A gimmicky joke of an oak or a return to the roots of the Stadium Course? Whatever the pros make of the foreboding obstacle that has been plonked in front of the sixth tee box, it will undoubtedly be a central talking point here at the Players Championship.
Even the PGA Tour refers to the 500,000lb tree as “diabolical” on its own website before explaining how this nifty piece of reforestation has actually restored an iconic feature of Pete Dye’s original design.
The late American architect was proud of his moniker as “golf’s evil genius” and it is fair to say that this particular characteristic on the 413-yarder came from the more mischievous corner of his warped mind.
Over the years, the tree with the huge branch that overhangs the tee was, amongst other things, called “sinister” by Ernie Els who infamously clattered his ball into it in 2010 and “unnecessarily annoying” by Graeme McDowell. As the branch grew, Bob Estes went further. “We are only a few years away from having to tee off with a putter,” the American said.
However, the club members adored their Live Oak and when disease forced its removal 11 years ago, a statement was issued in the tear-filled tone of a farewell to a loved one. “A sad day at TPC Sawgrass as we have lost our most recognisable tree due to poor health,” it read.
Continuing the grieving theme, Tim Finchem, the then PGA Tour commissioner, was similarly sombre about the sudden glaring absence on the layout adjacent to the Tour’s HQ. “A significant fissure developed in its trunk, making it a safety concern,” Finchem said. “There simply was no way to save it, as much as we tried.”
An emotional time, although many were glad to hear the news, including Brian Harman. “It should never have been there,” he told the Florida-Times Union. “You shouldn’t have things like that right in your face on a par-four tee box.”
Yet, if the 2023 Open champion believed it was gone for good, he was badly mistaken. Last year, the Tour decided to replant and their choice of the former champion to oversee the job was ironic.
Davis Love III, a two-time winner of the circuit’s “flagship event”, would annually seek out Finchem on arrival at Sawgrass and say “Tim, have you removed that darned tree yet?”
Yet, as the romantics always say, sometimes you never know what you had until you have lost it, and Love was only too happy to help out when asked. “What would Pete say if he could see that we did that? – you know, that’s what we wanted to do,” Love said. “We wanted to honour Pete.”
They did so by scouring the course and finding a lookalike, which was not at all straightforward as the tree was seemingly unique with the branch at that angle. But a replacement was found and the torment is back.
In truth, it is rather like the island-green 17th, as the challenge is far more mental than technical. Before it was chopped up to make mementoes, players invariably elected to discard their drivers to coax their balls into the wide part of the fairway and set up a wedge.
But the occasional boomer with a high drive did occasionally locate the branch before dropping 30 yards in front of the tee box. On Wednesday, world No 2 Rory McIlroy explained the task that will be at hand when he arrives there alongside world No 1 Scottie Scheffler and world No 3 Xander Schauffele in their first round on Thursday afternoon.
“It frames the hole and forces you to play the shot,” he said. “I certainly will have to hit it a little lower than my preferred launch window.”
Love will be on site ready for at least a measure of havoc to play out and, yes, to receive criticism from the victims. “I’m sure I’ll get comments from some of the guys,” he said. “But I’m telling you, I can’t wait to watch.”
