Ed Getka,
The amazing thing about ANGC greens is our inability to see and appreciate their slopes on TV.
While that's true of the entire property, golfers may escape certain lies, but, they can't escape putting on the greens.
I don't think there's a benign green on the golf course.
Some greens are just not as severe as others.
# 1, # 11, # 12 might be the gentlist of the greens with # 8, # 17 and # 18 comprising the next tier.
# 2, # 3, # 4, # 5, # 6, # 7 and # 9 on the front nine have plenty of slope and/or contour.
On the back, # 10 and # 15 have a good deal of slope, while # 13, # 14 and # 16 have a good deal of slope and contour.
What surprised me at ANGC is the rarity of an even lie or a putt without break.
On the greens the biggest surpise was # 13.
I had always envisioned the hole as simply having a two tiered green.
I thought the top tier was a flat plateau.
It wasn't, it too had slope, sloping toward the creek.
The same for # 16.
I was under the impression that the front right tier was flat.
It's not, it's got good slope to it.
It's a frightening location to putt to.
When Tiger first won I believe the longest club he hit into a par 4 was a 7-iron. I believe this enabled him to get closer to the ideal putting locations, given the daily position of the holes. That's a huge advantage.
Hitting a 7-iron, with its steeper flight qualities, allows the golfer easier access to certain quadrants of the green, when compared to approaching with lower clubs, which most were hittting.
All 5, 10, 15 and 20 footers aren't equal at ANGC.
You could be 10 feet from every hole, with someone else being 20 feet from every hole, and the guy 20 feet could have a considerable advantage on every hole.
I've seen 3 foot birdie putts on # 7 go off the green because the golfer was above the hole and he tried to eliminate break by being firmer.
That's a great strategy IF you make that putt, and a very bad strategy IF you miss that putt.
There are a great number of similar situations depending on the location of the holes.
I often think of Billy Casper's strategy on the 3rd hole at WFW in the 1959 Open, where he layed up short, chipped up and made his par putts, rather than risk the surrounds and putting surface with his approach.
While I've never seen that at ANGC (the 1th hole possibly being the exception) it might be a clever strategy for amateur golfers.
# 5 and # 14 are only ferociously difficult if your ball is in the wrong place at the wrong time. The problem is, getting your ball in the right position at the right time. I don't believe that either hole can be lengthened, hence I believe the powers that be narrowed them in order to frustrate the latter.
While everyone focuses on the greens in the context of putting, you also have to view them in the context of recovery and chipping/pitching/running, from off the green.
This in turn influences your approach strategy, which in turn influences your strategy off the tee.
Granted, the narrowing has muted tee strategy to a degree, but, the importance, for the amateur golfer, of correct approach angles and prefered miss zones gets lost when you view The Masters since you're viewing the best golfers in the world, playing at their best.
ANGC remains a spectacular golf course for amateur and PGA Tour Pro alike, and not many golf course can make that statement.