ANGC - A Retro Photo Tour

[Michael Whitaker]

The photo of #1 showing a large house behind the green... are you sure that is ANGC? The photos before and after that one show a fully mature pine forest in that space.

[Zack Molnar]

When was the 16th changed?

I believe this was in the late 40's. Golf Digest has a great compilation of the changes as well.


https://www.golfdigest.com/story/the-complete-changes-to-augusta-national

[Jim Nugent]

The photo of #1 showing a large house behind the green... are you sure that is ANGC? The photos before and after that one show a fully mature pine forest in that space.

Look at the 2nd and 3rd photos of #1 in this thread.  The fairway bunker, on the right, looks identical in both photos.  The lumpy land forms around the green in the first two photos look similar too. 

[Sven Nilsen]

The photo of #1 showing a large house behind the green... are you sure that is ANGC? The photos before and after that one show a fully mature pine forest in that space.

That is ANGC.

[Ira Fishman]

A hypothetical but I hope a fun one for any architects reading this fantastic thread:


Chairman of AGNC asks you to do a restoration to return green complexes and bunkers to original state. Would you take the assignment? Under what conditions?


Ira

[Joel_Stewart]

Just incredible to me that the powers to be don't see certain features and restore them. IMHO the bunkers are far superior in the MacKenzie style.

[Wayne_Kozun]

Just incredible to me that the powers to be don't see certain features and restore them. IMHO the bunkers are far superior in the MacKenzie style.

So true - pretty much the only MacKenzie styled bunker that remains is the one on 10 that is useless from a strategic perspective.  How often do players in the Masters ever find themself in that bunker?

[Dave Maberry]

The photo of #1 showing a large house behind the green... are you sure that is ANGC? The photos before and after that one show a fully mature pine forest in that space.

A plan early on to raise money was for lots to be sold and winter houses to be built, see map #3 in Post #1. Only one lot was sold and the house was built behind first green. The house remained until 1977 when the club bought the lot and tore down the house.

[Matthew Rose]

I'd love to see all the bunkers changed to that style.... it'd be a way to bring some MacKenzie back into it without necessarily altering how the holes play.


The one thing that never made sense to me was that odd cluster of bunkers to the left of #3. Namely, why are there four?

[jeffwarne]

The photo of #1 showing a large house behind the green... are you sure that is ANGC? The photos before and after that one show a fully mature pine forest in that space.

A plan early on to raise money was for lots to be sold and winter houses to be built, see map #3 in Post #1. Only one lot was sold and the house was built behind first green. The house remained until 1977 when the club bought the lot and tore down the house.

Amazed that house stayed until then-I never noticed it in my early Masters visits....hidden behind trees?
I googled it and evidently it belonged to the Harrison family, long time member and Masters starter whose son I grew up with who he himself has been working the tee as his dad's assistant for at least 30 years.
Actually found it in an interesting article written by the son of one of the early superintendants who also lived on the property with his family.

[Tom Bagley]

I'd love to see all the bunkers changed to that style.... it'd be a way to bring some MacKenzie back into it without necessarily altering how the holes play.


The one thing that never made sense to me was that odd cluster of bunkers to the left of #3. Namely, why are there four?

According to the Golf Digest article reference above (and elsewhere), those bunkers were added at Jack Nicklaus' suggestion to replace the original bunker.
 

[V. Kmetz]

When was the 16th changed?

1947-48...RTJ


Sven, this is the best dedicated photo archive the board has ever known...Ran...administrators...put this thread on its own premier line, so it never gets buried. It should be the subject of a book.


cheers vk

[Jim Nugent]

Sven, can you add dates to some/all the photos, so we can get a bit of a timeline for the course's evolution? 

[Mark McKeever]

Easily one of the best threads on GCA.  Thanks again for providing these awesome pictures and renderings.

[Sven Nilsen]

Sven, can you add dates to some/all the photos, so we can get a bit of a timeline for the course's evolution?

Jim:


The evolution of the course is covered in this thread:


http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,51383.0.html


Sven

[Matthew Rose]

I think that's the first picture I've ever seen of the pond on #6. It's just so...... strange.

[Thomas Dai]

I was looking at ANGC photos comparing the 1930's, 1960's, last year and the current telecast with a golf mate.
The comment was made that in years gone by Augusta looked like a golf course whereas now it looks like a high quality computer game.
atb

[Jeff Schley]

I see on one of the architectural drawings with a description next to it that there was to be a 19th hole.  It was going to be called double or quit?

Was such a hole built?  I know the par 3 course wasn't built until the 50's. 

Anyone have knowledge of this?  Or was it just a grandiose plan that didn't materialize?

Anyone?

[Sven Nilsen]

I see on one of the architectural drawings with a description next to it that there was to be a 19th hole.  It was going to be called double or quit?

Was such a hole built?  I know the par 3 course wasn't built until the 50's. 

Anyone have knowledge of this?  Or was it just a grandiose plan that didn't materialize?

Anyone?

If it was built (there are conflicting reports), it didn't last very long.

[Erik J. Barzeski]

1933/2018 Before/After:https://i.imgur.com/6BTSDbU.gifv

[Rob Rigg]

Just amazing - Thanks Sven!

Can't help but love the rustic artistry of MacKenzie Augusta.

Gotta wonder if the bug to restore some of those elements will be elevated by the new Chairman?

Very likely not if the foundational reason for Augusta's existence is to challenge the best golfers in the world once a year . . .

[Peter Gannon]

I will keep coming back to these photos over the weekend.  Thank you!

[Kalen Braley]

Whether its your first time seeing this, or multiple viewings...I was thinking this would be a good time to bump this.


Thanks again Sven!

[Matt_Cohn]

Was Augusta always considered to be the gold standard of golf course conditioning? I'm looking at the color photos from the ~70's, and I don't know what golf courses generally looked like at that point.

[Sven Nilsen]

I've added a few photos in to the earlier posts.  Here's another one of Bobby Jones on site in 1931.  By the way, there is one glaring mistake in the identification of the photos.  Kudos to whoever can find it.