How to play Augusta’s hardest stretch

Scott: There are holes that can get away from you real quick. Obviously we’ve seen that with 11 and 12 – those two are super hard. People have no idea how hard 12 is because of the wind. It’s all about the eddy effect, when the wind comes down from two different directions and meets in a big open area creating a vortex, a swirl if you like, tripling the wind speed! So if the wind that day is 10mph, that means it’s actually blowing 30mph in that open area around the green. Then you have a target that is very small, so it’s all about hitting it the right distance. These guys hit it accurately, no problem. But if the wind suddenly changes, you can fly the green or come up short in the water. It’s treacherous.

It’s the same thing on 11, which is also a very long hole. Those two are very demanding. You can throw 10 into the mix as well – that’s no walk in the park. So you need to be on your A-game for 10, 11 and 12! Afterwards it kind of gives you some relief and you can make some birdies.

Bones: Yeah, I’ve always thought that if you play 10 and 11 in level, then you start making birdies after that. Eleven, especially to me, is arguably the hardest hole in golf, so long and so difficult – make four there and you feel like you’ve stolen half-a-shot on the field. As we’ve seen, anything can happen on 12 – you can make two or you can make seven.