AUGUSTA, Ga. — The changes are made at Augusta National Golf Club each summer after it closes. Most are subtle. The front of a green raised by inches, a slope softened. Others are more obvious, announced months before the invitees arrive in April to compete in the Masters Tournament.
Over the last two decades, as 300-yard tee shots became ordinary and an occasional 400-yard blast no longer obscene, the major alterations to the Alister MacKenzie and Bobby Jones-designed layout have centered around adding length to holes to restore the original shot quality the architects envisioned.
The course measured 6,700 yards in 1934 and grew by only 285 yards in the next 67 years. Major changes, so-called “Tigerproofing,” occurred prior to 2002, stretching the layout to 7,270 yards and included hundreds of new pine trees in strategic locations.
Over time, holes have been lengthened 55 times, and this year competitors will face a course measuring 7,510 yards, highlighted by beefed-up versions of three key holes on the pivotal second nine, golf’s most familiar scene of triumph and broken dreams.
More grass, less trees on No. 11
The 11th hole has been tweaked as often as any at Augusta National. It’s never been a pushover. Last year it was the course’s second-most difficult hole, yielding only 15 birdies and a 4.399 stroke average; it has been the toughest test on nine occasions since 2006.
The par 4 signals the beginning of Amen Corner, the three-hole stretch where many men have felt the green jacket slip away. Lengthened by 15 yards for this year’s tournament, White Dogwood has also undergone a dramatic renovation in the fairway, returning closer to its original design.
The large swath of pine trees down the right-hand side – added prior to the 2004 and 2006 Masters – is much thinner based on aerial photographs posted on Eureka Earth’s Twitter feed, and the tee box shifted to the left. Some of the trees also disappeared before the 2008 tournament.
The 11th is listed at 520 yards this year, some 65 yards longer than 2001, and the wider recontoured landing area on the right side should restore some shotmaking options for golfers who hit tee shots there.
From the former tee, there was more room than appeared on the left side of the fairway according to Mark Urbanek, caddie for Tony Finau, who has two top-10s in four Masters appearances.
There were two options to escape the right trees.
“You could try to slice it near the front of the green, a scary option because of the pond in front of the green,” Urbanek said. “Or pitch it down the right side and leave a 60-70 yard third shot.”
This is the fifth time the 11th has been lengthened. After the most recent change it took only two years for the hole to return to its pre-change scoring average (4.35) and the average dipped to 4.296 eight years later.
Urbanek hasn’t been to Augusta National since last year’s tournament.
“I was a fan of the way it was before,” Urbanek said. “It was wider down the left side but a tougher angle and if you challenged the right side you had a better angle to the green.”
Will No. 15 become a three-shot hole for most of the field?
Defending Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama and his fellow competitors will have a longer distance to drive on No. 15 this year after the hole has been lengthened at least 20 yards.
The par-5 15th hole, Firethorn, is Augusta National’s easiest hole and presents the last true opportunity for birdie or better on the second nine. Gene Sarazen’s albatross in 1935 and Jack Nicklaus’ eagle in 1986 are just two of dozens of seminal moments to unfold on 15.
The wind, a pesky nuisance throughout the property, can swirl stranger and gust stronger in the 15th fairway, Urbanek said, planting doubt as player and caddie select a club and shot shape.
Finau was one of 84 players to average more than 300 yards driving distance last season on the PGA Tour. A solid tee shot generally produced a second shot from 220 to 240 yards, leaving a mid-to-long iron approach to a green defended by a treacherous pond in the front and a difficult pitch in the rear.
This year, the tee has been moved back some 20 yards. It’s the first change since more than 30 yards were added and the angle of the tee shot was altered in 2006 and 2009.
And while Sergio Garcia used an 8-iron for his second shot in the final round of the 2017 Masters to set up a short eagle putt he converted en route to victory, Urbanek expressed concern that the additional 20 yards could remove the risk/reward element from the 15th.
If golfers need a fairway metal to reach the 15th green, laying up and making it a three-shot hole will become the sensible – and less exciting – play.
Tee shot becomes even more important on No. 18
No course in the world opens and closes with more difficult tee shots. Like the nearby first hole, the tee shot at 18 asks for a left-to-right ball flight. Coming home, however, the players fire out of a tree-lined chute with protruding limbs to enhance their discomfort.
Jordan Spieth nicked a branch on the final hole of the 2018 Masters, settling for a bogey to sour a brilliant 64 and third-place finish, two shots behind champion Patrick Reed. Steep-faced bunkers guard the left side of the fairway while dense trees penalize a player who loses his tee shot to the right.
With 13 yards added to the tee box since last year, Holly is now potentially a 478-yard uphill brute.
Perhaps no hole at Augusta National has changed more dramatically in the last 20 years. The club expanded the teeing ground and stretched the hole from 405 to 460 yards in 2001, shifting the tee box five yards to the right to accentuate the left-to-right dogleg.
Gone were the days of Ian Woosnam and Tiger Woods bombing tee shots over the bunkers guarding the left side of the fairway, flipping a wedge shot onto the green as they marched to the title.
In 2001 the stroke average was 4.014 (sixth-easiest hole). After the changes the average soared to 4.32 in 2002 and the 18th was the most difficult. The number of birdies dipped from 55 to 15. It’s landed somewhere in the middle most years since, allowing fewer than 50 birdies each year since and playing to a 4.141 average last year as the ninth-most difficult hole.
Still, in recent years with a trailing wind the power faders of professional golf could hammer their 460cc head drivers and generate a short-iron approach shot, if not a wedge to the two-tiered green with its false front and deep bunkers in front and to the right. The additional length and altered angle this year puts an even greater premium on a powerful, well-placed tee shot.
Disaster rarely strikes at 18 but an errant tee shot creates an easy path to a bogey.
How much will changes affect scoring?
Bryson DeChambeau signals his errant tee shot on No. 11 during the first round of the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club.
How will these three significant changes affect the scoring? The Masters champion has reached double digits under par each of the last four years, staying in line with scoring trends since the 1960s.
Expect scoring to increase on each altered hole this year, although for 20 percent of the previous changes, players scored lower the first year. Still, the best golfers in the world adapt quickly. Within five years of previous changes, scoring was lower on more than 50 percent of the holes.
