Masters hole-by-hole
FROM BUNKERS TO WATER TO STEEP HILLS, AUGUSTA NATIONAL PRESENTS SOME UNIQUE CHALLENGES
AUGUSTA, GA. •Ahole-by-hole look at Augusta National, site of the 88th Masters that starts Thursday:
No. 1, 445 yards, par 4 (Tea Olive): This slight dogleg right plays uphill and has a deep bunker requiring a 317-yard carry off the tee. The bunker has a tongue in the left side, so anything that enters the front of the bunker might be blocked by the lip. A bunker is left of the green, which falls off sharply at the back and to the right.
Average score and rank in 2023: 4.187 (7)
No. 2, 585 yards, par 5 (Pink Dogwood): A new tee has been added 10 yards further back and to the left. The dogleg left can be reached in two with a good drive. A fairway bunker on the right comes into play. A drive kept down the left side shortens the hole, but leaves a downhill lie to a green guarded by two deep bunkers in the front. Average score and rank in 2023: 4.637 (18)
No. 3, 350 yards, par 4 (Flowering Peach): One of the best short par 4s in golf, this hole hasn’t been changed since 1982. Big hitters can drive near the green, and more are trying. But there are difficult shortgame shots surrounding the L-shaped green that slopes sharply from right to left. Some players still hit iron off the tee to stay short of four bunkers on the left side. Average score and rank in 2023: 4.036 (13)
No. 4, 240 yards, par 3 (Flowering Crab Apple): This usually is long iron or maybe fairway metal for shorter hitters. A deep bunker protects the right side of the green, with another bunker to the left. Club selection remains crucial because of the deceptive wind. The green slopes to the front. This hole features the only palm tree on the course.
Average score and rank in 2023: 3.216 (5)
No. 5, 495 yards, par 4 (Magnolia): The Masters tee was moved back 40 yards in 2019. It now requires a 313-yard carry over the bunkers on the left of this uphill, slight dogleg to the left. The green slopes severely from back to front, and a small bunker catches anything long. If an approach is long and misses the bunker, it could roll down the slope and into the Magnolia trees. The back left green has been softened to allow for a pin position.
Average score and rank in 2023: 4.327 (1)
No. 6, 180 yards, par 3 (Juniper): An elevated tee to a large green with three tiers, with significant slopes marking the three levels. Getting close to the hole is a challenge. The easiest pin might be front left. The hole has not been changed since 1975.
Average score and rank in 2023: 3.097 (10)
No. 7, 450 yards, par 4 (Pampas): This hole literally has come a long way, from 320 yards to 450 yards. The tee was extended by 45 yards in 2002, and then 40 yards in 2006. And then in 2009, the tee box was lengthened to allow the hole to play shorter if necessary. The tee shot is through a chute of Georgia pines, played to the left-centre of the fairway into a slight slope. The green is surrounded by five bunkers, the most around any green.
Average score and rank in 2023: 4.209 (6)
No. 8, 570 yards, par 5 (Yellow Jasmine): An accurate drive is important to avoid the fairway bunker on the right side. The hole is uphill and features trouble left of the green. There are no bunkers around the green, just severe mounding.
Average score and rank in 2023: 4.640 (17)
No. 9, 460 yards, par 4 (Carolina Cherry): The tee shot should be aimed down the right side for a good angle into the green, which features two large bunkers to the left. Any approach that is short could spin some 25 yards back into the fairway.
Average score and rank in 2023: 4.076 (11)
No. 10, 495 yards, par 4 (Camellia): A long hole that can play shorter if the drive catches the slope in the fairway. It is difficult to save par from the bunker right of the green. The putting surface slopes from right to left.
Average score and rank in 2023: 4.133 (9)
No. 11, 510 yards, par 4 (White
Dogwood): Amen Corner starts here. The tee was lengthened by 15 yards and to the left, the fairway was reshaped and several trees on the right side continue to be removed. A big tee shot — and a straight one — is required to get to the crest of the hill. A pond guards the green to the left and a bunker is to the back right. The safe shot is to bail out short and to the right, but it leaves a difficult pitch. Average score and rank in 2023: 4.276 (3)
No. 12, 155 yards, par 3 (Golden Bell): This is among the most famous par 3s in golf and the shortest hole at Augusta National. Club selection can range from a 6-iron to a 9-iron, but it’s difficult to gauge the wind. Rae’s Creek is in front of the shallow green, with two bunkers behind it and one in front.
Average score and rank in 2023: 3.065 (12)
No. 13, 545 yards, par 5 (Azalea): In a move long anticipated, the tee was moved back 35 yards. It still requires an accurate tee shot to the centre of the fairway to set up players to go for the green, but they likely will be hitting at least a mid-iron. A tributary to Rae’s Creek winds in front of the green, and four bunkers are behind the putting surface. From tee to green, there are about 1,600 azaleas.
Average score and rank in 2023: 4.738 (15)
No. 14, 440 yards, par 4 (Chinese Fir): This is the only hole on the course without a bunker. Even if the drive avoids trees on both sides of the fairway, the green has severe contours that feed the ball to the right.
Average score and rank in 2023: 4.179 (8)
No. 15, 550 yards, par 5 (Firethorn): The tees were moved back 20 yards in 2022 and the fairway recontoured. A cluster of pines is starting to mature on the right side of the fairway, making it critical to be straight off the tee. The green can be reached in two with a good drive, but a pond guards the front and there is a bunker to the right. Even for those laying up, the third shot requires a precise wedge from a downhill lie. Average score and rank in 2023: 4.656 (16)
No. 16, 170 yards, par 3 (Redbud): The hole is played entirely over water and eventually bends to the left. Two bunkers guard the right side, and the green slopes significantly from right to left. The Sunday pin typically is back and on the lower shelf, and pars from the top shelf that day are rare.
Average score and rank in 2023: 2.964 (14)
No. 17, 440 yards, par 4 (Nandina): The Eisenhower Tree to the left of the fairway about 210 yards from the tee could not be saved from an ice storm in February 2014. It was taken down after suffering significant damage. That has made the tee shot much easier, especially for those with a lower, left-to-right ball flight. The green is protected by two bunkers in the front.
Average score and rank in 2023: 4.255 (4)
No. 18, 465 yards, par 4 (Holly): Now among the most demanding finishing holes in golf, this uphill dogleg right is protected off the tee by two deep bunkers at the left elbow — the only bunkers in play off the tee on the back nine (except for par 3s). Trees get in the way of a drive that strays to the right. Bunkers grab any shot to the left and right.
Average score and rank in 2023: 4.300 (2).