INSTRUCTOR’S CORNER: Todd Jones, head instructor at TOUR Academy TPC Sawgrass, offers insight to playing the Stadium Course.

Round 1 of THE PLAYERS will be played on a Stadium Course that has rounded into shape thanks to the hard work of the superintendent, his staff, and the loving touch of “Mother Nature.”

Many of the players were prepared for the course to show the signs of one of the coldest winters on record in North Florida ; however it has exceeded their expectations. The course was firm early in the week, but rain on Tuesday and Wednesday slightly softened up the fairways and greens.

Look for the players in Thursday’s morning draw to have ideal scoring conditions as the fairways will be very receptive allowing for more shots to be played from the short grass. This is significant because this course needs to be played from the fairway as the length of the rough is primed for flyers. Flyers happen when grass gets caught between the ball and club face. The result is a shot that jumps off the club with very little back spin, cuts through the air like a knuckleball and typically carries much farther than planned. Much farther than planned at TPC Sawgrass can mean certain bogey or worse.

This interesting dynamic has been brought back into play with the new groove rule. I look for the long players to benefit the most from the softer conditions as the ball will not be rolling out as much, allowing them to be aggressive off the tee. Aggressive off the tee means shorter approach shots, and as a rule of thumb shorter approach shots mean lower scores.

It would not be surprising to see low scores to come out of the 8:18 a.m. starting time—Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els and Dustin Johnson—very long players who know how to take advantage of prime conditions.—Todd Jones