Three unique holes combine for one fabulous finish

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The walk to the 16th green at TPC Sawgrass offers a prime view of what lies ahead at the famous par-3 17th.

There may be a tougher finishing hole.

There may be a quirkier penultimate hole.

And there may be a greater risk-reward par-5.

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But when you put these three holes together -- which architect Pete Dye did at TPC Sawgrass 30 years ago -- and you have one of the most dramatic, most feared and most recognizable closing stretches in golf.

Last week's final three holes at Quail Hollow might have a catchy nickname -- The Green Mile -- and the Transitions Championship boasts "the Snakepit" as the closing snarl of the Copperhead Course. But at THE PLAYERS Championship this week, golfers will find they cannot relax until they sign their scorecard after navigating TPC's Sawgrass 16th, 17th and 18th holes.

"I absolutely love them," said Heath Slocum, a four-time winner on the PGA TOUR. "You've got three of the best holes set up for drama. You can go 3-2-3, you can go 7-5-6 or you can go 5-3-4. It's a fantastic setup. So much can happen. It's fantastic for the players and it's fantastic for fans of golf to watch."

Henrik Stenson, the 2009 PLAYERS champ, was more succinct: "It's a great finish," he said, "one of the best finishes in golf, if not the best one."

The 16th is a 523-yard par-5 that is reachable for most players if they hit the fairway. But there is water long and to the right of a green that will catch errant shots and have players scrambling for pars, instead of hoping for a birdie or an eagle. One of the more memorable shots here came when Vijay Singh turned his putter sideways and hit the ball with the toe of his putter and made eagle, leading to his victory in 2001.

The 17th is short par-3 by PGA TOUR standards (137 yards), but the fact its green is an island surrounded by water plays mind games with even the world's greatest golfers. Depending upon the wind, it can be as little as a sand wedge or as much as a 6-iron.

The 18th is a 462-yard par-4 that has water all the way down the left and trees to the right. A hooked drive means you add two shots to your score immediately; a pushed drive into the trees, and you're still scrambling for par. Steve Elkington remains the only PLAYERS champion to birdie No. 18 to win by a shot (in 1991).

Three holes. All different pars. Each with their own, unique challenge.

"I'm about 100 over (par) on those three holes," said former British Open champion Stewart Cink. "They're great theater for golf. The soul of the whole TPC network is contained in those three holes."

Anyone within contention on Sunday knows no lead is safe -- or insurmountable -- until you play the last three holes.

"Number 16 is a reachable par 5 and 18 isn't super long, so everybody's on pretty equal footing over those holes," says Paul Goydos. "But in reality the tournament isn't over until someone hits dry land on No. 17."

Goydos should know: He almost was the 2008 PLAYERS champion until Sergio Garcia made a clutch, par-saving putt on the 72nd hole. In the playoff, Goydos' tee shot landed short in the water, and the tournament was soon over.

When Dye originally designed the course, many players were infuriated by the degree of difficulty of the finishing holes. But most players now compliment Dye's work.

"I love them," said Brandt Snedeker. "You can be three to four shots behind going into those last three holes and still have a chance to win the golf tournament. It makes guys hit quality shots to win a golf tournament under pressure. There can be some luck involved at No. 17, but there's luck involved in life."

On the flip side, good luck trying to protect a lead -- no matter what the size -- on this Bermuda Triangle of a finish, where balls aren't the only things that are sometimes lost.

"I always just thought of them as three pretty tough holes, nothing crazy, but leading the tournament going into them, it's a whole different animal," said Tim Clark, who won last year's PLAYERS by a shot over Robert Allenby. "The pressure I felt on the 17th tee, particularly, is something I'll never forget. The fact that I was able to make contact and hit it on the green was quite nice."

Because of their routing, groups on the 16th fairway can look to their right and see players ahead hitting to No. 17 as an early scouting tip, mainly to see the wind conditions. But that view also gets into the mind about what task lies ahead.

After all, some of these pros have had the 17th hole on their minds since they walked off the first tee. So imagine what's going through their heads as they make that 45-second walk from the 16th green to the 17th tee.

"I'm looking at the crowd saying, 'Look at all the people that came to watch the car wreck, basically,' " Jim Furyk said, smiling. "You just get to feel the buzz and the people are waiting to see you hit it in the water. That walk kind of just makes me chuckle, because you can hear it. You know what they're looking for."

Some will argue the longest 10 seconds in golf is when a pro is watching his approach shot on No. 17 -- not sure if the ball is going to hit dry land or make a splash.

Then it's either elation or frustration.

"What is tremendous is the reactions after the tee shots land," said Gary Koch, who describes the action at No. 17 for NBC Sports. "Water, good shot, or the ball hanging up on the island somewhere. It's good drama, it's good theatre. I'm not sure it's the best hole in the world, but for television it's great theatre."

When Clark hit No. 17 last year in the final round, he got to take the enjoyable walk to the green. But he wasn't content yet.

"Unfortunately, there's still a lot of hard work after that," he said. "It's just no time to relax. Number 18 is probably one of the toughest finishing holes on TOUR, and I knew regardless of what I had done on 17, I still had work left."

Work for him, pleasure for us.

THE PLAYERS, like most great books and movies, always has an interesting finish.

Craig Dolch is a freelance columnist for PGATOUR.COM. His views do not necessarily represent the views of the PGA TOUR.