The Players Championship 6.0
- bgtriptips
- Mar 21
- 10 min read
Updated: Mar 23
Tripping the TPC
Some of you, like me, live in Jacksonville, Florida.
For those of you living in JAX, you will be aware of much of what I will post in this review.
But, for all of you living outside of Jacksonville and around the world, you may find value in this posting.
Without question or argument, the best and most coveted golf tournament in the world is none other than The Masters, held each year in Augusta, Ga.
If you live outside of the United States, many of you might argue that The Open is the second-best tournament. British is not included in the official name, but we Americans call it The British Open.
Those of you who live within the United States may consider our US Open as second best.
But as one who has attended many golf tournaments, I would argue that The Players Championship (TPC) is without peer as the second-best golf tournament on the planet.
Immediately your thoughts might be, “but the TPC is not even a Major.” Trust me folks, the TPC may be more of a Major than The Open or the PGA Championship. But lets table that argument for another day.
Here’s my defense of the TPC as the Second-Best Golf Tournament on the Planet:
· The TPC is The Players Championship. It’s the home tournament of the PGA Tour Players and their Home Office location.
· Recently the PGA Tour opened this gorgeous new Clubhouse in 2007.
· The PGA Tour spares no expense to modify and improve this course each year
· The PGA Tour builds more seats, skyboxes, restaurants and facilities every year
Still confused on where I’m going here. Like the Masters, the TPC is held at the same site and on the same golf course each year. Compare Augusta National and the TPC from what each offered 20 years ago to what they both offer today in terms of course and facility improvements made.
Because of the same site location, they both just get exponentially better each year. The same can’t be said for The Open, the PGA Championship or the US Open, all of which moves to a different location each year and simply cannot offer the same level of continued annual improvement.
For the price of a $100 ticket, The Players Championship offers one of the best values in sports. You get the spend an entire 12-hour day walking one of the most beautiful golf courses on the planet and watch the best golfers in the world display their skills.
Okay, so now that we have established that the TPC is the Second-Best Golf Tournament on the Planet (my opinion), what does this have to do with my stated blog mission of helping plan Budget Golf Trips?
Well, I would answer, many people visit Jacksonville each year just to attend this golf tournament. And if you don’t, you should. Not only do I think the TPC is the Second-Best Golf Tournament, but it’s also the Most Affordable Golf Tournament of all the Majors. Can’t find a babysitter for the kids…...no problem, just bring’m. All kids under the age of 15 get in free with a ticketed adult.
Speaking of affordability and availability, today is March 3rd (started writing). The TPC starts 10 days from today. All TPC tickets are now sold only by Ticketmaster. I looked today to see what’s still available and found the following:
TPC General Admission Tickets Available
>Thursday = $95.00
>Friday = $110.00
>Saturday = $113.00
>Sunday = $97.00
Parking passes tend to sell out quicker and were only available for Thursday & Sunday at $45.00 each.
Tickets for Tuesday/Wednesday practice rounds can be had for as little as $20.00.
All TPC Tickets are now Digital, so no more paper tickets.
Good news is you can never lose your ticket.
Bad news is you can’t go in the morning and then pass off your ticket to your buddy and let him go in the afternoon. And if you forget to buy your tickets, never fear the street sellers are always lining the highway into the TPC.
By comparison I also looked up ticket prices today for the US Open being held in June and they range from $150.00 on Thursday to $200.00 on the weekend.
If you want to spend more money, you can travel to Bethpage, NY in September to attend the Ryder Cup. Your best ticket option there is a Thursday ticket for $537.00 or you can purchase a ticket online for Saturday or Sunday for only $1292.00.
And if you really want to spend some money, call Delta and book a flight into the UK for about $1,500.00 RT and good luck on finding a ticket to The (British) Open.
Finally, if you are thinking…what about The Masters, there’s a ticket for sale on eBay for $19,000.00
I stand by my statement. For affordability and availability and the value you get, The Players Championship ranks # 1 for me.
If you are traveling into Jacksonville just to attend The Players, be aware that hotel prices are increased this week. As I have shared before, your best option is to search availability on booking.com. Don’t bother to look in Ponte Vedra unless you want to pay $500+ per night. As you get closer to I-95, you can find hotel rooms in the $300-$400 range. Look a little further out and you can find a room for $150-$200. If all you want is a bed and a shower, anything within 25 miles of the TPC is good.
Today is Thursday, March 13, 2025. Opening day of The Players. 48 of the Top 50 Players in The World are in the field today. (told you it was a Major). The weather is gorgeous, sunny and 70 degrees. Again, without question, Jacksonville weather in March is the best of Any Major in the World.
For the next section of my post, I will share How to Best Experience The Players Championship:
>Be prepared to head to the tournament no later than 7:00 to 8:30 AM.
>Take one chair for each person. Sports events folding chairs are fine but I prefer Beach Chairs that recline. These can be purchased at Costco for about $25 each.
>If you want to take a “go bag” it must be clear plastic and no larger than 12X12X6.
>Bringing in alcohol is not allowed, but you can bring food items wrapped in clear plastic.
>Cups or bottles up to 32 oz are allowed if empty. Water refill is available free on the course.
>Cell phones are allowed “if always on silent.” Photos and videos are allowed.
>Umbrellas are permitted w/o sleeve.
>Collapsible chairs are allowed w/o chair bag.
>Service animals are allowed (except for that guy with a pet service alligator).
Assuming you are no more than 10/15 miles away from the TPC, allow at least 1.5 hours to be able to drive to the course, find parking (if you have a parking pass) and walk onto the course. If you leave home any later than 9:00 AM or if you don’t have a parking pass, assume a minimum of 2 hours to be on the course.
A parking pass allows you to park in a giant lot (holds thousands of cars) and walk directly in on Hole # 17, The Island Green. Many other offsite parking lots are available but your will either need to walk a couple of miles or ride a bus to the tournament.
Assuming you have a parking pass, you will walk directly past the Merchandise Tent. Inside, you will find thousands of items to buy. If you find something you want, you can purchase it now, or hope it’s still there when you leave.
Once exiting the Merchandise Tent, you will enter The Grove, or the Biggest and Nicest Food Court your will ever find at a golf tournament. The first time I attended the TPC about 25 years ago, there were maybe two places to buy food here. For the 2025 tournament, I saw over a dozen, including A Tequila Bar.
Try Wine & Dine on 9 if you are a wine lover like me. For Lobster, BarbQ, Mexican or Pizza, the Taste of Jax has you covered at the 11th Green. (and yes, I mean real Maine lobster here at a Florida golf tournament).
For vodka lovers, try “Tito’s Place” on hole 15. The TPC even has a place for you Brits offering Bushmill’s Irish Whiskey Bar in the new Sawgrass Square. And for all of us rednecks we have our very own Beer Garden behind the 16th green, (tattoo’s welcome).
Rounding out food options, you have a choice of 6 food trucks near hole 10 tee box, TacoLou serving Jax Best Tacos Ever at hole 12 green and Jacksonville’s very own V’s Pizza near hole 18 green.
Food and drink is abundant at the TPC and you will not go lacking.
As for pricing, it’s not as cheap as Augusta (that’s another story), but less than you will pay at an NFL football game. There are small food courts available all over the golf course. And yes a Michelob Ultra will cost you $10.50 and a bottle of water is $4.75. (don't forget, you can bring in an empty plastic water bottle and get refills for free)
After passing by the merchandise tent and the Grove, you will walk directly onto the tee box for hole 17. Yep, your first view of the Stadium Course will be looking directly at the Island Green. Following the cart path, you will walk around the lake toward the green, noting the giant sloping hill created to form a stadium effect for viewing.
We will usually find a nice spot on the hill overlooking the island green and stake out a spot for our chairs. Getting there early before 9:00 AM assures a good spot; any later will still get a great viewing spot, but just not as close to the green.
Once the perfect chair placement is determined, you are free to leave the chairs and go wander the course. We have used this plan for 20+ years, and no one has ever bothered or moved our chairs. Our normal plan is to walk down hole 18 to the Clubhouse where you will find many activities.
After checking out what’s new at the Clubhouse, we start on hole #1 and walk the entire course back around to our seats on hole #17. By this time we are tired of walking and have seen any new changes recently added to the course (like the tree on hole #6).
The tree addition on hole 6 is a story worth mentioning. Note the two photos below. The photo on the left was taken in 2014. At that time, many players were reluctant to hit a driver off the tee box, fearing the ball would hit the tree (and many did).
A few years back, the tree developed a disease and had to be taken down, with much applause from the players, who enjoyed several years without the fear of hitting their drivers.
Upon arrival for the 2025 TPC practice rounds players were stunned to find the view shown in the photo on the right. How did a 100-year-old oak tree appear from one year to the next?
The TPC greens superintendent and a few others worked for months trying to figure out how to recapture the lost look from hole 6 tee box. Ultimately, they found the tree in the right photo located elsewhere on the golf course and somehow figured out a way to move the 500,000-pound tree. They were able to position it with the overhang and replant it. Today the tree is healthy and doing just fine. Bah....Humbug said the Players!!
Usually the rest of the day we spend watching the joy and misery of the greatest golfers on the planet trying to hit a tiny ball onto an island surrounded by water. As one who has tried it several times, it’s probably the most intimidating tee shot in golf.
Occasionally during the afternoon we will walk over and watch the tee shots of our favorite players on hole #18, which in my opinion is the second most intimidating tee shot in golf. As you can see in the photo, this tee shot is similar to hole #18 at Pebble Beach; both shots offering nothing but a watery grave for a ball pulled or hooked left.
Many professional golfers prefer to hit a high draw for their tee shot but this hole demands a golfer to hit the ball straight (which rolls under trees at 280 yards) or hit a fade which lands in the rough and on a downhill slope to the right.
The perfect tee shot is a baby draw that carries 300+ yards. Only a brave few will risk this shot.
If it happens to rain, as it did with us on Sunday, with proper planning it presents no problem when armed with your trusty golf umbrella.
Or, if you are so inclined, the TPC offers several entertainment venues (some under a roof) including a mini-island where you can hit a shot at the island green.
Unfortunately, our luck did not prevail as soon after my umbrella photo, the sky opened up and the storm came along with a tornado watch which closed the course. Later Sunday afternoon at 5:15 PM, play restarted and all the field was able to finish.
Rory McIlroy and JJ Spaun ended in a tie, which forced a Monday playoff. McIlroy had no problem in easily dispatching Spaun in the three hole playoff.
I will close out this posting with a restatement of my opinion; The Players Championship (TPC) is the 2nd Best Golf Tournament in the World, in terms of venue, value and the field. If you live anywhere within 100 miles of Jacksonville and love golf, you must go (even if only to a practice round where tickets are dirt cheap).
For anyone outside of Jax, plan a weekend trip to the TPC. It’s definitely worth the effort. Go to the TPC one day, play golf one day on our many courses (we have 64 courses) and even spend a day at the beach which is free (you can’t do that at the Masters).
Please send the link for my Blog to your friends who love golf and ask them to check out all my blog posts. If I can offer advice or help with planning your next golf trip, just email me and I’m glad to help. Your comments at the end of my posts are always appreciated.
And remember, every golf shot makes somebody happy!!