The Complete Guide to Surviving Augusta National

Ask 10 people for a key to surviving the rigors of Augusta National Golf Club and you’ll most likely get 10 different answers. And I think there’s a good chance my key word wouldn’t be among those 10.

Balance.

No, not referring to a golfer’s setup over the ball or his swing. I’m talking about finding a way to balance the entire Masters experience.

Regardless of how many times players have been invited to play there, driving down Magnolia Lane is awe-inspiring, as is walking through the historic clubhouse and going out the back to look out on as pretty a tract of land as there is.

So the task of balancing begins.

Golfers know they have to get through that Monday and Tuesday, get in their work those days, take a deep breath Wednesday, enjoy the Par 3 Contest or whatever gives them the best chance to chill out.

But all of that is nothing to the balancing act the 93 players in the field will face starting Thursday morning.

The rush of nervousness, anticipation and adrenaline can turn a player’s brain to mush.

As the players get to the first tee, battling those feelings, another is added: patience.

They know the course and what’s in store for them. It’s a tough start with the very difficult first and fourth holes sandwiching a pair of birdie chances before hitting a stretch of really tough holes.

With all of that churning in their minds, they’ll get out on Augusta National and find out that some holes will require a power fade off the tee and a high soft draw for the approach shot.

And don’t forget that flat lies are not exactly the norm. That’s where the patience concern comes in. Clear, well-thought-out decisions have to be made. Game plans have to be adhered to.

Somehow, players have to slow their minds down and try to envision themselves executing shots that are required to play well.

After the players get through that difficult four-through-seven stretch, a birdie opportunity appears at No. 8 before embarking on two of the tougher holes on the course.

The ninth and 10th are storied holes on a historic golf course, but are just warm-ups for Amen Corner.

Difficult, beautiful and capable of creating great excitement, those three holes form one of the iconic spots in all of championship golf.

The rest of the back nine features more scoring opportunities, the kind of scoring that creates those vaunted weekend roars from the patrons who jam the back nine.

But for the golfer who doesn’t go around Augusta National knowing when to play aggressively, when to play safely, there will be no roars, there will be no playing on the weekend.

As the field plays today and tomorrow in golf’s most special cathedral, they can’t be worried about what other players are doing.

There is no one set way to successfully get around Augusta National Golf Club in the Masters. There are no two different golfers than Tiger Woods and Zack Johnson.

When Johnson won in 2007, he did it playing small ball golf. He wasn’t long off the tee and didn’t have the firepower to get to the par fives every time, so he made up his mind to not go for them at all. How did that work out? He was 11 under par on the par fives all week and won a green jacket.

Woods, on the other hand, is all power ball. Unless something drastic happens off the tee, there’s no par five at Augusta National that's not reachable for him. And he did just that in every one of his four Masters wins.

Winning, of course, is the ultimate goal for most of the field, but the nine past champions over 50 years old and the six amateurs in the field would be thrilled to just make the cut and play on the weekend.

To do that, players who are able to get those initial emotions in check, maintain that control throughout the round and execute the proper shots will put themselves in position to be around for the final two rounds.

Unless you’re an elite player, you can’t be concerned about the lead. Your focus is staying in the moment, keeping a clear head and trying to play the best golf possible under great pressure.

Once the cut is made, it’s all different. Players have to go for it.

There have been amazing stretches of birdies that have turned leaderboards upside down.

By then, handling of emotions should be a lot easier unless, of course, a player has gotten himself into contention.

In that case, pressure mounts exponentially and only the strongest and best get to stand on the 18th green and get that green jacket.

These are elite athletes that compete at the highest level of their sport, but what separates them from the non-elites is what goes on in their minds.