Ben C Dewar,
You too, had recognized that Mr. Egan had voluntarily, and without the consent of
Dr. Katz, reduced his medication.
Your thoughts on # 18 at Augusta may be tainted by what you see on TV.
The 18th at Augusta looses a lot through the TV cameras.
It's difficult to appreciate how uphill it is, how awkward the tee shot is, how difficult the uphill second shot is with the cavernous bunker staring you in the face, and the golfers difficult task of getting his weight back to his left side on the side hill lie.
The bunkers you mention, I believe were put in for the Nicklaus's of the world. For the long Hitter they certainly add an element of risk to a difficult tee shot.
Remember, whey you watch the tournament, you don't get to see how the guys who missed the cut played the hole, you usually get to see the guys who are at the top of their game playing the hole, and that can distort perspective too.
We are also witnessing golfers hitting the ball so far that they have sand wedges into the green.
Greg Norman might not agree with you.
Also recall that Norman elected to hit an easy 4-iron rather than a hard 5-iron because of the lie, and left it right, bogieing the hole.
If Norman hit 4-iron, what might others hit ?