Eagle Eye’s 17th on left; TPC Sawgrass on the right.
TPC Sawgrass 17th Replica At Eagle Eye
I’ve never had the chance to play TPC Sawgrass, but Eagle Eye Golf Club in Bath, Michigan (near Lansing) has a replica of the famous island green 17th.
The Eagle Eye hole is a bit more than just a replica hole, though. Eagle Eye was designed by Chris Lutzke in collaboration with Pete Dye, creator of TPC Sawgrass (along with Alice Dye, who doesn’t get the credit she is said to deserve)
Lutzke began working for Pete Dye at age 18 on Blackwolf Run in Kohler, Wisconsin. During his time with Dye, Lutzke worked on courses such as the Ocean Course, Whistling Straits, The Honors Course, Mystic Rock and Colleton River Plantation.
Dye even sent Lutzke to school at Michigan State to study in the turfgrass agronomy program — and paid the tuition. At MSU, Lutzke connected with Jerry Matthews. Later, he worked with Matthews at Hawk Hollow.
When the owners of Hawk Hollow wanted to build another course, they offered Lutzke his first design job — IF he could bring Dye in to consult. Dye agreed.
The 17th at Eagle Eye was built with Dye’s complete blessing as an homage to the iconic hole at TPC Sawgrass.
Dye even came to play at the grand opening of the course.
