Editing Sawgrass, Florida (section)

==History==
Initial development was done by James Stockton Jr., son of a principal of [[Stockton, Whatley, Davin & Co.]] one of the biggest names in mortgage banking, real estate and insurance in the southeast U.S.<ref name=SAW /> While on safari in Africa in 1970, he envisioned another golf course resort development like Ponte Vedra in the wild landscape along the coast. After he returned to Florida, he purchased 1,600 feet of ocean frontage near property SWD had available since the 1960s. He engaged a golf course architect and an engineering firm to draw plans for a new development that eventually encompassed 1,200 acres.<ref name=SAW />

At one point Stockton had doubts about using the name, [[Cladium|Sawgrass]]. The plant is common to wet, marshy, mucky ground like the [[Everglades]] and the leaves have sharp, often serrated (sawtooth-like) margins.<ref>Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. p. 89</ref> However, when most people hear the term sawgrass, they think of [[Pampas grass]], its first cousin.<ref name=SAW />

The developer recalled that there were 140 units sold in the first year, but in 1973, with the country in turmoil, sales dropped to nine and Stockton became concerned about being successful. All the money from sales was plowed back into the development and business was difficult for a few years. Two events helped turn the situation around. First, Jacksonville began construction of [[Florida State Road 202|J. Turner Butler Boulevard]], a limited-access [[Limited-access road|expressway]] to the Atlantic Ocean, just north of Ponte Vedra Beach. The commute time from the beaches to downtown was cut in half. Second, Paul and Jerome Fletcher agreed to sell {{convert|415|acre|km2}} adjoining Sawgrass to the [[PGA Tour]] for one [[United States dollar|dollar]]. That land became [[TPC Sawgrass]], the first of several [[Tournament Players Club]]s.<ref name=SAW />