TPC Sawgrass

[Bill_McBride]

Scott,

Indeed.  And none of them are worth the money either.  Let me see, £235 for a round at Sawgrass or £180 for 36 holes at Muirfield, or £130 for TOC?

Isn't there a small lunch included in the Muirfield green fee as well?

Well, it's not exactly small and it's extremely liquid, at least from my experience.  The lunch is sort of a major buffet with a carvery station, so it's as big as you want to make it.   With 18 more holes to walk, it was relatively simple to avoid what could have been a huge stuffing!  But there was a pint, a few glasses of claret followed by a couple of drams of kummel.   

[Mike Hendren]

Mac:

From a European perspective, $400 is totally crazy. I just don't think it's worth it. You guys in the US are being ripped off big time.

Dónal.

Donal, the one and only time I ever felt ripped off was when I showed up at the hideous new clubhouse for The New Course in St. Andrews with four hours of daylight remaining and was told I could not play an empty course because the starter had gone home. 

Offered from an American perspective, understand.

Kindest regards,

Mike

[Mac Plumart]

Michael...excellent points.  Excellent points!!

Adam...high quality residential golf...c'mon it's possible isn't it?  Well maybe from time to time. 

[Andy Troeger]

The experience factor at a place like Sawgrass or Pebble is hard to judge. I admittedly didn't pay full fare at either of them and also started early so pace of play was fine. I actually finished Pebble in under four hours. Both rate among the most fun rounds I have played.

I think both of them are wonderful. Sawgrass blows away World Woods in terms of the golf course to me--and it is not nearly as penal as many people might think save the last couple of holes. World Woods has a few great holes and is still a very good course, but few courses measure up to Sawgrass in my book.

That said, if I had to pay full fare for a second round at Sawgrass for $400 or WWPB for $60 that's no contest either  

[Dean Stokes]

Is there a golf course in the world worth paying $400?? I do not think so.

[noonan]

We are playing Sawgrass next week.

They had a deal between the holidays.

$530 per person for 2 rounds on the Stadium course and 1 round on the other Dye course.

This also included 3 nights in the Marriott.

[Kalen Braley]

Is there a golf course in the world worth paying $400?? I do not think so.

Dean,

Are you saying you wouldn't pay $400 to play the likes of a ANGC, CPC, Pine Valley, NGLA, etc?

[BigEdSC]

After being a member of Yeamans Hall for quite a while, my job relocated me to Jacksonville.  I asked a friend of mine in the business the best deal in town, and he pointed me to joining the Valley course at TPC.  I've been out there a little over a year.

As far as the Stadium course, the market determines how much it will bear.  I won't pay $400 to play the Stadium, at least I don't think I would, but every time I'm at the driving range getting ready to play, there are plenty of people out there fired up and ready to tackle the Stadium.

There are other things to consider.  I played Pebble once, and I really had a hard time forking over $400, but it was worth it to me for one time.  I am glad I did it.  Another thing to consider is the price per round for your own home course.  If you play on a course that charges you a one time fee at the beginning of the year, take that and divide it by how many times you play that year.  Some people, it's a steal, some others, if they play once a month, it could run over $400.

TPC Sawgrass is a great operation.  The people out there are extremely knowledgeable and pleasant about what they are doing.

[Sean_A]

Wow!  I had no idea Sawgrass was in the sort of cash class.  Its not one of those courses I ever really dream of playing, but then neither was Kiawah.  I paid something like $375 plus caddie tip and that was a real eye opener because I had no idea it cost that much!  Of the three really big ticket courses I have seen only one was private and to me this made all the difference - if you play with a member.  These experiences lead me to believe that I won't be seeking out a game at Sawgrass, but I would pay the big bucks for one of the elite privates.  To me, if I am gonna pay that kind of cash, the experience has to count for one hell of a lot and this sort of thing is hard to get on a public course.  Sounds terribly snooty, but Kiawah was miles better than Pinehurst from this perspective and it still falls flat.  On the same trip to Kiawah I played Yeamans.  I didn't think it was in the class of Kiawah, but I would prefer to play Yeamans to Kiawah.  The course was plenty good enough for the likes of me, more atmospheric and far cheaper.

Ciao

[Mark Pearce]

Scott,

Indeed.  And none of them are worth the money either.  Let me see, £235 for a round at Sawgrass or £180 for 36 holes at Muirfield, or £130 for TOC?

Isn't there a small lunch included in the Muirfield green fee as well?

Bill,

I can't but help suspect there was a touch of irony in Donal's post!  I suspect they'd be really offended if you went for a "small" lunch.
Well, it's not exactly small and it's extremely liquid, at least from my experience.  The lunch is sort of a major buffet with a carvery station, so it's as big as you want to make it.   With 18 more holes to walk, it was relatively simple to avoid what could have been a huge stuffing!  But there was a pint, a few glasses of claret followed by a couple of drams of kummel.