Here is how Dan Jenkins described the changes in a 1984 SI article:
"And the pros weren't willing to give the place a chance to mature or themselves a chance to learn how to play it. So last year a committee of PGA Tour players was appointed to 'recommend' changes to Dye and Beman....
"Those alterations might not have been obvious to the casual golf fan, 100,000 of whom traipsed around the grounds last week, but 16 of the holes were 'touched up' in one way or another. Eleven greens lost some serious contours. The putting surfaces were also overseeded with rye grass and slowed down. Much of the rough and the expansive waste areas were cleared out, almost entirely eliminating lost balls. The only balls lost last week were the ones that got wet. The slower and flatter greens not only equalized things for everybody, but they also made getting "up and down" much easier. And when the weather calmed for the last three rounds, the Players Club lost a good bit of its personality.
"Sure, there was still a lot of water and sand out there, but you had to play pretty badly to get in it, as is the case anywhere else. That little horror, the 17th, the 132-yard, par-3 island hole, held up its end, though, and claimed almost enough golf balls to dam up the Intracoastal Waterway, 64 on Thursday alone."
Full article:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1121964/index.htmI found some pics in this 1982 SI article...
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1125311/index.htm...and shamelessly screen-grabbed them below.
11th in 1982
11th in 2013
12th LZ in 1982 -- POV towards tee
12th LZ in 2013 -- POV towards green
16th in 1982 -- note spectator mound beyond and greenside "buffer" bunker
That mound is also very visible in the aerial comparison here:
http://golfcoursehistories.com/TPC.htmlHere is a view of the 16th green and beyond today
And the 17th green -- note 16 green off to the left and 17 tee to the right