The power of water hazards on a golf course

I have a theory. Almost every club golfer, when confronted by water, stands over the ball completely conscious of that hazard. It is all they are thinking about. 

It means the thought process is muddled and that is precisely why so many of us end up duffing approach shots. 

If the water wasn’t there we would be absolutely fine. All you would see is the green. But put a lake between us and the putting surface and it's a different matter altogether. I call it golfing brain fog.

So why is it that so many world-class players, when confronted with the water surrounding the 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass, a hole that measures just 139 yards, also end up in the drink? Are their brains fried too? Are they more worried about putting the ball in the lake than finding the putting surface?

Remember that these guys know EXACTLY how far they hit each and every club in the bag to within a yard or two. And they are able to work out the wind direction too. And on a hole of this length almost all of them will be hitting a wedge. With this club in their hands they would normally expect to be putting for a birdie.

But in the first round alone at The Players Championship, 18 balls ended up in the lake. 

Jhonattan Vegas came to the 17th three under par. He walked off one over. After coming up short with his initial tee shot, Vegas elected to hit again from the tee box instead of moving to the drop zone. However, he put that second shot into the water as well, hitting the green but bouncing over the firm surface and into the water. That, of course, is another problem with the 17th green - it is hard and firm. It is almost as if the PGA Tour want to see players finding the wet stuff. 

There were just 11 birdies all day, along with 80 pars, 18 bogeys, eight doubles and five of the dreaded "others". It averaged 3.328.

The second round was slightly better but 16 players still found the water. In calmer conditions, there were 15 birdies, 95 pars, 10 bogeys, two doubles and no "others". On Thursday, it played as the third-hardest hole on the course, on Friday it was the 13th most difficult, averaging 2.992.

Now here is where it gets really interesting. During the first two rounds, the flag was at the back of the green, leaving competitors a shot of around 148 yards.

In the third round the pin was at the front of the putting surface, a distance of just 126 yards. Balls in the water? Two. Birdies? 15. Pars? 53, Bogeys? Three. And just two double-bogeys. And in the final round we saw just six balls in the water.

Elsewhere, Shane Lowry’s wayward tee shot at the 18th on the way to missing the cut became the 1,000th ball in the water on that hole since 2003. Going left on that hole spells disaster. Lowry knows it. The 999 golfers before him also knew it, so you would think they would do everything within their considerable powers to ensure the ball moved from left to right.

There was also a horrific quintuple-bogey nine for Tom Hoge at the seventh that involved a water ball, a shank and a missed three-foot putt. He ended up taking 80 shots for his round.

In their defence, these guys are standing on those tees knowing that tens of thousands of spectators have eyes on them, and that millions more are watching at home on TV. It’s a different sort of pressure.

It is quite clear that if you are going to win The Players Championship the key thing is to make as few mistakes as possible, to keep the ball above ground.

None of the above drama was of any concern to American Cameron Young. As 54-hole leader Ludvig Aberg imploded, Young did find all the right places and started making birdies for fun as he claimed The Players Championship for his biggest victory to date - one that will fill him with confidence as he prepares for The Masters next month. He beat Matt Fitzpatrick by a shot after the Englishman hit a poor drive at the last and was unable to make par.

Aberg had played almost flawless golf for three rounds and led by three but he saw his hopes disappear when he found water at both the 11th and12th. Sepp Straka had also given himself an outside chance but chose the worst possible time to come undone, hitting his approach to the 18th into the lake and closing with a double bogey.

Here’s what Young had to say about the 17th: "Yeah, I mean, the stadium atmosphere out there is unbelievable. It's so loud on 17. The way everything is raised, you just know kind of all eyes are right there on you. So there's nowhere to hide, and I feel like I stepped up really well and hit a bunch of good shots those last couple holes, so I'm very proud of that.

"That wind was really difficult, downwind. I just so happened to have the best number you could have possibly asked for. I felt like if I hit just a full hard sand wedge it would carry that bunker by a yard or two, and trying to hit a softer gap wedge would have been a lot more difficult."

Don't forget that you could attend The Players at TPC Sawgrass in 2027!