It’s only 51 days until the Masters, and all the work Augusta National Golf Club has done since Scottie Scheffler donned a green jacket in 2022 is coming even more sharply into focus, thanks to the latest aerial photography by Eureka Earth posted to Twitter.
And it’s not just the main 18-hole course, where the 13th tee box has been moved some 35 yards deeper into the pines on the legendary par 5. Augusta National’s Par 3 course has seen even more dramatic renovations in recent months. The club has not shared details on the changes, but previous reporting and images appear to show a new routing for at least the first several holes of the Par 3 Course.
“It is majestic.”
Re: The ANGC Par 3 makeover 💚⛳️#TheMasters#Masters2023
(📸©09FEB2023 David Dobbins/EurekaEarth)#EurekaEarth #NotDrone#LoveAugusta pic.twitter.com/OK1R0MAnC8
— Eureka Earth® (@EurekaEarthPlus) February 14, 2023
The Augusta Chronicle reported in July that the club had filed documents with the Georgia city’s Planning and Development Department outlining plans for two new cabins, with cabin being a relative term. One of the cabins was listed in engineering drawings as being a 6,284-square-foot structure, with the other measuring 5,556 square feet. Both border the Par 3 Course.
The Chronicle reported the cabins’ locations would change the Par 3 Course’s first four holes, according to the plans. The new No. 1, instead of playing northward, appears on a city-filed map to point northeast toward the pond, with the new No. 1 green placed on or near the old No. 4 tee. The new No. 2, instead of playing west-to-east, points northwest. The new No. 3, instead of playing southward, faces southeast back toward the pond. The new No. 4 tee, on the opposite side of the No. 3 green, seems to be placed to allow fewer shots to travel over open water to reach the green. The fifth hole would appear relatively unchanged, according to maps.
The Chronicle also reported that other plans filed separately with the city show a new concessions and restroom facility between the main course’s eighth and 18th holes. Aerial images from Eureka Earth have corroborated the Chronicle’s reporting.
❗️ANGC Par-3 UPDATE❗️
Aerial overview detailing the ‘Drastic Changes’ to Augusta National’s Par 3 Course 💚⛳️
(📸 ©18JUN2022 David Dobbins/EurekaEarth)#EurekaEarth #NotDrone #DroneSafetyDay pic.twitter.com/0keRM5idaL
— Eureka Earth® (@EurekaEarthPlus) June 18, 2022
As for the rest of the Par 3 Course? When the whole Par 3 Course was basically dug up in June, it wasn’t clear what all the club had in mind. The club has since remained mum on details, as is customary. But come April 5, when the world tunes in to watch the annual Par 3 Contest with families dressed in white caddie bibs as their players try for crystal hardware, the rest of the world will get a first televised look at a very different nine-hole layout.
