Augusta- can we say the changes have broken in?

[mikeyolympic]

first off, i want to point out an observation. i noticed that early on and even during the latter part of the day, many of the players were coming up short on their putts. for example, tiger coming short for eagle on 2, and short for birdie on 4. vijay singh did the same thing on 4 that tiger did. mike weir coming up short on the 18, and many other putts just coming up short. tiger made a comment after the round saying that "the greens were surprisingly slower today." generally, the greens are the fastest on sunday, almost ridiculously fast. was all those putts coming up short because the greens were indeed slower? why is that?

i think the changes that augusta has made have broken in. they moved the tee back on the 9th hole, hoping that players would no longer reach the bottom of the hill. mickelson had like 105 to the hole! so much for lengthening the 9th. the 14th hole was a bear last year, but the players were still within reasonable distance all week long to challenge that green. i think the changes have proven its merit this week. i like seeing players going in these greens with 4 irons. i like the fact that the winning score was in single digits, much like a u.s. open. the players were challenged this week. augusta used to be a 2nd shot, putters course. with the need for a straight driver, this course has become a true gem.

my only concern is the 8th hole. we didn't see anyone even come close to reaching that green in two. i think they should move the tee up again to make that hole the original 550 yards long.

it was a weird finish, but i enjoyed this week watching the course.

[Justin_Zook]

Take away the stupid rough!!!  

Since when was there a Masters where you couldn't see the golf ball?  

I think that one very cool thing about all the Majors is that they are very different from one another.  I would hate to see the Masters develop into another US Open.  

Bob Jones once wrote about how the holes on some courses back in his day were played the same way everyday regardless of wind direction or pin position.  He said it makes for boring golf and he's right.  How differently can you play #7 now that the fairway is only 20 yards wide in some areas.

Does the exciting play though on Sunday speak volumes about Alister MacKenzie, that even with all of the masks of other designers, the subtle design features still expose good/poor golf?

[Matt Kardash]

How about take away the stupid trees on 15. the 7th seems like the olympic club now

[Justin_Zook]

I hear that!!!

Does anyone remember a big old shot made by some player named Jack?  I hear he was alright in his day.  Well he, made some comment (a brilliant pun) about how far a 3 would go.  It was back sometime around the middle of the 80s.  Does anyone know what I'm talking about?

Anyway, I would love to know how far those trees would have entered into the picture from where that guy Jack was.  Does anyone know?  Would have he had such an open shot on that amazing day as today?  

[CHrisB]

I thought there were bigger "shot swings" this year than last year, when it seemed like there were only 3 possible scores on any given hole: par, birdie or bogey (aside from Vijay's 9 on 15).  And it was possible to make a charge on Sunday again, with the top 4 finishers shooting a 65 and 3 68's.

I thought Rich Beem's experience on the 13th hole illustrated how good the hole is as it plays now.  He was 242 from the green and tried to hit wood on, only to find the hazard.  But he found a grassy area in the hazard and was able to play it out.  But he went under his pitch slightly and watched the ball roll back into the hazard, this time in the water, so he had to go to the ball drop and made a 7.

Maggert makes triple and quint in the same round, and Tiger doubles a driveable par-4.  Darren Clarke went 4-9-5-3 (bogey, quad, bogey, eagle) on 12-15 Friday.  Mickelson had 7 birdies on 13 and 15 alone for the tournament.  There were a ton of 3 hole birdie streaks.  Toms birdied 4 in a row (12-15) in round 1.  Maggert birdied 16-18 Saturday, and 8 of the last 13 holes overall.  Verplank birdied 12 all four days(!).  Choi birdied 3 all four days.  McCarron goes 7-3-4-4 on 15.  Clarke goes 3-6-3-4 on 15.  Moore goes 3-5-6-7 on 13.

All in all, a lot of excitement, and I liked what I saw of the course setup this year (though I hope they don't grow the 1st cut any deeper).

[Carl_Williams]

Justin and Matt,

The 7th hole was narrowed long before Fazio set foot on the property.

Stop blaming him for everything.

[Justin_Zook]

CW please inform this group of where I blaimed Fazio for the changes.  I never made mention of #7 once.  I remember only mentioning the 15th hole.  

I mentioned Caves Valley and stated that I did not like the way the fairway bunker looks on #1 at ANGC in the other thread and I stated that the reason I don't like it is because it looks like something that belongs at a lesser club than that of Augusta.  It doesn't look natural.  I feel a good comparison would be that of Michael Jackson's nose.  

Please adress what I say, and don't put words in my mouth.  I know that Fazio is an effective designer.  He's not my favorite designer in the world.  

I don't care if you think the course is better now then is was.  We all have different opinions and ideas and that is proven by the fact that this forum exists.  This forum is like a good hole: it keeps your interest and therefore keeps you coming back.  

[Patrick_Mucci]

Justin Zook,

How differently can you play #7 now that the fairway is only 20 yards wide in some areas.

You may want to reconsider your denial with respect to your mentioning the 7th hole.

CW appears to be correct with his comment.

[Justin_Zook]

Ha.  Sorry that is completely my fault.

There is no excuse for that blunder, just as there was no excuse for Tiger's blunder on #3.  

[Justin_Zook]

Excuse me while I get the bullet out of my right foot, and my left foot out of my mouth

[Justin_Zook]

My apologies CW.  You WERE correct.  

You see, this is exactly my point with #3.  Sometime a young gun needs to be humbled by a hole (or a stupid oversight) that is meant to tame.

I still feel the same way about what I said, but I shall watch myself in the future.  

Thank you Mr. Mucci for keeping accountable.

[Justin_Zook]

It was my caddies fault!!!!!!!!

Just kidding though.  If you do get a chance check out Tiger's interview on www.masters.org.  

What he said was slightly questionable, but he does hold the responsibility for his actions.  He's excepting of what happened and doesn't hold any resentment for it.

[McCloskey]

Mr. Zook,
  To answer your question about whether Jack's drive would have been an open shot on hole 15, the answer is absolutely.
His drive that day did not feed off the mounds on the fairway right side, but he split the middle of the fairway.

BTW, just thinking about all the length and changes made to Augusta, and how so many people believe it plays into Tiger's game.  Many predict that he will win even more Masters titles with the new length.  How many more Masters' titles do you think Jack would have won if these same changes would have been made when he was 27 years old.  Somehow I think it would be far more than just six!