The fact of the matter is Sawgrass is a home course for very few people if I recall correctly, and its biggest purpose is staging the Players. It's not the kind of hole that has to appeal to all types of golfer, just those making the one-play stop and professionals.
On top of that, the 17th, as Pete put it, is a hole that is in the players minds the moment that he steps on the first tee. It sets up some of the most dramatic finishes in all of golf. Watching Rickie's third approach today to the 17th was as fun as anything I've watched all year golf wise, and sure, maybe if it was a bunker it would have garnered the same reaction, but the impending threat of doom is terrific for television. Like I said, the hole serves a purpose.
Speaking of purposes...all this talk about having sandy areas rather than the pond. If I recall correctly, it was dredging all the soil from where the pond on 17 is that allowed for the rest of the golf course to be built on the swampy site. Fact of the matter is if it weren't for the island green, we wouldn't be debating the merits of TPC Sawgrass because it wouldn't exist.