PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – The Players Championship begins Thursday, and that means there will be a lot of traffic along A1A in Ponte Vedra Beach as people head to TPC Sawgrass this weekend.
Locals on Wednesday offered some advice, saying if you need to get from Point-A to Point-B, you better plan accordingly, make sure you have plenty of gas in the tank and expect to sit in gridlock for a long time.
MORE: Getting to The Players | Ticketing, parking, shuttle information for 2017 TPC
Tatya Garmoni has live in Ponte Vedra Beach for 25 years, and each year there have been traffic delays during The Players.
"Oh gosh in years past, (it takes) easily an hour and a half, depending on where I’m coming from," Garmoni said.
Kelly Saltman and her husband just moved to Ponte Vedra Beach, but she said her neighbors have already warned her about the traffic.
“They said try not to leave you house. If you are going to, try to take back roads. Stay away from Palm Valley Road where all the lots are, of course," Saltman said.
Liz Deplock said battling the traffic is all about strategy.
“You go out at times when everybody is going to the tournament. Take some back ways, Ponte Vedra Boulevard -- Don’t tell anyone about that," Deplock said, laughing.
Leslie Goldknopf and her family moved to Ponte Vedra Beach a year ago. She has a different take on The Players traffic.
“It’s such a great tournament to have in the area, and I feel it adds so much value to our community and the amount of money it puts back into our community is a neat thing. So as a resident, I kind of deal with it," Goldknopf said.
Deputies told News4Jax that the big problem is the tournament is held in a residential area designed for light amounts of traffic -- not an international sporting event.