Recognizing this, we are then faced with the question that forever dogs any then-versus-now or restorative course discussion: which older version, exactly, are we comparing the present layout to? Trevor Immelman dishes on his travel 'musts' when he's on the road. The club originally listed it at 480 yards, but that number has been revised both upwards and downwards over the decades, ranging from a shortish 465 (its 1980s Masters yardage) to as much as 485 during the 1970s, when the tee was extended onto a bit of land purchased from the adjoining Augusta Country Club. Hole No. Its putting surface sat in an area between the present holes pond and the edge of the sixth fairway, and was flanked closely on its right by the creek that once crossed the sixth, and not so closely on its left by a pair of bunkers. 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This made the hole a fairly pronounced dogleg right whose primary challenge lay in placing ones drive in the center-right section of the fairway, for anything drifting too far left brought a corner of Raes creek which lay several yards left of the putting surface considerably more into play. Indeed, prior to a 1951 expansion, the right side was considerably smaller than the left, requiring some major skill (not to mention guts) if one elected to have a desperation go at the traditional final round pin. Two of those original pines formed the foundation of the large cluster of trees that now cuts into the left side of the fifteenths driving zone so that particular copse is not entirely contrived but the budding mini-forest which now occupies a stretch of former right-side fairway most certainly is. A more visible change was the early addition of two left-side fairway bunkers, which, through frequent revision, fluctuated between being one large hazard or two smaller ones for many years. With the ongoing concerns over distance, as well as advances in golf ball technology, it seems that Augusta is looking to negate the extra distance by making some holes longer. In an . How then, does the Augusta National in play today shape up overall against the Jones and MacKenzie layout of yesteryear? As dramatic a par 5 as has ever been built, Augustas legendary thirteenth has retained its general configuration fairly well but a number of smaller, less-obvious changes have taken place. To begin with, though a set of published drawings showed both this and the thirteenth greens as having been planned bunker-free (It will be noted there is not a single bunker at either of these holes MacKenzie), the evidence is clear that the front bunker was indeed included during initial construction. Bowles Construction is a general contractor from Augusta. In July we were given evidence it was finally . But in the end, perhaps the biggest difference between Augusta then and now is simply the role of Bobby Jones. In order to do this, however, we must first consider just what Jones and MacKenzie had in mind back in the beginning, for their approach was among the most revolutionary in the history of golf design. The new No. Always a sharply downhill dogleg left that afforded the better player an opportunity to get home in two, it initially featured a near-L-shaped green bending left-to-right around a single deep bunker. Published: Feb. 16, 2022 at 3:30 PM PST. Pardon us but are you sure you told them precisely where you wanted your trees planted on No.13 #TheMasters You plant a tree 20 yards off the tee on the left toward the corner. 12 Golden BellPar 31933: 150 yards2009: 155 yards. Travel Mailbag: Is Bay Hill open to the public? The hole was lengthened to 440 yards in 1973 and 460 in the new millennium, meaning that even though the bottom is more frequently driven today, the 340 yards necessary to reach it means that a missed tee ball can still result in a very dicey second. Today, the hole stands a stout 50 yards longer than in its youth. Given the famously uphill nature of the approach, this was a most distinctive green complex indeed, yet the club once again assigned Perry Maxwell the late-1930s task of rebuilding it, resulting in the angled, three-tiered putting surface in play today. Hole No.13 A modest shortening (say 10-15 yards) might shift the balance back towards going for the green in two, making one of golfs most uniquely dramatic shots a more regular occurrence and leading to more than the eight eagles recorded for the entire 2008 event. June 16, 2021 2:49 pm ET. Thats yet to be seen, as Augusta has shown the capability and willpower to introduce or possibly in this case, re-introduce trees. The chairmen in the green coats have always kept a close eye on making the course which ranks No. Always a short, straightaway par 5, the fifteenth has forever been reachable in two, initially because Bobby Jones believed that all par 5s potentially should be, and more recently because the presence of the eleventh fairway leaves no room to extend the tee back any further. Augusta National has finally extended the 13th hole. Hole No. Second, while the original (and its legion of replicas) features a putting surface which falls away from front-right to back-left, MacKenzies sketch suggests that the sixth fell more sideways, into a left/front-left quadrant. Hole No. Tiger Woods weighs in, USGA releases qualifying sites for 2023 U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club, USGA adds U.S. Open and U.S. Women's Open exemptions, no LIV ban, Augusta National officially announces new tee, yardage for par-5 13th. Number ones deceased hazard, in contrast, could never have factored very much into play for all but the weakest of golfers. The idea was revived 25 years later, this time under the direction of architect George W. Cobb, one that met Jones' liking. MCILROY-7. And one more largely forgotten point: Given Bobby Joness love of St. Andrews, and Dr. MacKenzies status as a former consulting architect to the Royal & Ancient Golf Club, the influence of the great Scottish links upon Augustas design was inevitable. Track. Its hard to tell from the photos, but there could be a new tee box on No. That such changes have managed to result in far less exciting Masters finishes, however, isnt. To accomplish this, they built Augusta with uniquely wide fairways so wide, in fact, that for the great majority of its history, the club was devoid of appreciable rough altogether. Hole No. Empty for many years, the Mill was renovated in 2007-2008 by an Augusta businessman and is home to medical offices. Or it could be much ado about nothing. Jones wrote favorably of the fifteenth that The tee shot may be hit almost anywhere without encountering trouble, because he considered this a necessity in setting up the unique approach that has produced so many of championship golfs most thrilling moments. Of course, this hazard also served at least cosmetically to enhance the right third of the fairways optimum status, which in turn placed a greater emphasis on the large right-side fairway bunker, an invasive hazard which has existed since 1933, but which has been moved and/or expanded multiple times since World War II. Hole No.14 Rebuild both Dr. MacKenzies massive right-side fairway bunker further downrange, and some of the front-left green mounding removed in the modern era. Its fairly common to see winterized golf courses use a different type of grass or a green-dyed fertilizer on fairways and greens, creating major visual contrasts. Macdonald/Seth Raynor replicas, the purpose of this idiosyncrasy will forever remain a mystery. Augusta National Golf Club has seen plenty of changes over the decades. Thanks to the flyover folks at Eureka Earth, we have new photos of the 13th, taken earlier this week, that show dirt being moved in the fairway and the shaping of a potential new tee box much . When Augusta National opened for play in 1933, four of the holes were completely devoid of sand and 14 of Augusta's expansive fairway corridors were without bunkers. (Note Magnolia Lane on the far right about a third of the way down). It is, however, at least partially defendable if one accepts the notion that Joness word represents the Augusta gospel, for he clearly endorsed the narrowing concept (at least if accomplished via flora) back in 1959, when he wrote: The tee shot on this hole becomes tighter year by year as the pine trees on either side of the fairway continue to spread. The club's co-founder Cliff Roberts told the Olmsted Brothers, the firm charged with Augusta National's landscaping, that an "approach and putt" course should be constructed alongside the main layout, which was still two years away from opening. Plain and simple, Augusta National is why the Masters is the Masters. Top 100 Courses in the U.S.: GOLFs all-new 2022-23 ranking is here! Augusta National announced plans for the seven-room cabin before the 1953 Masters. Ridley admitted that the clubs hesitancy to change anything about the layout of the hole was because its such an iconic hole and one of the few where so much golf history has been made. Hole No. Their original was a bunkerless drive-and-pitch modeled after the 18th at St. Andrews, running straight away and culminating in a shallow, three-tiered green with a prominent front-right finger, and a Valley of Sin-like depression guarding the front-left. For all intents and purposes, it is thus an entirely different hole than that built by Jones and MacKenzie. But the original version was considerably more strategic and, for anyone above a single-digit handicap, surely more fun. 13 AzaleaPar 51933: 480 yards2009: 510 yards. At a glance, this might be decried as removing a strategic option but an equally valid argument might be made that in this era of unchecked equipment, injecting some measure of accountability in this particular location was important in retaining the holes fundamental balance of play. Offhand, you might think the 18 greens on course plus a couple practice greens. Its Valentines Day, which means one thing: The Masters is only 50 days away. Connor Lindeman. The resulting test was quirky and apparently fun, leading MacKenzie to observe: This should always be a most fascinating hole. "I agree completely that the construction of this golf course will be an important contribution to the beauty of the place," Jones wrote to Roberts. Hole No.18 The eighteenth was built to be a demanding test, and 72nd-hole birdies to win The Masters were nearly unheard of before its recent lengthening anyway but wouldnt Sunday afternoon be that much more fun with this hole playing, say, 20 yards shorter, allowing players a chance to hit at least a semi-attacking approach? This strategy, however, is no longer an option. Serves Augusta, Georgia. Graduate of the University of Maine - Augusta with a degree of Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. I dont know another quite like it.. Last fall word spread that the Par 3 Course was in line for serious changes, and photos emerged in the spring that those changes were no joke. While members might well enjoy the subtle challenges of the seventh hole circa 1933, with modern technology it would scarcely even be considered a par 4 for Masters competitors, who would drive indiscriminately towards the green and, at worst, hope for two-putt birdies from the Valley of Sin. The former is a product primarily of nature and a timeless, almost mystical evolution as though whatever cosmic forces govern such things have gently massaged the landscape (with a little help from Alan Robertson) over the course of several centuries. I say loops and current with some intentionality here because the roads placement allows for at least 75 additional yards to be added to the tee shot, a distance that would make the corner much harder to reach for even the games big bombers. buying the adjacent 9th hole at Augusta Country Club, Trevor Immelman dishes on his travel musts when hes on the road. For it was Joness vision that brought aboard Dr. MacKenzie, and led to the creation of so stunningly unique a golf course a layout that was the living embodiment of all he believed comprised great design. The Eisenhower Cabin - some call it Ike's Cabin, others refer to it as Mamie's Cabin - is near the 10th tee and the practice putting green at Augusta National Golf Club. Not too terribly different, really.