Hot take: 15 is the better golf hole at the Masters

[JWinick]

Due to a superior risk/reward element, I believe the 15th hole is the better Par 5 at this point at the Masters.    I watched a lot of the coverage on the Amen Corner and 15/16 channels and the 15 is clearly the superior hole for the elite players.


A bogey on 13 is increasingly rare, and there is almost all reward, and hardly any risk in going for the green in two.    Even Rory somehow made a par from the Azaleas.    If you put the ball in the water, you can still make 5.   


15, though, is far more interesting.    If you hit a bad tee shot, going for the green becomes very challenging, and you are forced to make a difficult layup, which hardly every leads to a birdie.   And if you saw Sergio on Day 1, that pitch is brutal.   


Thoughts?   My opinion is based on the hole's challenge to the tournament player, not its architectural merits.

[Jeff Schley]

The on 15 is easier than 13 as you just require a middle to right tee shot as long as you can roll it out there.  The approach on 15 is tougher for balls can roll back, and although we didn't see it this week, firm conditions will also carom a long shot off the bank and potentially into the water by 12 tee.

You need balance on the course and if one hole has a lower scoring average for the pros, so be it, not all have to be ball busters.  Traditionally the scoring averages are almost exactly the same 4.78 (15) to 4.79 (13), however this year that was flipped with 13 being easier with Garcia huge number on 15.

I love the drama that can unfold as you can make anything from bogey to eagle on both holes.  You could be 4 back and all the sudden boom you are in the lead.  Remember when Reed eagled both 13 and 15 and boom he was way in the lead.

I wouldn't mind lengthening 13 by about 15-20 yards or moving the tee farther left, but nothing needs to be done to 15.  I personally think 15 is a very tough hole for amateurs, because who can hit that green and hold it from 225+?  High shot, false front, and water over!  You are forced to layup and now chipping off a downslope to that green. Very difficult for the amateur, but we see the pros just carve it up as they can hit their mid to long irons so high.

[Mark Kiely]

I hate to admit it because I like 13 much more than 15, but you've made a convincing case. As you alluded to, today's players are too good with the short game, so they often still make 5 even if their attempt to reach the green finds the hazard. I don't know what they could do around the green to make up-and-downs more difficult. Maybe thick, gnarly rough within 20-30 yards of Rae's Creek? What other ideas are there?


Even if they go forward with lengthening the hole as rumored, I'm not sure it will impact strategy because with an elite-level short game, there's simply not as much risk in the second shot.

[JWinick]

I'll admit - I'm surprised at the scoring average on 15 v. 13 - it's fairly close.    But, it just seems like the second shot on 15 is typically much longer and it's a harder green to hold with a layup that is no picnic.   The layup shot on 13 seems much easier.   


I was watching the 2014 Masters in which Bubba went drive / wedge on 13, completely cutting off the corner.   I'm sure lengthening the hole will bring back some of the strategy.