For whom will the Bell toll this year?
HOW can the shortest hole at Augusta National and the only one that has never been materially altered since the course opened in 1934 wreak such havoc?
Jordan Spieth (below) was just the latest victim last year, when he took a calamitous seven to lose control of the tournament. Arnold Palmer did the same thing in 1959, while Tom Weiskopf once put five balls into Rae’s Creek on his way to a 13 before recovering the next day to post a seven.
We have not seen a hole in one since 1988 and yet the 12th never plays longer than a seven iron. Why does the Golden Bell toll so often?
Situated at the heart of Amen Corner on the lowest point of the course, one problem is the landing area is miniscule and protected by the creek and a bunker to the front and shrubbery to the rear.
It is also difficult to gauge the strength of the wind. It is quite common to toss some grass in the air on the tee and find it blowing in a different direction to the flag. ‘On the 12th you make all your calculations but most of all you just hope,’ Tiger Woods once said.