For anyone wanting to know the key to success at The Masters, the great Jack Nicklaus has broken it down into six crucial shots you need to play well to win around Augusta National.
Nobody knows about fighting for that coveted Green Jacket more than Nicklaus, a six-time winner of The Masters from 46 years of battling Augusta National and all its nuance.
Augusta is definitely a place that takes some getting used to, and there are various theories on the best way to play it, where and when to attack and where not to miss if you want to challenge for the Masters title.
If anyone holds the key to success around the most iconic venue in golf, then it’s Nicklaus, who can boil everything down to just six shots that you have to get right if you want to be in with a chance of picking up the first Major of the year.
“Everybody knows Augusta pretty much, there’s about six shots at Augusta that you better pay attention to,” Nicklaus told Sir Nick Faldo’s podcast Sir Nick’s Round Table Chats.
“Your tee shot at two, your second shot at 11, tee shot at 12, your tee shot at 13 and the second shot at 13, and the second shot at 15.
“I don’t think 16 – that doesn’t bother me, I don’t think I’ve ever hit it in the water there.
“So those six shots, if you play those shots smart, play them intelligently, and put them in the conservative side of the ledger, the rest of the golf course is not very hard.”
Nicklaus also said that although conventional wisdom says you need to draw the ball to win around Augusta, a fade is the shot you need to play going into most greens, with only a few draws needed off a few tees.
“Augusta has shots that you need to play right to left, but most shots are fades,” Nicklaus added. “You look at two, three, five, right through the golf course, you’ve got a couple of right to lefts there, six is a little right to left and one is a little right to left.
“But for the most part coming into the greens a fade will do you fine, but off the tee you’ve got to occasionally hit it right to left.”
