May 5, 2008 -- If golf's grandest stage is the Stadium course at the TPC Sawgrass, than the 17th hole is the permanent home of it's most prominent spotlight. The hole is true theater all unto itself; with tragedy, comedy, philosophy, psychology and yes, perhaps even some romance. As you enjoy The Players Championship, this year and every year, you'll no doubt be enthralled as players approach the hole with great anxiety and anticipation. Now with television and Internet coverage allowing you to watch every shot hit on our course's penultimate hole, you should enjoy some background that might give you a better appreciation for what the players are facing. Here are 17 things you did not know about our no. 17.

The 17th green is considered the "most hit" green in the world. (WireImage.com)

1. The original design of the green did not envision an island setting. It was intended as a simple par three that bordered on water. But alongside the hole was a vein of pure sand that was valued for sand capping the fairways. They just kept digging until the vein was depleted, thus forming the crater .The original design of the hole then could not be attained. A suggestion was then made to make it an "island green" almost completely surrounded by water. Architect Pete Dye acquiesced. And one of golf's most famous (or infamous) holes was born.

2. The suggestion to make it an island green was made by Alice Day, Pete Dye's wife.

3. The first hole in one recorded on the hole was on Nov. 10, 1980 by Larry Denton. Thus far, there have been 138 holes-in-one at the hole, all of them commemorated on a special plaque outside the clubhouse.

4. The hole played a pivotal role in the birth of a legend. In 1994, a young golfer was playing in the finals of the U.S. Amateur. Trailing by as many as six holes earlier in the match, this golfer ultimately made a birdie on the 17th hole (the 35th hole of the day) to take his first lead. He would eventually win the match and be the youngest winner ever of the U.S. Amateur. His name: Tiger Woods.

5. Divers enter the water around the green four times per year; January, April, July and October. Each dive session lasts two days. It is said that the balls retrieved are the highest quality lake balls in the world. People want to hit the green so they often will use new balls for the attempt.

6. The average depth of the water around the green is four feet.

7. From back to front, the green measures a mere 78 feet in length.

8. There is a small bunker on the island, it measures 55 square feet. It is the smallest of the 98 bunkers on the course.

9. The highest score ever recorded on the hole was a 66! In 1985, Golf Digest sponsored a World's Worst Golfer contest. Angelo Spagnolo, a 31 year old grocery store manager from Fayette City, Pa., hit 27 balls into the water from the tee box and drop area. Rules officials finally directed him to putt around the hazard and down the narrow path that leads to the green. Former PGA TOUR Commissioner Deane Beman dubbed the path "Angelo's Alley." Spagnolo ultimately shot a 257 to "win" the title.

10. The green complex includes 1200 boards that create the bulkhead that surround the green. Each board is 6 inches by 10 feet.

11. The green is less than 4000 (3912 to be exact) square feet.

12. Fred Couples has the distinction of making the most spectacular par on the hole, doing it during the 1999 Players Championship. He hit his tee shot into the water, re-hit from the tee box with a 9 iron and flew the ball into the hole.

13. The yardage from the middle of the championship tee box to the front of the green is 121 yards. From the middle of the championship tees to the back of the green is 146 yards.

14. The yardage from the drop area to the center of the green is 75 yards.

15. There was a tee box on the hole, a back right tee box, that was never used for tournament play. It was created so that the course could close the championship tee box a month before The Players Championship. However, with the renovations in 2006 and the creation of spectator mounding, this tee box was removed.

16. There are an annual 120,000 golf balls retrieved from the water around the green each year. There are approximately 40,000 rounds of golf at the Stadium course at TPC Sawgrass each year. Thus, on average, each player will lose three golf balls on the hole before finding the green.

17. Caddies are asked to limit their groups to two balls per player from the tee box and then moving them to the drop area. At one time, there was a sign encouraging the same "two ball" limit. It has not proven effective as evidenced by fact no. 16.