Gimmick or not, what? Some on this forum sure seem to care about architectural integrity and intent until we find a feature we don't like, and then it's all "bah humbug."
The tree was obviously left there on purpose, the course is meant to be challenging, and this feature seems like an extremely interesting challenge. Good on them for restoring some of Dye's intent.
Looks like you are teeing off through a clowns mouth. I’m sure Tom knows what Mr Dye was thinking.
The original tree is in the video. It doesn’t look as obtrusive as the new tree to me.
Given it's only really part of the tee shot from the back tee(s?), only players who are less likely to be spooked by it have to deal with it.
Given that most golfers tend to play from too long a set of tees (this is even more a problem at Sawgrass than other places given golfers' desire to "see it from where the pros play"), features like the overhanging tree function as a clear suggestion as to which tees to play.
One side note: the hole crossed the 400 yard mark for the first time this year, lengthened to 413 yards from its previous yardage of 393.
At 7,352 yards, TPC Sawgrass is now more than 500 yards longer than it was when it opened (6,851).