Hole-by-hole: Dye's Valley Course at TPC Sawgrass

The par-5 first has played as Dye's Valley's easiest hole in the past, with five eagles and 138 birdies carded here in 2014 during the Korn Ferry Tour Championship. It takes nearly 300 yards of carry to cover the bunker left of the fairway but doing so gives a player a good chance to reach the green in two. A large bunker fronting the green makes access to back right pins tricky. This a great hole to gather momentum to start your round.

This relatively short par-3 hole offers a chance for players to maintain momentum. A multi-level green protected on the left by a U-shaped bunker makes pinpoint accuracy off the tee a must to take advantage.

The third is the most straight-forward of the three short par 4 holes on the Valley course. This 353-yard hole offers a generous fairway flanked by bunkers on either side. Hills and bunkers around the green can impact sight lines, especially with a back-left pin. Players can bomb it and chip up to the green or lay back with an iron or hybrid to a comfortable distance. Both strategies can work, as this played as fourth-easiest hole in 2014.

Though measuring 411 on the scorecard, the tee-to-green distance on this sharp dogleg left par 4 is significantly lower. Bombers off the tee can attempt to cut the dogleg, which will leave them well under 100 yards into this green. Taking the shortcut may also bring trouble into play with a misplaced drive. Water guards the left side up through the dogleg with hills and rough to the right. The hole's lone bunker is short and right of the green and becomes a factor for players who miss drives to the right.

The par-3 fifth hole invites comparison to its famous cousin (the island-green 17th at the adjacent Stadium Course), as players take a short iron to a green guarded by water on the front, back and right sides. Disaster lurks; the hole played over par in 2014 (+.011) despite playing only 158 yards.

The par-4 sixth starts a difficult stretch of holes and was the fourth-toughest hole on the course in 2014. Distance control with the drive is the name of the game as missing left into deep mounds or right into the water could be disastrous. Water runs up the right side for the length of the hole and will be a major concern on both drives and approaches to the green.

Find a reprieve and swing away on the short par-4 seventh, which played as the second-easiest hole in 2014. Big hitters have a chance to reach the green easily from the tee. The pin isn't always visible from the tee box, with a large, bunkered hill blocking sightlines to the green. Players who lay up anywhere in the gently left-to-right sloping fairway will have plenty of room to play their approaches into a green that sits above the fairway and drops off into a collection area for shots short and right.

The toughest hole on Dye's Valley in 2014 was this 500+ yard par 4, the longest two-shotter on the property. Trees creep in on the right side of the fairway, which makes finding the green in regulation from that side a difficult prospect. Even a good drive will leave most players a long iron or hybrid into this narrow green, which is protected by a bunker short and right.

The difficult outward stretch is completed by the fifth toughest hole on the course. The pros will mostly avoid the water running along the right and find themselves in a generous landing area in the fairway. A large, undulating green featuring multiple levels awaits approach shots. An accurate second shot is the key on this hole, with water just off the right side of the green and possible three-putts awaiting anyone who finds the wrong level with their approaches.

The 10th is guarded on the right by water for the entirety of the hole, creating a desire to play up the left side, which brings some difficult rough into play. The green is protected by bunkers short left and back right.

One of the toughest par-3s the players see anywhere, this hole gave up nearly three times the number of bogeys or worse than it surrendered birdies. Don’t be intimidated by the two large bunkers as one plays well short of the green and the other deep left will mostly come into play for back left pin locations. Water bordering much of the putting surfaces makes this long tee shot very daunting; this was the second-most difficult hole at Dye's Valley in 2014.

On this relatively short par 4, placement off the tee is the name of the game. Players can hit just about any club they wish off the tee but need to find the fairway or else risk water left and uneven hilly lies in the rough and a blind approach to the right. The elevated green, which drops off severely to the left and back, is inviting to wedges from the fairway. Just don’t leave yourself short on front pin locations as the ball may roll all the way back to where you are standing. This was the fifth-easiest hole in 2014.

This dogleg left hole features two potential teeing areas offering different experiences. From the elevated teeing area, all of the hole's hills and valleys are visible before a tee shot which needs to favor the right-center of the fairway to take advantage of the right-to-left slope. From the lower tee, a more aggressive, direct line can be taken without risking the tee shot bouncing left and into the water. A long, thin bunker protects the left side of this multi-tiered green and may also protect a wayward approach shot from ending up in the water.

Water isn't in play off the tee on this par 3, one of few holes on the course that affords that luxury, yet the hole still played just over par in 2014. A front-left or back-right pin position can result in a tricky second shot for a misplayed tee ball as there are large bunkers short left and back right, along with a collection area to the right.

This short dogleg-left hole allows players to be aggressive and attempt to cut the dogleg to leave a wedge in, or lay up to the right leaving just a short iron approach. The kidney bean-shaped green wraps around a bunker that protects much of the left side.

The par 5 players face is the course's longest hole at 559 yards. A fairway bunker protects the left side of the fairway off the tee and water runs on that side from there for the length of the hole. An undulating green allows for some very tricky pin positions, especially on the left and back-right, with a bunker protecting any pins placed in the latter position. The distance did not phase players in 2014 as this was the third easiest hole on the course.

The 17th, a par 5 for the members but a par 4 this week, stretches to 499 yards. Water again protects the left side of the fairway of this slight dogleg left but is not in play around the green. One of the course's flatter putting surfaces awaits long approach shots on this hole, which was the third-toughest in 2014.

A well-placed tee shot is the key to the closing hole at Dye's Valley. Water guards the left side of this dogleg-left with a fairway bunker on the right, ready to collect any pushed tee shots played too conservatively. After navigating the tee shot, players can set their sights on a green that is protected by a bunker short and a steep bank into the water left.