By LAMAR THAMES

Florida has three of the most scenic golf courses on the PGA Tour and none is more visually pleasing than The Players Championship, the annual extravaganza in Northeast Florida.

 Now held the first week in May (7-10), The Players Championship is easily one of the most spectator-friendly tournaments on the Tour and its three closing holes rival some of the more prestigious golfing sites in scenic beauty and viewing satisfaction.

 Except for perhaps during the last two hours on a Sunday, you can find a viewing spot behind the green  on the infamous hole No. 17 and easily track your favorite players over those last three holes.

 Of course, tracking the world’s most famous golfers such as Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson is never easy but I did track Tiger one time from a strategic viewing spot behind No. 17, the diabolical water hole that has spelled doom for many championship contenders on the last day of the tournament.

HOW TO WATCH THE TOURNAMENT

 There are a lot of fan favorites as far as how to watch the tournament, but individual preferences rule here. I personally prefer to watch golf on television, but I thoroughly enjoy several hours of up-close contact, generally earlier in the week before the crowds become nearly impossible to navigate, especially on Saturday and Sunday.

 Some fans choose to follow their favorite players from hole to hole, but that can be limiting if your favorite is Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson. You can watch them tee off and then maybe move with them to catch their second shot, but you are not going to get a decent spot around the tee box or the green because of the crowds. Kathy and Michael Prymak of Palm Coast were hanging around No. 15 on May 5, 2009, for exactly that reason. 

And they were properly situated on the left-hand side of the tee box.

“Of course, you have to be over here because Phil is a lefty,” Kathy Prymak told me. She and her husband moved from Rhode Island to Palm Coast three years ago and have been coming to the tournament ever since.

“This is such a beautiful course to watch golfers on,” Kathy said. “We just love it.”

 If you want to watch them putt, you need to move ahead possibly as much as two holes to get a decent seat.

 Other people prefer to sit in a couple of spots and watch most of the big names play that hole, generally around the greens.

 My wife and I enjoy setting up behind hole No. 11, a par 5 dogleg left with a green that is encircled almost entirely by a deep bunker. It has produced many memorial shots and maybe none more spectacular than the birdie chip-in that Payne Stewart made from the bunker a couple of years before he died in a plane crash.

 Also from that No. 11 vantage point, I can easily walk to the tee box on No. 12 and catch a group teeing off and then proceed to the 14^th fairway to see some shots into the green.

Normally, if I go out on a Sunday, I try to leave a couple of hours early in order to get home to watch the final few holes on television. I know that may not be your decision but it works better for my wife and I because of the traffic.

That method suits Kathy Prymak as well. 

“It is just too crowded on the weekend,” she said. “I’d rather watch it on television over the weekend.”

 PARKING

 To me, the absolute best way to handle the traffic problem is to take the free shuttle bus from the University of North Florida to the golf course. I have only stayed to the very end of the tournament on a Sunday once and I can attest that the traffic jam afterward is horrific. If you have the least bit of overheating problem with your vehicle, I would suggest leaving early or plan on the shuttle.

 Now that parking costs $25 per day at the Players (unless you buy package tickets), the free shuttle seems like a great alternative to me.

 Parking is limited to 11,000 cars daily and the UNF lot can hold up to 4,500 vehicles. Approximately 35,000 people can attend the event each day.

WHAT YOU CAN’T BRING

 During the four days of competition, Thursday through Sunday, there are restrictions on items that you can bring to the tournament, i.e. no cell phones, cameras and video recorders. Here is the complete list of banned items:

• NO Cell Phones -- including any cell phones with photographic capabilities (Don’t even try to bring them; they’ll catch you for sure.)
• NO PDAs and/or other Portable E-mail Devices
• NO Noise producing Electronic Devices
• NO Cameras and/or Camcorders (other than Monday-Wednesday for personal photographic use only and without their cases)
• NO Bags larger than 6″x6″x6″ in their natural state
• NO Cases and/or Covers (such as chair or umbrella covers) No signs, posters and/or banners
• NO Televisions and/or Radios
• NO Food and/or Beverage
• NO Containers and/or Coolers
• NO Pets
• NO Bicycles
• NO Ladders
• NO Weapons (regardless of permit, including but not limited to firearms or knives)

WEATHER

 Early May in Northeast Florida can be extremely hot or it can be somewhat cool, i.e. in the 60s early in the morning and later in the afternoon. It is best to check a the weather forecast for the period you expect to be there and layer accordingly, as well as apply sunscreen and wear a hat.

FOOD

 There is a number of places to grab a burger, hot dog, fries and even some chicken and barbeque on the course. They do take ATM cards but if you are paying with cash, bring plenty of it as prices are not cheap. There is a Morton’s Steakhouse concession stand behind the clubhouse near the 18th green but it is really pricey, as in $17 for a steak sandwich. Wowie!

 MEMORABILIA

 There are a couple of gift shops on the course, one as you approach No. 17 from the parking lot and the behind the clubhouse. They are worth a visit, if for nothing else but to browse. Usually every other year or so I get a new Players Championship wide-brimmed hat or a T-shirt for the times I want to show off on the local golf course among my fellow hackers. They don’t help my game but they do make me look good and that is half the battle, right? Again, prices are not cheap but you can get some of the brand-name items on sale (which is what I try to do.)

 TICKETS

 A number of packages are available at the usual ticket outlets as well as at www.pgatour.com. You can also buy tickets at your local Publix supermarket as long as supplies last. Basically, tickets for the four days of the tournament competition, Thursday through Saturday, are $75 per day, plus parking, unless you park at the shuttle venue at the University of North Florida (click here for directions). The tournament usually sells out early so it is not wise to wait.