According to Tiger Woods the 17th hole at the TPC Sawgrass qualifies as a gimmick hole.  I've seen several articles and listened to numerous people for or against that statement.  In my own opinion I don't see how it can't be considered gimmicky by definition : a trick or device used to attract attention.  Witness all the attention this hole attracts.  How many pictures of the 17th have you seen? Google "17th TPC Sawgrass" and you get about a thousand results just for images.  Change that to the "15th TPC Sawgrass" and you get 507 results most of which are images of the 17th hole. I'd have to call that attracting attention utilizing as a device a green surrounded by water.

Does that make it a bad hole, of course not.  From a spectators perspective there is probably no better hole in golf.  Where else can one watch the best players in the game fail so miserably to execute a 137yd shot?  How much fun is it to watch them twist and turn while their ball is in the air on it's journey toward a watery grave?  Will anyone who saw it ever forget Sean O'Hair playing that hole Sunday during the Players?  That's a large part of the appeal.  

I have no way to know what exactly Mr. Woods intentions were when he made his statement to the press, but I have to agree with him that the hole is a gimmick. Is that bad for the 17th hole of a championship?  Not in this case. The entertainment value this little gem brings to the tournament is unmatched anywhere in golf.  That at least is indisputable.