Caddy offers tips for Masters success
Caddy Mick Doran will be carrying the clubs for Francesco Molinari at this year’s Masters tournament. Here are Doran’s five tips to surviving the Augusta course:
1. When the wind blows, the 11th and 12th at Augusta become particularly difficult, in that the breeze is effectively bouncing against the trees. You can stand on the tee at the 12th and notice that the flag on the 11th green is blowing away from you, while the one on the 12th is blowing toward you. It can be almost impossible to judge the right club. The sensible option is to aim at the back bunker, to find the middle of the green.
2. The changes in elevation are severe.
At the eighth, you are playing a blind second shot, and at the ninth you are usually faced with an uphill shot from a downhill lie. At the 15th, you are playing your second off a downhill lie over water, which makes for a dangerous shot. It is about playing the right shot at the right time, particularly on the back nine on Sunday.
3. At the fifth, if a player finds the rough on the right of the fairway, I try to encourage him to hit a shot that runs up onto the green. If you land the ball on the green, it is extremely tough to stop it. The pin positions dictate everything. At the third, when the pin is cut on the right, you can take a driver off the tee and chip up. But when the pin is on the left, you will see players laying up and giving themselves full yardage in.
4. I remember a moment with Victor Dubuisson at the 13th last year. He wanted to go for the green in two, but I was trying to explain to him that he would not be able to hold it on the putting surface. Even if he struck it purely, it would run into the water. Eventually, he hit the shot he wanted and it ended up in Rae’s Creek. Course management is more crucial than ever here.
5. There is always one shot I remember above all others. I was caddying for David Howell and the pin at the sixth, a par- three, was on the back left. His teeshot ended up on the back right, and instinctively I gave him the putter. But after a lengthy inspection he said: “I can’t putt it.” He could not advance the ball far enough along the green without it sliding all the way back down.
He said: “I’m going to have to chip it.”
I thought: ‘ Good luck,’ but he hit it to four feet, and it was one of the best- executed shots I have ever seen. When you consider the pressure, the fact he was able to chip so accurately on a green without leaving a divot was tremendous.’’