Augusta National and the Elite 18: Ranking the Masters Holes
Even though I've watched the Masters on television for 25 years, I've never felt qualified to judge the holes. "Television just doesn't do the course justice," is what I've heard over and over from lucky folks who have walked and/or played the course.
But after walking the course and watching some of the players during Tuesday's practice round, I feel at least slightly entitled to an opinion. So here's a stab at ranking the holes of Augusta National from worst to best. Nothing scientific—just a gut reaction to the general awesomeness or ordinariness of each hole (are there ordinary holes at Augusta?)—with a bit of weight added to holes with a history of producing Masters drama.
18: 17th Hole, Nandina
1 of 18
Par-Four, 440 Yards
Pebble Beach has the 12th hole, Cypress Point has the 18th and Augusta National has the 17th—a straightaway, nondescript, uphill par-four that's better suited to a muni. The "Eisenhower Tree" is a mere tree stump for today's pros, there's nothing to aim at off the tee and the green looks like a bitten-into cookie.
No. 17's only redeeming feature is that it's hard, especially into the wind. But it doesn't inspire great shot-making, which is why great shot-making rarely occurs there. For fans watching on television it's the perfect time to grab something to eat before the 18th.
17: Second Hole, Dogwood
2 of 18
Par-Five, 575 Yards
Elevated tee shot plays tough, especially for a fader, with foliage down the left and a gaping bunker on the right. The problem: a huge drive leaves just a mid or even short iron to a green that looks like it's situated in the middle of a cow pasture. The second shot is one of the few visually uninteresting shots on the golf course.
16. Fourth Hole, Flowering Crab Apple
3 of 18
Par-Three, 240 Yards
The hole is pretty enough, but with the added length it plays as a long iron and sometimes a hybrid for the pros. Sorry, I'd rather see the pros smacking five-woods into par-fives. Plus, you can see a parking lot through the trees behind the green. It's one of two holes where you can sense the presence of outside life. That's a drawback for a course as serene as Augusta.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
15. Third Hole, Flowering Peach
4 of 18
Par-Four, 350 Yards
It's a bit like the seventh at Course No. 2 at Pinehurst: fine, happy to play it but not much going on. Short, dogleg right, easy drive, easy approach. It does get tricky when the pin is tucked on the left corner, but overall this hole is standard stuff. Might as well cut 30 yards and give guys a legit chance of driving the green.
14. 14th Hole, Chinese Fur
5 of 18Par-Four, 440 Yards
Yes, No. 14 has produced some drama, including Phil's hole-out for eagle last year on Saturday. But the hole itself is as nondescript as No. 17. The drive is blind over the hill, a slight dogleg left. What does make the hole intriguing is perhaps the most diabolical green on the property. Wild undulation from left to right with more humps than a pack of camels. Still, no wow factor that you expect from Augusta.
13. Fifth Hole, Magnolia
6 of 18
Par-Four, 455 Yards
The fifth is a great hole. But from here on in every hole is great. The fifth is also hard—really hard. A monster bunker guards the left corner of this slight dogleg left, uphill hole—and the green is ridiculous. It's hard to tell whether it's really a green or a wave pool.
It's easy to hit a great approach and have it bounce next to the hole and hop right off the back of the green like a rabbit. A par is a good score here. The one drawback: like the fourth, you're on the property line. You can't always hear the cars to the right, but you can feel their presence. It's just like the fifth hole at Congressional—the outside world is pressing in.
12. Seventh Hole, Pampas
7 of 18
Par-Four, 450 Yards
Augusta added some teeth to this beauty a few years back, and it's paid off. Now it's a legitimately difficult driving hole. But players are rewarded for an aggressive drive with a shortish iron into a perched green surrounded by three bunkers in front and two in back. It's a visually intimidating and beautiful second shot, and the green is severe enough to cause trouble if you hit the wrong section.
11. Eighth Hole, Yellow Jasmine
8 of 18
Par-Five, 570 Yards
A bomber's delight. Gorgeous sight line off the tee, as the hole falls forward for 270 yards or so before climbing toward the green. A bunker guards the right side—a huge hitter like Dustin Johnson can fly it, but most players will keep to the left side of the fairway then attack the green with three-woods or even a driver. Great hole because length is rewarded (as it should be on a par-five), but it's quirky around the green, which can leave a well-struck three-wood behind the hill on the left or down in the gully short and right. Eagle is possible. So is double.
10. Ninth Hole, Carolina Cherry
9 of 18
Par-Four, 460 Yards
The elevated second shot and the left-to-right sloped green are what make this hole great. The approach has to be pinpoint accurate, especially when the pin sits just over the false front. We've seen tons of good-looking wedge shots returned to players like unstamped mail. Like No. 8, it's another easy-hard hole—plenty of birdies, but more than a few doubles.
9. 18th Hole, Holly
10 of 18
Par-Four, 465 Yards
It's good, but really because of the tee shot, which is one of the toughest in golf. It's easy, even for the best players in the world, to put one in the trees—and fast. Still, the approach shot to a blind green leaves something to be desired from the finishing hole of one of the top courses in the world. And for all the spectator space to the left of the green, most of it is below the surface of the green. It simply lacks the theatre effect of the top holes on the back nine
8. Sixth Hole, Juniper
11 of 18
Par-Three, 180 Yards
Awesome par-three on a course with three other awesome par-threes. A huge drop down to the green makes it (almost) as visually appealing as No. 12. And like any great par-three, pin placement dictates play.
No. 6 is a completely different hole when the pin is front left vs. back right. Still, you can shoot at either pin and make birdie. But you can also make bogey or higher by misfiring by just a few yards. The back-right pin placement on No. 6 seems accessible, until you miss four feet long and right and can't get up and down.
7. 11th Hole, White Dogwood
12 of 18
Par-Four, 505 Yards
Sorry, it's just not that good anymore, for one simple reason: it's 40 yards too long, which means that the water just doesn't come into play on the second shot. It takes a fantastic tee shot to get within mid-iron striking distance, and even then most players will favor the right edge of the green and even the right gully. Back in the '90s players could attack No. 11 after a great drive. Now, they just hope for a four and get out. Result: not much drama for such a beautiful golf hole.
6. First Hole, Tea Olive
13 of 18
Par-Four, 445 Yards
No warm-up here—the first hole offers a perfect welcome to Augusta which says, "You better be able to drive it long and straight and putt or you're going to shoot a lot over par."
Players used to bomb it over the right bunker and flip a wedge to the green. Not anymore. In Tuesday's practice round, with the wind against, many players couldn't even reach the bunker, leaving mid to long irons into a wild, monstrous green. The first hole doesn't get much exposure because, well, the tournament isn't decided there. But from tee to green it's the second-best par-four on the course.
5. 15th Hole, Firethorn
14 of 18
Par-Five, 530 Yards
Elevating the tee would help the shot value of the drive, but otherwise, this is a beauty. The added grove of trees down the right side makes it much harder to find the fairway. If you do, you face one of the toughest par-five second shots in golf. The green is long, but skinnier than a butter knife. It's understandable to over-club and put a second or even third shot over the green near the pond on No. 16.
The problem: chipping back up is delicate business, especially if the pin is on the front of the green. And when the pin is tucked left, even a 100-yard wedge shot is really, really hard. Come up a yard short and you're in the lake. When a wedge shot is almost as tough as a 220-yard approach, you know you've got a great par-five.
4. 16th Hole, Redbud
15 of 18Par-Three, 170 Yards
I didn't appreciate No. 16 until I saw it in person. It's simply the best theatre on the golf course. First, it's such a tiny space, jam-packed with people. It's like the Cameron of golf holes.
Second, the green is awesome—one of the best putting surfaces in the world. Two ridges on the right side make for perfect sucker pin placements, while front left, middle left and back left all are holes-in-one spots. Further, what other green could produce a shot like Tiger's 2005 chip-in? As Verne Lundquist said, "In your life have you ever seen anything like that?"
Uh, no.
3. 12th Hole, Golden Bell
16 of 18
Par-Three, 155 Yards
Not much needs to be said. It's the most famous par-three in the world for a reason. In a word: gorgeous. What other par-three in tournament golf can you hit to and not see a single person? It's almost creepy how serene it is.
A second word to describe No. 12: scary. Yes, the green is that narrow. It's hard to hit the green from any of the green-side bunkers, much less from 150 yards.
When the wind is blowing, forget it. It's a guessing game as much as anything. Hit it solid and hope you catch a piece. It's no wonder so many Masters hopes have drowned in Rae's Creek.
2. 10th Hole, Camellia
17 of 18
Par-Four, 495 Yards
Wow! If this isn't the best par-four in the world, I don't know what is. A stunning, sweeping, downhill dogleg left par-four. One of the great tee shots in the game, followed by a long second shot to a deep but ridiculously narrow green. Miss to the right and you're in a monster bunker. To the left and down the hill you go near the pines.
The Masters did it right when they started the playoff on No. 10. Anyone who can par or birdie that hole in a playoff to win the tournament deserves it. No. 10 gets the nod over No. 12 simply because it covers more real estate.
1. 13th Hole, Azalea
18 of 18
Par-Five, 510 Yards
Double wow! It's everything you would expect from watching on television and more. The ultimate risk/reward par-five, starting with a lonely tee shot launched from a small pocket deep in the woods. Try to turn it too much and you're in the dogwoods and azaleas; block it right and you're in the pines. But draw one perfectly and you're left with the best second shot in the world: a side-hill lie to a rumbling green framed by four perfect bunkers.
Hit a perfect shot, get it on the right tier and you can make eagle. But a poor tee shot or approach and you make bogey or worse. The bottom line: It's a stunning, perfectly designed hole where anything can happen—and often does. The second bottom line: If I could pick one place to set up camp for the day at Augusta, it would be three-quarters of the way down the 13th fairway on the right side. Golf viewing heaven.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
