The 2021 Players Championship: Golf course facts

The March date means the overseeded turf will furnish the playing surfaces on TPC Sawgrass’s Stadium Course. Get all the course maintenance details.

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TPC Sawgrass Players Championship
Photos courtesy of the PGA Tour


The Players Championship will be contested March 11-14, 2021, on the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

The grass

Greens: TifEagle bermudagrass overseeded with Poa trivialis/velvet bentgrass, maintained at .100 inch

Tees: Celebration bermudagrass overseeded with Champion fine ryegrass, maintained at .275 inch

Fairways: Celebration bermudagrass overseeded Champion fine ryegrass, maintained at .325 inch

Rough: Celebration bermudagrass overseeded with Champion fine ryegrass, maintained at 2.5 inches


Watch: Volunteers at The Players Championship — many of whom were present when 2020’s event was cut short because of COVID-19 — share thoughts on this year’s experience and a peek behind the tournament-prep curtain:

The course

Year built: 1980
Architect: Pete Dye
Renovation: Pete Dye and Steve Wenzloff in 2016

Average green size: 5,500 square feet
Acres of fairway: 26
Acres of rough: 120
Number of sand bunkers: 88
Number of water hazards: 17
Number of holes on which water is in play: 17
Fairway width: 30 yards
Soil conditions: Sandy loam
Water sources: Reclaimed

Par: 36-36—72
Yardage: 7,189

The Players 2021
2021 Players Championship

The staff

Jeff Plotts, a 27-year GCSAA member, is the director of golf course operations at TPC Sawgrass. Plotts has worked at TPC Sawgrass for six years and has been a golf course superintendent for 28 years, previously working at courses such as TPC Scottsdale and TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tenn. The 2021 Players Championship will be the 26th professional event and the sixth Players for Plotts, who has hosted PGA, Korn Ferry and LPGA events at previous stops.

Other key golf personnel:
Lucas Andrews, assistant director of golf operations
Kyle Elliott, Stadium Course superintendent
Paul Vermeulen, PGA Tour agronomy
Cash Galko, equipment manager
Brian Riddle, PGA professional

Number of employees: 115 for the facility
Number of tournament volunteers: 100


Watch: TPC Sawgrass equipment manager Cash Galko shares a look inside prep for the 2021 Players Championship:


Mike Strauss is GCSAA’s media relations manager.