The Changes to ANGC - A Hole by Hole History (All Holes Updated)

[Matthew Rose]

Wow, B is #8 as well?

This must have been after Clifford Roberts had the original plowed under. I can kinda see why they restored it later.

[Colin Macqueen]

Sven,

You are going to make it to the 18th. in a canter!  Well done!

This has been a terrific thread and I will have it printed out as I watch The Masters with my mate.  To have a ready synopsis of the changes and the old versus newer/newest photos is fabulous. Thanks again (to everyone in fact).

Cheers Colin

[Sean_A]

Sven

Cheers!  Wonderful thread.  I am in awe of the original(ish) bunker scheme.  It is so out of the park and original.  If this were Dr Mac's only course and an archie saw the plan he must certainly have thought... zowie!


Ciao
 

[Rich Goodale]

Great stuff, Sven (and Dan W and Chris B, et. al.)

As for the 16th, I think it is a shining example of how great golf courses can be made even greater through re-design.  I see the old 16th (7th) as mostly a mirror image of 12 (3), and repetition is a curse of the scoundrel.  The new one is sui generis, or as the Irish would say, "Itself."  There is no greater compliment for a golf hole, at least in my vocabulary.

[Chris Buie]

repetition is a curse of the scoundrel

That reminds me of a phrase Emerson coined:

"foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds"

--

Jumping ahead to 17:



Remove the stream, remove the artful fairway bunker and add a bunch of trees? That makes it a better hole?

[Bryan Drennon]

C is the 2nd.  Kind of tough to pick up from the photo, which I am guessing is taken from the front left.

C is not the 2nd, it's an early pic of the 8th. Look closely at the shape of the green and also the little mounds that are in the fairway at the top center part of the photo (which are still there today). The pic is actually from the exact same angle as the B pic. Check out the group of mounds in the fairway in that photo. The mounds are further away because they shifted the green back and left when Mr. Roberts took out the mounds. Hard to believe but its almost the same photo many years apart

[Sven Nilsen]

Bryan:

Teaches me to trust labels.  You are correct, that is the 8th.

I was having a hard time reconciling how it was the second, and should have second guessed myself.

Here's another photo from the same day showing Bobby Jones putting:

[Sven Nilsen]

As Chris said, on to the 17th...

17th Hole - Nandina - Par 4




1934 - 400 yards - MacKenzie fashioned the green after the 14th at St. Andrews.  The left side of the putting surface sloped away from the player, so it was essential to lay a run-up approach.  "Until players have learned to play the desired shot," MacKenzie wrote, "the will undoubtedly be one of the most fiercely criticized holes."

1938 - 400 yards - In the summer of 1937, Maxwell remodeled the green and added three bunkers at its front.  Roberts was not pleased writing to Maxwell "I do not think you should have banked up the left-hand back side of the green.  This is supposed to be a run-up hole.  You have changed the character of the hole by inviting layers to pitch it to the green."

1956 - 400 yards -  By the mid-1950's, a pine 175 yards off the tee on the left had grown tall enough to menace short hitters.  The tree was named after a member who requested it be cut down during a 1956 meeting, prompting Roberts to rule Eisenhower out of order and to adjourn the meeting.

1967 - 400 yards - A gallery mound was added left of the green in the summer of 1966.  Roberts stood near the top of a stepladder positioned in the bed of a pickup truck and raised his hand to show how high he wanted the mound.  Cobb was directed to fill in the far-left bunker and reshape the other left bunker so it would extend into the new mound.

2002 - 425 yards - Pines transplanted to the right of the 15th in 1999 also came into play on 17.  A new back tee added that year added 25 yards.  Still, the Eisenhower Tree was only 200 yards from the tee, easily cleared by good players.  From 1999-2001, tall pines were transplanted beyond Eisenhower to eventually take its place and complicate hooks.

2011 - 440 yards - In the summer of '05, Fazio relocated the Master tee back another 15 yards and supervised the planting of more pines on the left near the green to reduce the air space on approach shots.  The 17th fairway is now the most narrow driving hole on the course, suggesting a slight drawn around the 65-foot Eisenhower Tree or a power fade over it.


From Mr. Wexler:

"The par-4 seventeenth was originally built as the last of Augusta’s bunkerless holes, its shallow, swale-fronted putting surface leading Dr. MacKenzie to opine that “It will be necessary to attack the green from the right and it will be essential to play a run-up shot if par figures are desired.”  Somewhere early on, however, this strategy was rejected by the club when it chose to add three bunkers, the two which presently front the putting surface and a third – long since removed – well short and left, the net result being that no modern run-up shot is played intentionally.  For all intents and purposes, it is thus an entirely different hole than that built by Jones and MacKenzie.

Of course, the seventeenth’s most famous feature lies considerably closer to the tee in the form of the Eisenhower tree, a now-massive loblolly pine sitting some 210 yards off the tips and occupying the left third of the fairway.  Named for President Dwight Eisenhower, a prominent club member whose tee shots it regularly devoured, this 70-foot-high landmark was little more than a sapling when Jones and MacKenzie elected to leave it standing during construction.  Yet despite its great stature, it remains far more menacing to members than to the professionals, who can generally carry it with ease, even from the new-millennium, 440-yard tee.  The trees and rough which have substantially narrowed the driving zone since 1998, however, are far less easy for Masters participants to ignore.

Better Then or Now?

This oppressive rough and tree presence has essentially turned the seventeenth into a lighter version of number seven – another narrow, thought-free, U.S. Open special.  But even more disappointing is the presence of the fronting greenside bunkers, for it would be especially interesting to watch today’s professionals attempt to approach the original, hazard-free putting surface, especially under modern, ultra-firm-and-fast agronomical conditions.  Save perhaps for Ike’s tree, this has largely become just another longish, uninspiring par 4 – and a far less interesting hole than it was in 1933."

[Sven Nilsen]

Before climbing the hill up 18, I wanted to share this article (stolen from the GCA FB page) written by Dr. MacKenzie regarding the origination of the course:

http://www.la84foundation.org/SportsLibrary/AmericanGolfer/1932/ag356p.pdf

A couple of items of particular interest:

A.  First, MacKenzie's description of the ideal course (using the word "minimize"):

     1.  A really great course must be a constant source of pleasure to the greatest possible number of players.

     2.  It must require strategy in the playing as well as skill, otherwise it can not continue to hold the golfer's interest.

     3.  It must give the average player a fair chance, and at the same time, it must require the utmost from the expert who tries for sub-par    scores.

     4.  All natural beauty should be preserved, natural hazards should be utilized, and artificiality should be minimized.

B.  The Magnolias bordering the entrance drive were a hundred years old, when the article was written.  In addition, the Azalea's and other flowering plants were present on the property, making it hard to argue that the course has a contrived look when it comes to foliage.

C.  Just as the Old Course was a model for the features on certain holes, it was also a model for enjoyment by golfers of all levels.

D.  His descriptions of the various holes are a great starting point to begin the analysis of the changes made (note that his nines are reversed).  A couple of discussion points:

     1.  The 10th (old No. 1) was meant to be a relatively easy hole.  Today it plays as one of the hardest.

     2.  The 12th (old No. 3) was originally 130 yards.

     3.  He compares the 13th (old No. 4) to the 17th at Cypress Point.

     4.  It is an interesting exercise to try to determine how much of the strategy he described remains.

E.  I found this quote to be fascinating:  "It is usually the best holes that are condemned most vehemently by this who fail to solve their strategy.  Bob Jones realizes this so strongly that when asked his opinion about the design...he said that the course would differ so markedly from others, that many of the members at first would have unpleasant things to say about the architects.  A few years ago I would have agreed with Bob, but today, owing to his own teaching, the work and writings of C.B. Macdonald, Max Behr, Robert Hunter and others, Americans appreciate real strategic golf to a greater extent than even in Scotland, the Home of Golf."

[Patrick_Mucci]

You can see the changes in the 9th green over the years. Which one do you think is best?

The fairway has been greatly narrowed. Is there anybody who thinks that makes it a better course for the members?

Chris,

That's not the 9th fairway, that's the 1st fairway.

The angle of the photo hides the 9th fairway to the left, and, they never really shared fairways at # 1 and 9.
Ditto, from a practical perspective # 8 and #  9

[Sven Nilsen]

Pat:

I don't think Chris ever claimed it was the 9th Fairway.  And although the fairways weren't shared, players used to hit from 9 tee to the 1st fairway to get a better angle into the 9th green.  Trees were planted to eliminate that possibility.

Sven

[Chris Buie]

The middle photo shows the generous width and angles of the intended ninth fairway. Now the vast majority of players are just trying to just hit it in the fairway rather than aiming for a part of the fairway - greatly diminished strategy there. That is the case at ANGC with many of the holes - especially the tee shots. The club should definitely take out every blade of rough on the course right after the tournament - and keep it that way for the members and their guests.

Regarding this little triptych, the thing that stand out the most for me is how the pines branch out toward the bottom of the trunks as the years go on. As one who has spent a considerable amount of time exploring those lovely areas between fairways among the pines I can tell you it has a major playability factor. Perhaps one of tree experts can chime in on this point. Some pines don't grow limbs at the bottom of the trunk and some do.
Another thing to keep in mind this year is that Augusta was built on clay rather than sand...

[Howard Riefs]

"On July 15, 1931, The Augusta Chronicle devoted most of its front page to coverage of the announcement that Jones and his associates were founding the Augusta National Golf Club. Nearly six of its eight columns were necessary to display four articles on Jones and his new club." A headline announced:

NATIONAL CLUB WILL BE HEADED BY GREAT GOLFER

This is from the following informative collection of original articles about Bobby Jones, ANGC history, course changes and The Masters.

http://blog.readex.com/a-sports-legend-and-his-dream-bobby-jones-the-augusta-national-golf-club-and-the-birth-of-the-masters

[Sven Nilsen]

Hole 18 - Holly - Par 4




1934 - 420 yards - The hole played 70 feet uphill, over a valley to a landing area about 25 feet higher, then another 45 feet up to the green.    Whether the bunker right of MacKenzie's enormous stair-stepped green was deliberately shaped like the state of Texas has never been determined.

1938 - 425 yards - Like he did on the nearby 9th, Maxwell eliminated the long front tongue on the 18th green after the '37 Masters.  MacKenzie's cross bunker remains a mystery.  About 100 yards short of the green, it was too far off the tee to be a problem on drives but too far from the green to interfere with approaches.  The bunker remained until 1956.

1947 - 425 yards - Standing on an "amphitheater mound" by the 18th at the '46 Masters, Jones watched Hogan 3-putt from 12 feet to lose by one.  He said to Trent Jones "That's not fair.  We've got to change that."  Trent recontoured the green that summer.  Recalling the putt years later, Hogan said, "The greens were so slick you could almost hear them crackle, which I liked."

1967 - 420 yards - Two summers after Nicklaus set a scoring record, two fairway bunkers were created.  Roberts called them a "huge, two-sectioned bunker," probably because the club appropriated funds for only two bunkers, and Roberts also wanted one built on the 2nd.  In the next Masters, Nicklaus caught the sand off the tee, made bogey and missed the cut by one shot.

1975 - 420 yards - Just a month before the '75 Masters - an unusual time to make alterations - Roberts had pine trees planted in a 75-yard gap between the existing tree line on the left and the fairway bunkers.  "To provide a potential penalty for a duck-hooked tee shot," Roberts said.  In 1978, Hogan wrote the club, advocating elimination of the fairway bunkers on 18, a request that was declined.

2011 - 465 yards - In 2001, Fazio moved the tee back as far as he could, stretching the hole to 465 yards.  He reshaped and expanded the fairway bunkers and directed that additional pines be landed left and beyond the bunkers.  It now takes a drive of 300 yards to reach the first bunker and 335 yards to carry the second one.

Mr. Wexler's take on the 18th:

"The long 18th – which, we recall, was originally planned as the ninth – was intended from the start to be a demanding par 4, both in its tee shot (played over a small valley, and through a narrow chute of trees) and its approach (long and uphill, to a tightly bunkered, two-tiered green).  Of primary importance to Dr. MacKenzie was the shape and bunkering of the putting surface, for its angling against/behind the deep front-left bunker was intended to favor a drive played to the far right side of the fairway – which, in turn, mandated flirting with the forest of pine trees that has long filled the dogleg corner.  Both putting surface and greenside bunkering have been modestly re-shaped over the decades (including some initial 1938 work by Perry Maxwell) but as a whole, the green complex is at least conceptually consistent with the Jones and MacKenzie original.  What has changed, however, is the removal (during the late 1940’s) of a largely decorative crossbunker that filled the fairway some 60 yards shy of the green – another aesthetically imposing hazard that would not be in play for the modern golfer.

In 2002, Tom Fazio built a new tee situated so far back as to nearly impede play on the neighboring 15th hole, while also planting several trees on the outside of the dogleg to minimize the option of deliberately busting a big drive into the relative safety of the club’s practice fairway.  But an even bigger change to the tee shot came in 1966 when, after reportedly witnessing a young Jack Nicklaus’s remarkable power firsthand, Clifford Roberts ordered the addition of the two deep fairway bunkers that guard the outside of the dogleg.  Of course, they’re situated nowhere near where the ideal right-side tee shot will finish, but they have certainly helped to make the eighteenth – particularly at 465 yards – one of the tougher finishers around.

Better Then or Now?

Since a hole built at 420 uphill yards in 1933 was clearly never intended to be easy, today’s long and strong version of the eighteenth may not play so very much harder than what Jones and MacKenzie had in mind.  But in this case, such relative consistency may be unfortunate, because while 72nd-green birdies to win The Masters have never been common, the difficulty of today’s hole minimizes such prospects tremendously.  It thus appears to be precisely the sort of closer that the club’s present architectural vision calls for – which, since the U.S. Open won’t be coming there any time soon, is really rather a shame."

[Sven Nilsen]

One of the questions that has stood out during this exercise is how much of the strategy created by MacKenzie and Jones in the initial design remains.  Certain holes have seen drastic increases in length, some seemingly retain the same general characteristics from 1934.  Technology and the increased length of the modern player have certainly had an effect, as have increased green speeds.

Earlier in the thread I linked to an article where Zach Johnson's caddy discussed their strategy for each hole during his run to victory.  I thought it would be an interesting exercise to compare those thoughts with MacKenzie's own description of each hole from the article posted above.  I'm going to do this in 3 hole sections, the "Then" comments being from Dr. MacKenzie and the "Now" section reflecting how today's pro plays the holes.  The yardages noted are the members tees from 1934, the tournament tees from that same year and today's length noted in parens.

No. 1 – Par 4 —Regular Distance 400 Yards —Championship 430 (445).

Then:  A drive that is long and straight, skirting a group of trees on the right, will be in a favorable position for the second. It will be difficult to obtain par figures from any other position.

Now:  It’s 286 to reach the bunker on the right, and we can’t reach that. I actually have 294 from the back of the tee, so we don’t need to worry too much about going in there. The second shot you basically have to carry it nine or 10 on, and if you don’t it comes right back at you. If you do that it’s going to funnel into the middle of the green. That’s basically all there is to that hole – just get it past nine or 10 to the front. We had 204 yards on Thursday, and it rolled 11 yards once it got on the green. On day two we had 197, and hit a 4-iron 187 and it rolled 7 yards. How do I know? Once I’m on the green I’m looking for his ball mark. I start to count the yards as I get on the green and start looking for his ball mark. Par is really good. I mean, really good. It’s a very difficult starting hole. You’re happy as a lark to walk off there with a par.


No. 2 - Par 5 —Regular Distance 480 Yards —Championship 510 (575).

Then:  An interesting three-shot hole down hill. Each shot will need to be placed with great accuracy. On the other hand, it will be quite possible for a powerful and accurate player to reach the green in two shots.


Now:  If you can hit it down the left side, you can pick up an extra 20 to 30 yards because it hits the slope and rolls out. It’s 3.5 per cent downhill, which equals about 10 yards. It’s 300 yards to the bunker on the right. Don’t go left or it will run and run down into that creek on the left. (A lot of people don’t even know this is here.) We basically hit it at the bunker, and if it turns over, fine. Last year we had 273 to the front, then 282, 233 and 251 front; so Saturday was the only day we could have got there. The pin was left of the bunker, so instead we hit the second shot right so we could chip over that bunker.




No. 3 – Par 4 —Regular Distance 335 Yards —Championship 360 (350).

Then:  The green here is situated on an interesting natural plateau. The left- hand side of the green is very narrow; whereas the right side is broad. It will be easy for anyone to reach the wide portion of the green with his second shot, but difficult to reach the narrow and, where it is probable, the pin will usually be placed.

Now:  You can play this hole many different ways. We played driver every day. You don’t want to hit it more than 280 yards to stay on the flat part of the fairway. Once you get over that, it will run away, and if you get too close to the green, the right-hand pins are very tricky to get at. The green is the biggest defence on this hole. It’s real shallow on the left, and the ball can just scoot on and release. It’s usually a wedge into here. On the first day we had 111 to the pin, then 87, 83 and 63. If you hit it short it will roll back 30 yards from the front. You’re just trying to hit the green – just getting it on this green, even with a wedge, you’re happy. DON’T leave it short.

[Sven Nilsen]

No. 4 – Par 3 —Regular Distance 160 Yards —Championship 170 (240).

Then:  This hole is very similar to the famous eleventh (Eden) at St. Andrews. There have been scores of attempted copies of this famous hole, but there is none that has the charm and thrill of the original. Most copies are failures because of the absence of the subtle and severe slopes which create the excitement of the original hole, and also because the turf is usually so soft that any kind of a sloppy pitch will stop. Previous failures, followed by, comparatively speaking, increasing successes may have given us sufficient experience to war- rant us in hoping that here at last we may construct a hole that will compare favorably with the original.

Now:  
The new tee they’ve built makes it very, very, difficult to hit this green. It’s 219 to the front from the very back, and it’s five per cent downhill, which equates to 10-12 yards to the front. We hit 2-iron, 4-iron, 5-iron (when they pulled the tee forward) and 3-wood on the last day. When the pin is at the front, the left trap is OK, and the front fringe is OK, but you don’t want to be in the right trap. When it’s back left, long is OK and the front bunker is OK because it will feed back down off the slope. Par is another good score.


No. 5 – Par 4 —Regular Distance 445 Yards—Championship 470 (455).

Then:  This will be a similar type of hole to the famous seventeenth, the Road Hole at St. Andrews. A group of trees will form a corner of the dogleg instead of the station master's garden, and the green itself will be situated on a plateau similar to its prototype.

Now:
 This is a brute. You can’t hit it in the bunkers on the left – you can’t even get to the green from there. So you have to favour the right side. Zach tends to draw it a little bit, so we always shoot down the right side and try to bring it back into the middle. And then once you hit a great drive, this hole just gets harder. The mounding around the green is just incredible, and you just can’t get that from TV. Those mounds must be five-feet tall. If you’re the least bit short it rolls all the way off the green. We try to carry it 18 on, to cover all those mounds – that’s all we want to do. You’ve just got to get over the mounds.
Unfortunately they put a pin on here about 15 on, that’s a real tricky pin. You’re better long on here, putting back to the pins. The bunker isn’t a bad place to be. Zach bogeyed it three out of the four days last year because we couldn’t get it up and down – that’s how hard it is. Club selection is tough. It’s a really difficult hole, because the green is so busy.



No. 6 – Par 3—Regular Distance 180 Yards —Championship 200 (180).

Then:  This will resemble the Redan Hole at North Berwick (Scotland), but here, owing to its extreme visibility, lay of the land, and beauty of the surroundings, we feel sure that we shall be able to construct a much more attractive hole than the original Redan.

Now:  The 6th green is basically as undulating as the 5th, and when the pin is over there on the right you’ve got a 10-yard square to land it in, or the ball rolls back and you’ve got an uphill 40-footer coming back. Zach hit three 6-irons in there and one 7-iron, and when that pin is right, it’s a frightening shot. If you go long, it’s no good. Go right it runs down the hill. Short, it runs down the hill. The easiest pin is when it’s front left, so you can shoot long and right and use the hill to feed it down.


[Sven Nilsen]

No. 7 – Par 4 —Regular Distance 315 Yards—Championship 340 (450).

Then:  The hole will be similar in character to the eighteenth Hole at St. Andrews, Scotland. There will be a large deep hollow at the front of the green which it will be necessary to attack at the correct angle for par figures to be obtained. At this hole, it will also be desirable to play a run-up shot, as it will be exceedingly difficult to retain a pitch in the usual position of the flag.

Now:

 The hardest driving hole I’ve ever seen, and the green is not made for the length they’ve got the hole now. It was made for wedges and sand wedges. It’s 19 yards deep. Last year we went in with 8 and 7-irons, but that’s because the wind was helping. In 2006, we were hitting 4-irons and 5-irons. We were aiming for the front bunker and trying to get it up and down. You have no chance stopping a ball on that green with those clubs. It’s one of the narrowest fairways on the course and tree-lined. It’s probably 20-25 yards wide at its narrowest. Zach made par all four days, and that was really good.



No. 8 – Par 5 —Regular Distance 470 Yards—Championship 490 (570).

Then:  A three-shot hole up hill. The green will be in a punch bowl surrounded by large hillocks nine to twelve feet high. It will be completely visible for the third shot, and a player, who is sufficiently long to get up in two, will be able to define the position of the green owing to the size of the sur- rounding hillock. It may be compared to the seventeenth Green at Muirfield, (Scotland).

Now:
 It’s hard for us to get close to the bunkers, so we hit driver down the middle and hit a 3-wood over the big humps on the right side of the fairway and it opens up the long and slopey green. On the last day we had 78 yards to the hole and he wanted to hit a 54 degree wedge and I said it was a good 60. “Don’t you think it will spin too much,” he said, and I told him it would come back and be OK. So he hit it and it went past the pin by about 10 yards and then spun right back off the green. He got kind of pissy, so I said don’t worry about it, it’s an easy chip from there. So he goes up and holes the chip, and I said “I told you, don’t ever second guess me!”
There’s a ridge across the middle of this green – down which Rory Sabbatini holed an unbelievable putt last year. It’s another hole on which par is brilliant. The green is so tough to play. When the flag is back, the putt is fast as lightening and if you go two yards past it, it rolls right back off the green. The long guys like Tiger can knock it on in two, but they really have to draw it around the big pines on the left.


No. 9 – Par 4 —Regular Distance 405 Yards —Championship 430 (460).

Then:  This will be a hole of the Cape type played slightly down hill. A long straight drive to the right will give an easy second to the green.

Now:

 A good driving hole again. You can’t miss it left or you’re in the trees. You’ve got to favour the right side and try to catch the slope. Just hit a driver 260 and it will roll all the way down the hill. Last year we had 123, 129, 105 and 104 to the front on each day. Basically it’s a second shot hole, and it all sets up for the putt. I remember Ben Crenshaw putting up in the fringe, and seeing it come back down to the pin. Carry the front 10 yards and take whatever it gives you. The big sin is spinning it back off the front, and we did it one day. Zach was mad as can be. Just make sure you carry it so it can’t suck back down the slope, where you’re dead. You don’t get the size of the slope in front of this green on TV. It’s 2.5 per cent uphill, so six or seven yards.

[Sven Nilsen]

No. 10 – Par 4 —Regular Distance 395 Yards— Championship 420 (495).

Then:  This is a comparatively easy hole down hill. There will be a large spectacular bunker running left to right from 150 to 200 yards from the Tee. A long drive over this bunker will land on a plateau from which it is an easy shot to a large punch bowl green. The hole will embody the most attractive features of the 13th Hole at Cypress Point, California, and the 4th at Alwoodly, one of the best of the British Inland Links.

Now:

  Hit a high hook as hard as you can and it will roll down this hill forever. I’ve never been skiing, but it sure looks like it should be a ski slope to me – just put a little snow on there and you could have a ball! It’s very severe. It’s all downhill to the green, but it looks as if it goes uphill. Left is OK, because you’re chipping back into the slope.  The bunker is a really bad place to be, so you want to hit to middle of the green and if it rolls left it’s an easy up and down. On the last day last year Zach had to go to the rest room after his tee shot here. Usually he’s hyper and real quick, and I looked back and watched him strolling down the hill, very relaxed. He got to the ball, asked how far it was, and I told him it was a perfect 7-iron. He had 178 to the hole, he carried it 177 and hit it to eight feet. That’s when I knew something was kind of different about him that day. To watch him walk slowly down that hill, and then hit that shot, I was thinking: “Man, this could be good.”



No. 11 – Par 4 —Regular Distance 405 Yards—Championship 430 (505).

Then:  The green is situated in the bend of a beautiful stream. The approach has a marked tilt upwards from left to right, so that the further and more accurately a drive is placed to the left the easier the second shot becomes. This will be a most fascinating hole, without a single bunker, I don't know any other quite like it.


Now:

 This is probably the hardest hole on the course. Since they planted more trees down the right side it’s just brutal. We were hitting 220, 190, 209 and 232 into the green with all that water left. You can bail out right, but it’s no bargain getting up and down from there – unless you’re Larry Mize. The water is staring you right in the face, so you always try to favour the right edge of the green because there’s some big slopes over there that feed the ball down. Use the slopes to your advantage again. The drop zone is 40 yards from the front of the green, coming in over the water again. This is the second hardest hole after the 7th in my view. Take your par on here and run.



No. 12 – Par 3—Regular Distance 120 Yards—Championship 130 (155).

Then:  Here is an interesting pitch shot to a long narrow green immediately over a stream. There is a steep sandy bank covered with beautiful trees beyond the green.

Now:  You start thinking about 12 after you’ve hit your second shot dry on 11. You start looking around trying to get a feel for the wind. Basically, we came to the strategy that no matter where the pin is, we just hit over the middle of the bunker. No matter where the pin is, we try to get it on that skinny-ass green and take our chances. We hit three 8-irons and one 9 last year. If you just shoot for the middle of the green, you’ve got a lot of room for error. The only place you cannot hit it is right, because it can hit that bank and go in the water – unless you’re Fred Couples. That bank is probably as fast as your greens back home, and once it gets going it’s “see you later”. It’s weird because on the tee you can’t hear anything down there, or on the 13th tee because the crowds are so far back. It’s like you are playing your country club, it’s that quiet.


[Sven Nilsen]

No. 13 – Par 5—Regular Distance 420 Yards— Championship 440 (510).

Then:  This is played along the course of a stream with the final shot finishing to a green over the stream with a background of a hill slope covered with magnificent pine trees. The hole will have some of the best golfing features of the seventeenth hole at Cypress Point, California, and the ideal hole depicted in C. B. Macdonald's book.

Now:
  
This hole kind of got me sparked a bit last year. It’s a pretty good fit for Zach’s eye as he turns the ball over a bit. There’s some pine trees out there, and we just shoot at those and bring it back. We hit it into the pine straw on a couple of days, so just laid up, but he hit a really good drive on the last day and had 203 to the front, with the pin on 22. It was very, very accessible club-wise, but you’re standing on your head trying to hit a 3-iron. It’s another hole where TV doesn’t do the second shot justice – the slope is steep so the ball is way above your feet usually. If you block it a little you’re in Rae’s Creek. If you turn it over too much, you’re either in the bunker or chipping back down towards the creek. It’s just a great hole. When the pin’s on the back left, I don’t know what to do! We had that on Saturday and that’s the most brutal pin. It’s so hard to get it in that quadrant – it’s about 10 yards wide and it’s hard to keep the ball there, even with a wedge. This is the green where Tiger putted it in the water.




No. 14 – Par 4—Regular Distance 395 Yards—Championship 425 (440).

Then:  The hole embodies some of the features of the sixth hole at St. Andrews, Scotland. A long drive skirting or played over a bunker on the right will give a visible shot to the green. From the left the green will be semi-blind and moreover a run up approach will be required over a succession of hillocks and hollows.

Now:

  A brilliant, brilliant hole. There’s really no trouble on this hole other than the green. It’s another one – like the 5th – where there’s a big slope on the front of the green. So basically the front of the green is 16 yards on, and everything feeds to the right. We pretty much hit it at a TV tower back there, unless the pin is left.
We always make sure we’re long here, because it’s a much easier chip. For us, we’re hitting it right into a slope off the tee, so the ball is not going anywhere. Longer hitters can carry that and run down the hill, hitting 9-irons and wedges in there, while we’re hitting 5s and 6-irons. We favour the right side of the fairway, because if you draw it too much, you can be blocked out by the trees. Zach’s birdie on here was one of my favourite shots of the week. He carried his 7-iron 163 yards, and the ball rolled and rolled to 12-15 feet.


No. 15 – Par 5 —Regular Distance 460 Yards— Championship 485 (530).

Then:  This will be a three-shot hole to most golfers. A stream will be diverted so as to form a similar loop to the first hole of St. Andrews.  It will not only make an interesting three-shot hole, as one will be manoeuvering for position from the tee shot onwards, but also a magnificent two- shot hole, as a skillful and courageous player, aided by a large hillock to the right of the loop of the stream, will be able to pull his second shot around to the green.

Now:

There are different strategies on laying up here. Some people favour the left hand side of the fairway for a right pin, and the right side for a left pin, but we felt like it was better to lay up left on all the pins, because it gives you a good angle to the back right pin, and for the back left pin there’s a ridge that you can feed the ball off. Also, it’s a little flatter on the left side of the fairway. Going for it in two wasn’t a consideration for us – we had 266, 248, 279 and 235 on each day. If we were chasing on Sunday, we could have had a go with a 3-wood. We were walking to the green when we heard the roar for Tiger’s birdie on the 13th – and I think Zach might have peaked at the leaderboard here, just to see.

[Sven Nilsen]

No. 16 – Par 3 —Regular Distance 140 Yards— Championship 150 (170).

Then:  This hole, over a stream, is some- what similar to the best hole (seventh) at Stoke Poges, England. It will probably be a better hole than the one at Stoke Poges as the green will be more visible and the background more at- tractive.

Now:  This is a very accessible pin on Sunday as long as you use the bank to bring the ball back down to the hole. If you get unlucky and the ball stays up on the top, you’re kind of screwed. When Zach hit the 6-iron on Sunday, I knew it was perfect. It was 176 yards, and he carried it 171 and rolled up to a few feet. I said “great shot” right when he hit it. We knew the putt was very similar to the one he’d just made on 14, and he just stood up and drained it. It was a great putt. At this point it was very important for me to keep him calm and cool - even though he was like a duck. There were so many people there it was crazy, You’re trying to block it all out, but you can’t help hearing the roar. It was deafening. The hardest pin on 16 is the one we almost made a hole in one on, at the top of the ridge. It’s so tight up there that we’d never go for that – he basically pushed his shot, then three-putted. We made bogey on 16 every day apart from Sunday, and Zach showed great mental strength to put all that behind him and make a two when it mattered.




No. 17 – Par 4 —Regular Distance 375 Yards— Championship 410 (440).

Then:  The construction of this green will be somewhat similar to the famous fourteenth at St. Andrews (reversed). It will be necessary to attack the green from the right, and it will be essential to play a run-up shot, if the par figure is to be attained. We hope to make the turf of such a character that an in- different pitch will not stop on the green. Until players have learned to play the desired shot, this will undoubtedly be one of the most fiercely criticized holes.

Now:

 This was a wild hole in 2007. We can’t carry the Eisenhower Tree on the left; it’s 260-something from the tee, but as it’s so high it’s really more like 280 to get over it. Most of the long hitters can bomb it right over there, but we’ve got to fit it in the fairway and place it down the right side so it’s a really difficult drive for us. And then you’ve got an equally hard shot to get it to the right part of the green. The wind was howling into our faces, and we nuked a 7-iron 180 and it only got to the front. Tiger hit a sand wedge and came up short, too. The three-putt was disappointing for us on Sunday. It looked as though it went to the left, but it drifted a bit right and he missed the four-footer coming back. I knew if we two-putted it would have closed the door on a lot of guys.


No. 18 – Par 4 —Regular Distance 390 Yards— Championship 410 (465).

Then:  The tee shot is played over a valley and bank running diagonally from left to right. The longer the drive to the right the easier the second shot. The approach to the green is bunkered heavily on the left.


Now:

 After the bogey on 17, I’m thinking we’ve just let a lot more guys into the tournament. We can’t reach the bunker on 18, so I said just hit it straight and if it draws a little, it’s in the fairway. But even then he’d be left with a really long second shot. The 18th plays seven per cent up hill, which is about 10 yards. He hit a 6-iron, and it was just leaking right. We were very lucky it didn’t go in the trap. From there it’s a really hard shot, so when that ball just came up short of the bunker, I took a big deep breath. You can’t miss it left. When the pin is in its Sunday position, that’s just brutal, so he did the right thing in keeping it out to the right. It was the sort of chip you dream to have to win your first Major – just release it down the hill, and it works its way to the hole.


[Dan Herrmann]

There's one hole left --> #19 ("Double" or "Quits")

Looking at the Masters Timeline (http://www.masters.com/en_US/discover/timeline.html), you'll see an original stick drawing of the course, which clearly shows a 19th hole up near where today's practice green sits.

Was this hole ever built? 

[Sven Nilsen]

Dan:

Here's what MacKenzie wrote about the 19th:

"Nineteenth Hole—90 Yards.

Clifford Roberts, Grantland Rice and some of the other governors thought it might be interesting to have a real nineteenth hole, so that the loser could have the opportunity of getting his money back by playing double or quits.

This nineteenth hole will be an attractive plateau green, narrow at one end, where the flag will usually be placed, but wide at the other end so as to give a safety route to the player who has not the courage or skill to pitch to the narrow end of the green. In this respect the hole will be somewhat similar to the short hole going out at Lakeside, near Los Angeles, I know of only two golf courses with an actual nineteenth hole. One is Knollwood (New York) and the other the Tam-O-Shanter Club (Detroit)."

I have no idea if it was ever built, and if it was what became of it.

[Sven Nilsen]

Thanks to everyone for indulging my curiosity and for playing along, I hope the thread didn't bore you too much.

Here are a few closing shots from the program for the Inaugural Masters Tournament in 1934.

4th Hole:



6th Hole:



12th Hole:

[Chris Buie]

An early view of the 18th green.





The good doctor had more faith in the skills of his fellow golfers than I have. I am all for tight routing but in the illustrations he put several of the tees connected to the greens - as you see here on the 19th hole. A fairly slight pull or draw could easily hit a player on the next tee.

So the course has undergone a pretty strong critique here. I don't think it was gratuitous bashing. Certainly, it was not intended as such. Really its a matter of looking at different ways of presenting the course and merely asking the question which one is better. It is a little complex in this case because you definitely want it to be a course which can give the tour players a full workout. It would be fairly easy to say what would be best for a members course - aesthetically and strategically. As I said before if I was on the board I'd take a hard look at the early MacKenzie drawings/photos and see what could be retained from his work. His design was one of the best ever. Compared to his conception the course has a kind of homogenized look now. Oval greens, oval bunkers, ultra white sand, green carpet everywhere (the place is pretty far from looking natural) and narrow tree lined alleys. Not that it looks bad but several of the holes are not as distinguishable from the others as they could and perhaps should be - there is a bit too much sameness - with little strategy on too many tee shots. But its a unique course in that everyone knows it so well from years of TV viewing. Pretty much everybody has been mesmerized by the tournament broadcasts. To tamper with that image very much would disturb the deeply embedded picture that is important to so many viewers. I don't think they could digest a significant modification of this particular course very well. Maybe in increments at some point - we'll see. That would be really significant and bring about a far reaching effect - because whatever goes on here will be emulated to some extent by many, many places.
Just rambling thoughts, as usual.

[Tony_Muldoon]

Apolgies for the threadjack but.. the search facility doesn't work at all on my home computer.


Can anyone provide a link to the year old thread by Tom Doak on why the master provides the ost exciting tournament golf?

Great thread btw