17 at Sawgrass - What Would You Do?

[Pretzel]

With today's pin placement, would you prefer the drop zone shot or the shot from the tee if you dunked your first?

The drop zone shot is about 60-65 yards long and you have around 5-10 feet of green short of the flag to work with. The slope of the green is mostly from your left to your right in the landing area around the pin, and it's a forced carry over the water meaning you can't land it in the fairway to run it up.

The tee shots is still short-sided, but not quite as badly. You have between 10-15 feet of green short of the flag, and the green is, for the most part, sloped towards you by the hole. You are, however, about 120 yards out from the flag which is twice the distance.

There was a heated debate at my local course about which shot would be better. I would favor the drop zone shot because I think having half the distance is a huge advantage, and I know I can still get a reasonable amount of spin on a half-wedge to keep the ball below the ridge in all likelihood. Others favored the longer shot thinking they'd be able to stop the ball easier, despite the huge distance disadvantage.

Which shot would you prefer, and why?

[dennyjones]

I'd almost always rather hit a shorter shot.

[Golfingdad]

If I dunked it short or long after hitting a solid shot, I'd probably feel more confident rehitting from the same spot and just making a small adjustment to either club or swing as necessary.

Anything else - mishit or miss left or right - and I think I'd opt for the shorter shot.

Edited May 13, 2017 by Golfingdad

[Jack Watson]

Stopping my ball from fifty plus wouldn't concern me so I voted drop zone.

 

[MrGolfguy67]

The hole measures +/- 145 yds I thought, and the drop zone shot is about 80 yds

 

[billchao]

I'm not worried about stopping the ball at either distance but the shorter shot is significantly easier. 

[David in FL]

I've played it twice.  Dunked it the first time.  Re-teed and hit it to 10 feet.  Made the putt for 4 too.  

 Like @Golfingdad, I felt that the wedge from the same place I had just hit from gave me as good a chance as the closer shot.

Plus it's 17 at Sawgrass....I wanted to hit the shot again!  

 

[BamaWade]

Playing for score, drop zone for me 100% of the time.  Distance advantage, and I practice my mid-length pitching game a lot, so would feel confident there.  Fewer moving parts would = better direction, and I tend to be more patient in my downswing on those, and thus usually get a consistent descending strike.  That said, if I ever get the opportunity to play the course, it would be tough not to give it a re-tee just to play such an iconic tee shot again.

[mvmac]

@Golfingdad brings up a good point but I still voted for drop zone for the simple reason it's a shorter shot.

 

[boogielicious]

Swim.

[Hardspoon]

8 hours ago, BamaWade said:

Playing for score, drop zone for me 100% of the time.

^^^ This.

It's not just about the distance; misses to the left and right also need to be factored in. Even for a high-handicapper like me, the shorter shot almost takes left/right misses into the water out of the picture.

8 hours ago, BamaWade said:

That said, if I ever get the opportunity to play the course, it would be tough not to give it a re-tee just to play such an iconic tee shot again

...but also this. If I ever play TPC Sawgrass, it would probably be a one-time thing, so why not take another chance at the tee shot, even if it costs me a stroke?

[bkuehn1952]

9 hours ago, David in FL said:

Plus it's 17 at Sawgrass....I wanted to hit the shot again!  

 

^^^^^^^^

This if I am playing one time.  Drop zone if I were going to have a chance to play there a few times.

[NJpatbee]

Playing for score ($$ in my case) I would hit from the drop zone.  In all likelihood at a course like TPC Sawgrass I would be playing to see and enjoy the course so I would hit again from the tee until I was on the green or holding someone up behind me.

[MasonAsher2014]

Drop from the drop zone because I have way more confidence in a 3/4 60* than a 3/4 PW.

[MuniGrit]

Depends where pin is. Up front like yesterday retee. You need the spin. Downwind from drop zone was hard to get close pretty much guarantee a double bogey at best.

[DrvFrShow]

If playing only one time? Re-tee. Keep re-teeing until I'm on. Hell with the score. 

If playing the course regularly? Drop zone + wedge shot

[WUTiger]

I would retee and hit a full 9i or 8i. A good shot would give me one-hop spin, and settle down safely.

I really don't like hitting partial wedges over a mini-Pacific Ocean.

[David in FL]

6 minutes ago, WUTiger said:

I would retee and hit a full 9i or 8i. A good shot would give me one-hop spin, and settle down safely.

I really don't like hitting partial wedges over a mini-Pacific Ocean.

Atlantic...