May 7, 2008 -- It may very well be the most "played" course in the world - considering a generation of video game enthusiasts know the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass like the back of their game controller. But it is equally renowned as the home of one of the premier events in golf, The Players Championship. So how does a golf course that challenges the world's best lay claim to being one of the most player-friendly? TPC National Director of Golf Billy Dettlaff gives us an idea.

PGA.com: Billy, TPC at Sawgrass underwent extensive renovations last year prior to The Players. How did those work out?

The Stadium course at the TPC Sawgrass is the home course of The PGA Tour. (WireImage.com)

Detlaff: They worked out exactly like we had hoped, and that means very, very well. The response all around has been overwhelmingly positive. We renovated the course from a "playability" perspective, and the conditions are firm, fast and immaculate. The intent of the renovations was to make the course "old" again, and we were quite successful. By that I mean that we returned to the original design intended by Pete Dye and Deane Beman. I often tell people we have the most democratic golf course in the world. It was intended to be a great mixture of short par 3s, medium length par 3s and long par 3s. The same with the par 4s and the par 5s. With some changes in specific areas, we now have that. You know, when the course opened, hole no. 8 was designed to be a long par 3 requiring a long iron for most players. With the advances in technology for clubs and balls, it got to the point where people were hitting 6 or 7 irons often onto the green. Now it's a stern 220 yards. That's the test the hole was intended to offer. We have an equal number of holes that dogleg left and right. No two holes play consecutively in the same wind direction. It's an outstanding course and facility to host The Players Championship.

PGA.com: Everybody talks about the 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass. You did in a great article that we have on PGA.com! It's maybe the most famous hole in the world, certainly in the top five. But you have 17 other holes on the course, and they're not bad, are they?

Detlaff: There are 17 other outstanding holes here. Each offers a different opportunity and challenge. It's a very balanced design. If you look at the past champions here, you can see what I mean. Justin Leonard and Fred Funk have won here, shorter-hitting, game-management type players. But so have Tiger Woods, Fred Couples, and last year Phil Mickelson. It really doesn't offer any one type of golfer a great advantage, just the player who is hitting the ball and putting the ball the best that week.

PGA.com: You told me last year that the Tour players were the owners of the course and they expected the highest levels of quality. But you are also a premier resort destination. How do you maintain a golf course that can challenge the absolute best players in the world and still welcome -- well, some of the worst?

Detlaff: There's no denying that it is a difficult course. From the back tees, the slope on the course is 155, the highest number they can assign. But keep in mind, there are four sets of tees and playing from the correct set makes a tremendous difference. We've done something very unique and quite frankly, amazing here and it has really enhanced the experience for our guests. We used ShotLink to monitor and identify "scoring zones" throughout the course. These were grids that captured the majority of drives from players as they played. What we've found is the optimal golf experience comes when players can consistently hit their tee shots to these scoring grids. So it's not hitting from the same tees as the Tour players that our guests should be concerned about, it's hitting the same approach shots into the green. So our findings show that if you average 282 yards off the tee, you should play from our black tees. 260 yard drives on average mean you should play from the blue tees. We have a hybrid mix of blue and white tees and those that average 243 should play those. Our white tee sets are optimal for those who average 212 yards off the tee. So we are well prepared for every level of golfer and we encourage players to be honest on the first tee and play from the tee boxes that best suits their game.

PGA.com: Is your member-guest just ridiculous in terms of player profiles and scores?

Detlaff: Everyone has a great interest in making sure that our member-guest is a great time. And it's getting better and better. I've had many people tell me that it's the best member-guest they play in -- and that's encompassing the course, the service, the food & beverage service, and of course, the great players.

PGA.com: Your course also pretty much paved the way for golf gaming and is probably the most played course in the world if you factor in those who've played it on video game systems. Have you ever played your course on a system?

Detlaff: Yes, I have. And let's just say, I prefer to have the sticks in my hand rather than the controllers.