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Unsung Heroes

This drone flyover of the TPC Sawgrass grounds crew prepping for The Players Championship is pure zen

There’s a time for rolling up your sleeves and getting to work and there’s a time for putting your feet up and doing the exact opposite. It’s essential to know which is which and when is when, and for the TPC Sawgrass grounds crew this week, it’s definitely sleeve-roll time. The PGA Tour’s showcase event goes live in less than 48 hours and everything must be not only immaculate, but immaculately challenging. Thankfully for the golf fans of earth and beyond, it's time take a deep breath and simply enjoy the spectacle, starting with this incredible drone flyover of the course prep at the Ponte Vedra venue on Tuesday morning. Who knew watching other people do hard labor could be so soothing?

Needless to say, if you weren’t already hyped for The Players Championship and everything it signifies (namely the unofficial start of official majors season), you are now. When that drone whisks down the 18th fairway, through the grandstand tunnel, and bursts out the other side, morning mist curling up from placid waters of the iconic 17th hole, well, it’s just about enough to make you weak in the knees. This might be sacrilege, but in that brief, fleeting moment, it almost feels like TPC Sawgrass can hang with the beauty of Augusta National … almost.

Sawgrass doesn’t just roll out of bed and look like that, however. There’s a lot of grooming involved, and this lovely bit of escapism helps to shine some light on that process. As the drone buzzes to and fro, it's impossible not to notice what a massive, coordinated operation it all is. There are two workers on the 17th’s other island putting the finishing touches on the floral arrangements, their boat docked nearby. There’s a small battalion of mowers and aerators. There’s water sprayers and bunker rakers, all moving in silent choreography not because it’s staged, but because that’s the job and they’re damn good at it. And this is just three holes. There’s fifteen more getting the exact same treatment. Just let that sink in as you crack your first breakfast beer ...