Island Green

An island green is a putting green surrounded by water, with no land approach into it except (in most cases) a narrow strip or bridge. The design turns the approach shot into a do-or-die test: hit the green or lose a ball.

What is an island green?

An island green is a putting surface that sits in the middle of a body of water, isolated from the rest of the hole. Golfers cannot run a ball onto it along the ground, and there is little or no margin for a missed shot. Anything that fails to hold the green ends up wet.

The design exists for one reason: drama. By stripping away the safety net that surrounds a normal green, an architect forces every player to commit fully to the shot, regardless of skill level. The most recognised example is the 17th at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, a 137-yard par-3 designed by Pete and Alice Dye that has been the signature hole of The Players Championship since 1982 (PGA Tour).

Island greens are most commonly built on par-3 holes, where the tee shot is the approach shot. Par-5 versions exist (the layup or third shot plays into the island), and a small number of par-4 versions exist too, though they are rare.

How an island green plays

The defining feature is the absence of a bailout. On most golf holes, a player who misses the green has rough, fringe, a bunker, or even a fairway runoff to play from. On an island green, missing in any direction usually means a penalty stroke and a return to the tee or a designated drop zone.

That single fact changes how the shot is played. Club selection becomes more important than usual because there is no room to be short or long. Wind is amplified, since the green is fully exposed across open water with no surrounding trees or terrain to shield it. The green’s size and shape become the entire conversation.

Most island greens are built larger than a typical green to give recreational golfers a reasonable chance of finding the putting surface. Some are also ringed with sand or rough, which can catch a ball before it rolls into the water. The 17th at TPC Sawgrass, by contrast, is around 3,900 square feet, smaller than the average PGA Tour green, with only a small front bunker as a buffer (Hole19).

Island green vs. peninsula green

Strictly speaking, an island is land surrounded by water on all sides. Most golf holes marketed as “island greens” do not meet that definition. They have a thin strip of land, a footbridge, or a cart bridge connecting the green to the rest of the course, which technically makes them peninsula greens.

The 17th at TPC Sawgrass is the most famous example of the naming quirk. It is universally called the Island Green and has been since the course opened in 1982, though it is technically a peninsula because a narrow walkway connects it to the fairway (Wikipedia). The term stuck anyway. As Golf Compendium notes, “island green” sounds a lot cooler than “peninsular green.”

Feature	Island green	Peninsula green
Land connection	None, or only a footbridge or boat	Narrow strip of land
Access	Footbridge, cart bridge, or boat	Walk or drive on
Common usage of the term	Used for both types in everyday golf language	Often called an “island green” anyway
Example	Coeur d’Alene Resort No. 14 (floating, boat access)	TPC Sawgrass No. 17

In casual use, both designs get called island greens. Purists draw the line at whether any dry land touches the green.

Types of island greens

Three broad designs appear in golf course architecture, all grouped under the island green label.

Peninsula-style

A green almost entirely surrounded by water but linked to the fairway by a thin causeway or walkway. This is the most common version. TPC Sawgrass No. 17, PGA West No. 17, and TPC Scottsdale No. 15 all fit here.

True island

Some greens have no land connection at all and can only be reached by a bridge designed for foot or cart traffic. Punta Mita’s “Tail of the Whale” (hole 3B) in Mexico is one example. At low tide, golfers can walk or drive across the rocks to reach the green; at high tide, the hole is unplayable until the water recedes.

Floating green

The rarest and most unusual type. The green sits on a movable platform anchored in a lake or pond, and golfers reach it by boat. The 14th at Coeur d’Alene Resort in Idaho is the best-known example. According to the resort, the green is a 2,200-ton platform that shifts position on an underwater cable system, playing anywhere from 90 yards to 220 yards depending on where it is moored that day.

A brief history of the island green

The concept is older than most golfers assume. The Wee Burn Country Club in Darien, Connecticut, dates to 1896, and its par-4 16th hole ends at one of the earliest known island greens (GolfPass).

Around 1903, Scottish club professional George Low built an island green on the 10th hole of the original course at Baltusrol Golf Club in New Jersey. That hole was in play through the 1915 U.S. Open before A.W. Tillinghast removed it during a course redesign in 1920 (LINKS Magazine).

William S. Flynn built the first par-5 island green in 1922 at Cherry Hills Country Club in Colorado (GolfPass). The design then sat mostly dormant for sixty years. In 1982, Pete and Alice Dye opened the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass, and its 17th hole became one of golf’s most recognisable holes (Wikipedia). Architects soon copied the concept at courses around the world.

Related Golf Terms

Green — The closely mown area containing the hole, where putting takes place.
Interlocking grip — A grip where the pinky of the trail hand interlocks with the index finger of the lead hand.
Impact — The moment the clubface strikes the ball.
Iron — A type of club with a metal head used for various distances (1-9 iron).
Inside-out swing — A swing path that travels from inside the target line to outside at impact.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the 17th at TPC Sawgrass a true island green?

No. It is a peninsula. A narrow walkway links it to the fairway, so it does not technically meet the definition of an island. The Island Green name has stuck since 1982 because of how the hole looks and plays from the tee.

Where is the most famous island green in golf?

The par-3 17th at TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. It measures 137 yards and has hosted The Players Championship every year since 1982 (PGA Tour).

Who invented the island green?

There is no single inventor. The earliest known examples date to the late 1890s and early 1900s, with George Low at Baltusrol and the original design at Wee Burn Country Club among the first. Pete and Alice Dye popularised the design at TPC Sawgrass in 1982.

Are island greens always on par-3 holes?

No. Par-3s are the most common, but island greens also appear on par-5 holes (TPC Scottsdale No. 15, Cherry Hills No. 17) and occasionally on par-4 holes (Wee Burn No. 16, Valhalla No. 13).

How many balls land in the water at the 17th at TPC Sawgrass each year?

At The Players Championship, the official count since 2003 has averaged dozens of balls per tournament, with a single-round record of 50 set in 2007 (Wikipedia, CBS Sports). For all rounds played at the course year-round, ShipSticks estimates around 100,000 balls find the water there each year, worth roughly half a million dollars.

Sources

Golf Compendium. “The Island Green in Golf: What It Is, Where to Find Them.” Accessed May 2026.
Golf Digest. “Move over TPC Sawgrass. Here are golf’s best island greens.” Accessed May 2026.
GolfPass. “The ultimate guide to golf’s island greens.” Accessed May 2026.
LINKS Magazine. “5 of the Best Island Greens in Golf.” Accessed May 2026.
Wikipedia. “TPC at Sawgrass.” Accessed May 2026.
CBS Sports. “TPC Sawgrass 17th hole: What you need to know about iconic ‘Island Green’ at 2026 Players Championship.” Accessed May 2026.
PGA Tour. “By the numbers: No. 17 at THE PLAYERS Championship.” Accessed May 2026.
The Coeur d’Alene Resort. “The Floating Green.” Accessed May 2026.
ShipSticks. “TPC Sawgrass 17th Hole & The Famous Island Green.” Accessed May 2026.
Hole19. “Island Green Golf Holes: World’s Most Famous Water Greens.” Accessed May 2026.