Do the trees make Augusta...

[BCrosby]

I came across this little ditty in an awesome older ANGC thread, which shows side by side comparison diagrams of each hole at Augusta National when it opened to how it looked in 2012.


https://www.fastcodesign.com/1669422/100-ways-augusta-changed-to-make-the-masters-harder-infographic


WOW! Is about all I can say. Not only have the number of trees dramatically increased over the course of 80+ years, but they're encroaching on and choking the once open and spacial landing areas that were once part of the strategic design of the course. I'm by no means suggesting a return to the 1930's era look, but I think the pendulum has swung too much the other direction and turned what was originally intended to be a parklands course into a woodlands.

Well done. I had not seen it before.


Note, however, that the center line bunkers on the 11th in 1934 are not drawn. They were important to the design of the hole. They were removed sometime in the early '50's. If the c/l bunkers had been retained the idea of adding dozens of trees to the middle/right of the original fairway might never have come up. 


Bob   

[Sven Nilsen]

I came across this little ditty in an awesome older ANGC thread, which shows side by side comparison diagrams of each hole at Augusta National when it opened to how it looked in 2012.


https://www.fastcodesign.com/1669422/100-ways-augusta-changed-to-make-the-masters-harder-infographic


WOW! Is about all I can say. Not only have the number of trees dramatically increased over the course of 80+ years, but they're encroaching on and choking the once open and spacial landing areas that were once part of the strategic design of the course. I'm by no means suggesting a return to the 1930's era look, but I think the pendulum has swung too much the other direction and turned what was originally intended to be a parklands course into a woodlands.

Well done. I had not seen it before.


Note, however, that the center line bunkers on the 11th in 1934 are not drawn. They were important to the design of the hole. They were removed sometime in the early '50's. If the c/l bunkers had been retained the idea of adding dozens of trees to the middle/right of the original fairway might never have come up. 


Bob   

Bob:


McKenzie designed the 11th with no bunkers.  The singular bunker (about 240 from the tee) added by Jones prior to the first Masters didn't last long, and took the place of a fairway mound that was supposed to kick balls to either side.


Either the mound or the bunker sound more interesting than the trees.


Sven

[BCrosby]

Sven -


The Olmsted drawings (1932) show a c/l bunker on 11. Yes, they were suggested by Jones (as I recall Jones wanted to replicate c/l bunkers he had seen at English inland courses) when MacK was still alive and were installed early on. They should be included in a 1934 vs. 2012 course comparison.


The bunkers survived the RTJ changes in'48. My guess is they were removed in the early '50's, though I've never read anything about why or who carried out their removal.


As you note, you have to see the 11th to appreciate the size of the mounding twenty or so yards short and right of the green. They would have been very much in play from the original tee.


Bob