If we’re being honest, the late Pete Dye’s signature hole at TPC Sawgrass isn’t really an island green.
Technically, the Stadium Course’s iconic par-3 17th — which the PGA Tour will return to for The Players in just three weeks — is really a glorified peninsula thanks to the land bridge players take to reach the green.
Last week’s host, TPC Scottsdale, actually has a more true island green at the par-5 15th, which players access by the stone bridge on the right side.
But there is no doubt, this week’s DP World Tour stop in Thailand has a real island green, with no land or man-made bridges to access it.
The par-3 17th at Amata Spring Country Club, which is just on the outskirts of Bangkok, features one of the most unique greens in all of professional golf. The green is floating in the middle of a lake, with only a boat to ferry players and caddies to the putting surface.
The entire hole is framed by the backdrop of Amata Castle on the other side of the lake.
If this concept seems familiar, perhaps you’ve seen videos or even been to the 14th hole at Couer d’Alene Resort in Idaho, the only other floating green in the world — with real grass.
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However, Amata Spring’s 17th is the only chance we get to see the world’s best on a true island green, having hosted previous Asian and LPGA tour events as well as the Asian Pacific Amateur. (No offense to your buddy’s bachelor party).
Like its sister in Idaho, the island green in Thailand can also be moved to different yardages thanks to a pulley system below. The DP World Tour lists the hole at 152 yards this week but said it could play as short as 130 yards.
The DP World Tour is currently in its first Asia swing since 2019, having returned to the continent last week at the Singapore Classic. It’s also the Tour’s first visit to Thailand since 2016.
Amata Spring previously hosted the Asian Tour’s Thailand Golf Championship from 2011 to 2015, which accrued a pretty notable list of winners including Lee Westwood, Charl Schwartzel and Sergio Garcia. In 2013, Garcia memorably handled Amata Spring’s 17th better than he did the TPC Sawgrass version at that year’s Players when he rinsed his tee shot twice in an unsuccessful bid to beat Tiger Woods.