but any player who has watched THE PLAYERS will find the day worth the money.
Insider tip: The green fee is all-in, covering cart, forecaddie, and range balls, which softens the sticker shock more than people expect. Play an afternoon time or come in summer and you will pay $550 instead of $900 for the same golf course. Take the forecaddie's read on 17 and hit the club he tells you, not the one your ego wants.
Dye's Valley Course
Public · Championship
$175-$350
Best for: Groups who want two real rounds without paying two premium green fees, and anyone who wants a proper look at Pete Dye's work without the pressure of the marquee course.
Insider tip: This is the value play on the property by a wide margin, $400 or more cheaper than the Stadium Course and a Pete Dye design in its own right. Play it the day before your Stadium round to get familiar with how Dye's greens release and where he hides trouble. Plenty of visitors come away preferring it.
Lodging
Premium
Ponte Vedra Inn & Club
$400-$800Oceanfront luxury a few minutes from TPC Sawgrass, and the nicest room on this trip by some distance. Direct beach access, a full spa, and the kind of service that makes the price make sense for a milestone trip. Works well for groups traveling with spouses or anyone who wants the beach to be a real part of the itinerary rather than an afterthought.
Sawgrass Marriott Golf Resort & Spa
$250-$600The official resort of TPC Sawgrass and walking distance to the first tee, which matters more than it sounds on a morning when you are nervous about a $700 round. Staying here gets you preferential tee-time access, the single most useful advantage available to a visiting group. Stay-and-play packages bundle both courses and are usually the cleanest way to book the trip.
Budget
Home2 Suites Ponte Vedra
$150-$250A straightforward extended-stay hotel minutes from the course with suites, kitchenettes, and free breakfast. No resort access or tee-time priority, but if your group would rather put the money into the Stadium Course green fee than the pillow, this is the obvious call. Suites sleep four comfortably, which drops the per-person cost further.
Dining
Nineteen at TPC Sawgrass
$$$American
Clubhouse dining with windows onto the Stadium Course, and the natural place to relive your round over a drink. Elevated American food in a room thick with tournament history. Reserve for groups, especially in spring.
Vernon's First Coast Kitchen
$$Southern/Seafood
The Sawgrass Marriott's restaurant, doing Southern coastal cooking with local seafood at reasonable prices. Convenient when nobody wants to get back in a car after 36 holes. Good breakfast before an early tee time.
Caps on the Water
$$$Seafood
Waterfront seafood with a deck over the Intracoastal and one of the better sunsets in the area. Oysters, fresh fish, and a relaxed outdoor setting that suits a big table. Book ahead or expect a long wait on weekends.
Restaurant Medure
$$$$French/American
The fine-dining choice in Ponte Vedra Beach and the right room for the trip's big dinner. Chef-driven French-American cooking with a serious wine list. Reservations are essential and larger parties should call well in advance.
Pro Tips
- 1
Dynamic pricing swings the Stadium Course green fee from $550 to $900 depending on when you play. Afternoon times and summer dates sit at the bottom of that range for the identical golf course, so if the money matters more than the tee time, book late in the day.
- 2
The green fee is all-inclusive: cart, forecaddie, and range balls are covered. Budget for the forecaddie gratuity on top, but nothing else, and use him. He knows exactly where the pin is on 17 and what the wind is doing above the trees.
- 3
Tee times open online up to 30 days ahead on a rolling basis. Set a calendar reminder for the 30-day mark and book the moment the window opens, because peak-season mornings are gone within hours.
- 4
Do not overlook Dye's Valley. It is $400 or more cheaper, it is a Pete Dye design, and playing it the day before the Stadium Course gives you a feel for how his greens release before the round that counts.
- 5
Check THE PLAYERS Championship dates before you book anything. Tournament week in March shuts the Stadium Course to public play entirely, and the surrounding weeks bring inflated rates and heavy demand.
- 6
Stay at the Sawgrass Marriott if tee-time access is your priority. Resort guests get preferential booking, and the walk to the first tee removes the one logistical worry on an already nervous morning.
Sample Itineraries
weekend getaway
3 daysDay 1: Fly into Jacksonville (JAX), drive 45 minutes to Ponte Vedra Beach and check into the Sawgrass Marriott, then play an afternoon round at Dye's Valley to shake off the travel and learn how Dye's greens behave; casual dinner at Vernon's First Coast Kitchen. Day 2: The main event, a morning round on THE PLAYERS Stadium Course with a forecaddie, lunch at Nineteen at TPC Sawgrass overlooking the 18th, an afternoon on Ponte Vedra Beach, and the big dinner at Restaurant Medure. Day 3: Optional replay at Dye's Valley or a slow morning on the beach, an early lunch at Caps on the Water, and drive back to JAX. Three days is enough to do this properly.
full trip
5 daysDay 1: Arrive at JAX, settle into the Sawgrass Marriott, hit the range and walk the clubhouse; dinner at Vernon's First Coast Kitchen. Day 2: Full round at Dye's Valley in the morning, afternoon on the beach or at the Sawgrass spa, dinner at Caps on the Water on the Intracoastal. Day 3: THE PLAYERS Stadium Course, morning tee time, forecaddie, the whole experience; lunch and drinks afterward at Nineteen at TPC Sawgrass, then a quiet evening. Day 4: Drive 30 minutes to St. Augustine for the old town and lunch, back for an afternoon nine or a second lap at Dye's Valley, then the trip's best dinner at Restaurant Medure. Day 5: A final morning round on whichever course the group is still arguing about, or a fishing charter for the non-golfers, then depart from JAX. Five days gives you two cracks at the Stadium Course if the budget allows, which is the version of this trip people talk about for years.
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