Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36“How were your eggs this morning? Were they fluffy, were they good?” My caddie Scott Corliss. who moonlights at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra, Florida when he isn’t carrying PGA Tour veteran Billy Mayfair’s clubs, is trying to distract me from the 12-foot- er at hand. There’s not a big payday riding on the outcome, but I’ve asked him to counsel me the same way he would talk with Billy if he were nervous about a million dollar putt. Corliss’ psy- chological trick completely takes my mind off the magnitude of the task at hand and my ball plunks into the hole. Corliss has vanquished my recurring case of the yips, just as my group approaches the beating heart of the “The Gauntlet,” the nickname for the trio of finishing holes at TPC Sawgrass’ Stadium Course. Stepping onto the 17th tee box, a cold shiver of sheer dread runs down my spine. This is it, the island green that routinely thrashes leaderboard dreams. It’s the Freddy Krueger of golf holes where double bogeys are easy to honestly come by. From the moment you tee off for your round, the countdown begins and the dastardly island looms large in the recesses of your mind. A former Tour star once had this to say about the Players Championship’s serial round killer: “You’re thinking about it all morning and you feel bad all day. You kind of know, sooner or lat- er, you’ve got to get to it.” Staring down the tiered green pancake a mere 121 yards away (137 from the tips), I realize there is almost 6,000 square feet of flat and dry landing area but, even if the flag isn’t flapping in the wind, club selection is still paramount. And then there’s that putting surface, which can be as firm and fast as glass. For amateurs, a dry landing is cause for a very short celebration. Before I even address my ball at the tee, thou- sands of imaginary fans camped out around the stadium course fill in my peripheral vision. Sure, they’re not really there – but the mere thought causes my shoulders to tense up just a bit. Soon another mind game episode interrupts my swing thoughts, and seconds later my first ball submerg- 28 | January 2017 #juniorgolfmag Visit us at juniorgolfmag.net A former Tour star once had this to say about the Players Championship’s serial round killer: “You’re thinking about it all morning and you feel bad all day. You kind of know, sooner or later, you’ve got to get to it.” Braving Golf’s Scariest Hole BYMIKEDOJC es itself in the pond, a couple of feet short of the front edge of the green. A splash landing is the most common reality check here and my eventual double bogey puts me in good company. In May of 2007, during the Players Championship, the field of PGA stars deep-sixed a record 50 balls on No. 17 in a single round. Even though nothing is riding on my eventual putt to make my double bogey official, golf broadcast- er Gary Koch’s famous “better than most…better than most” call, for Tiger Woods’ extraordinary downhill 60-footer years ago, replays in my head. When my much more meager five-and-change footer drops, I pay tribute by punching the sky. Mike Dojc is a South Carolina-based golf writer who battled Sawgrass and lived to tell about it. PHOTO: PHOTOGOLFER / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM Theknee-shaking17th hole atTPCSawgrass