Is the 9th Hole at Augusta National Golf Club...

[Mike Hendren]

one of the world's best awkward holes?

Tee shot into oblivion with no aiming point other than the two tree lines.
Hanging lie requiring a draw from a slice stance.

Has today's length compromised the awkwardness by allowing players to drive the ball all the way down the hill?

Bogey

[Gary Daughters]

Bogey, any illusions I had about my own abilities were shattered for good when I watched an average touring pro hit that approach shot.  Downhill, offset lie to that uphill green.  Probably a 6-iron back then, about 1994.  As a contractor once remarked when he took an honest look at the job I'd hired him to do:  "I can't do that."

[Joel_Stewart]

I believe that when Mac and Jones designed it this was the 18th hole.

Probably plays a little better than the current 18th.

[jeffwarne]

one of the world's best awkward holes

Has today's length compromised the awkwardness by allowing players to drive the ball all the way down the hill?

Bogey

No, Hootie moved the tees back rather than practicing denial.
The longest hitters used to get it down that hill back in the day

[Patrick_Mucci]

Mike,

Yes, I'd agree that it's one of the best awkward holes in golf.

Everything you say is true, and you can add to that the awkward angle of the three (3) tiered green

[JESII]

Three (3)

[Brent Hutto]

It's one of those few tournament holes where instead of thinking "Man, I'd like to try that shot one day" I'm thinking "Man, I am so glad that's someone else's nightmare". I'm not sure I could find a safe strategy for guaranteeing I'd have a makeable putt for six on that hole.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Three (3)

Yes, three (3) !]

[Chris Kane]

Pat, in your experience is the 9th as presented for the members even remotely as frightening as what confronts the competitors in the Masters? I imagine that with the green not as firm and slower, it would remove most of the potential for catastrophe they will face next week.

[jeffwarne]

Pat, in your experience is the 9th as presented for the members even remotely as frightening as what confronts the competitors in the Masters? I imagine that with the green not as firm and slower, it would remove most of the potential for catastrophe they will face next week.

Short is still short, and dead.
Downhill, sidehill tight lie to a severly elevated green.
Most amateurs undestimate gravity,both before they arrive at the green, and again when they do
Rinse and repeat

[Patrick_Mucci]

Pat, in your experience is the 9th as presented for the members even remotely as frightening as what confronts the competitors in the Masters? I imagine that with the green not as firm and slower, it would remove most of the potential for catastrophe they will face next week.

Chris,

Mother Nature plays such an important role in how holes play.

For the most part ANGC tries to present a course that's fast and firm, so when Mother Nature cooperates # 9 is a difficult hole.
Soft conditions are not the norm and neither are slow conditions, so the members are presented with significant challenge on a daily basis when MN cooperates.

Remember, you see the course when it's at it's optimal condition and at the warmest time of year.

What was interesting for me was how some holes played harder than I imagined and others easier.

Also, there was little in the way of familiarity with # 9 since for decades, only the back nine was televised.

Greg Norman's shot into # 9 probably did more to illustrate the perils of the hole.
It might look benign, with no fairway bunkers and a big turbo boost, but, it's a difficult hole for mortals

[Jim Nugent]

Fred Couples lost the 1998 Masters, in part because his shot into the 9th green -- a wedge -- only carried to the flag, and then sucked back 30 yards down the hill.   

I would think that for anyone but excellent golfers, #15 would also be real, real awkward. 

[V. Kmetz]

And Norman began the great collapse of 1996 with the same shot, a wedge that sucked right back of the green.

cheers

vk

[jeffwarne]

And Norman began the great collapse of 1996 with the same shot, a wedge that sucked right back of the green.

cheers

vk

He actually started it on his second shot on 8, going well left-which is potentially lost ball or worse, when there's absolutely no reason to go anywhere but right-a much,much wider area-, particularly with the lead he had (the hole played longer then and very few could hit it in two unless conditions were extremely favorable)
At that point I knew he was toast-9 simply confirmed it

[Patrick_Mucci]

Jeff,

Norman's demise began on # 1 when he hooked his drive.
One would think, that fresh off the practice tee, that one of the best drivers in golf would stripe it down the middle, but alas, # 1 was an indication of what was to painfully follow.

Hard to believe

[jeffwarne]

Jeff,

Norman's demise began on # 1 when he hooked his drive.
One would think, that fresh off the practice tee, that one of the best drivers in golf would stripe it down the middle, but alas, # 1 was an indication of what was to painfully follow.

Hard to believe

Pat, very true, but #1 is a very difficult driving hole, and that is not an uncommon miss.
That reveals he wasn't hitting on all cyliders swingwise, and would be of course be a predictor of potential bad things.
No doubt he could've just as easily missed it right as both are pretty bad.

It just stunned me on #8 with the world to the right,and a better angle in from there, and a huge lead, that he could ever allow the ball to go left with at best a horrendous angle, at worst a lost ball and a variety of horrendous big number things over there.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Jeff,

The second shot on # 8 stunned me as well, especially when I thought he had a good shot at a birdie, which could right the ship.

A, dare I say it, a shank, would have been better.  Snapping it left was the kiss of death.

Any kind of shot to the right would leave him with a birdie opportunity, but, snapping it left ?

I have to imagine that he was going for the green looking for a two putt birdie or better, but snapping if off an uphill lie, now that's not easy to do.

That was painful to watch

[Chris Kane]

Chris,

Mother Nature plays such an important role in how holes play.

For the most part ANGC tries to present a course that's fast and firm, so when Mother Nature cooperates # 9 is a difficult hole.
Soft conditions are not the norm and neither are slow conditions, so the members are presented with significant challenge on a daily basis when MN cooperates.

Remember, you see the course when it's at it's optimal condition and at the warmest time of year.

What was interesting for me was how some holes played harder than I imagined and others easier.

Also, there was little in the way of familiarity with # 9 since for decades, only the back nine was televised.

Greg Norman's shot into # 9 probably did more to illustrate the perils of the hole.
It might look benign, with no fairway bunkers and a big turbo boost, but, it's a difficult hole for mortals

Thanks Patrick. I'm sure that the 9th green provides more than a fair challenge to the iron play and short games of the members. I can imagine it would be a fascinating hole to try to figure out over years or decades of repeat play.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Chris,

Now that the front nine is being televised I think we'll all become more familiar with it.

The one impediment is that there's virtually no impediment to unlimited distance.
The further you hit it, the better the angle and the lie.