Sawgrass Country Club (East/West)

Overview: Sawgrass Country Club’s East-West course is the original Ponte Vedra Beach layout that gave the club its championship identity. Ed Seay routed the 18 holes through a site that was largely swamp and dense coastal vegetation, then used earth movement, water and mature plantings to create a strategic parkland course. The current card reaches 7,012 yards at par 72. Its character comes from the balance between generous-looking corridors and demanding lines into greens, with wind and water regularly changing the safest route.

History: Ed Seay was selected as architect in 1970, construction began in 1972, and the course officially opened in August 1974. The PGA Tour’s Tournament Players Championship came to Sawgrass Country Club in 1977 and remained there through 1981 before moving across the road to the new TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course. Later work included renovations to the East and West nines while preserving the original routing.

Did You Know? Seay’s starting site was so wet that the club’s history records the centerline of 12 holes as underwater before construction. The course later became the first home of the Tournament Players Championship, linking this private East-West routing directly to the event that would help make the Sawgrass name famous.