Chip 2007

Nick 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007

Wow, what an experience, from the Eisenhower Cabin, the Crows Nest, the upstairs bar in the library, the list just goes on and on…where to begin…

One thing can be confirmed. Augusta deserves all the great accolades it gets. I had tried to lower my expectations given how high on a pedestal everyone puts Augusta. Plenty has been written in the past few years about the many changes to the course and is it still what Bobby Jones and Mackenzie originally intended or is that now just a distant memory.

No doubt playing from a zillion yards back on the Masters tees (at 7400 plus yards) is quite different from where we played. However, even from the member’s tees it is a very solid test, especially given the greens are like putting in a zero gravity bathtub.

Honestly, the new trees on the 11^th and 15^th didn’t even come in to play. You do notice the new trees on the 7th and 17th, but not in a bad way. Those two holes are so short that a premium on hitting the fairway should be required. Again, all that design stuff just seems to fade away when you get out on the course and are going through the motions.

You get immersed in the overall experience and realize how great of a strategic course Augusta really is.

Is it the absolute best golf course in the world from tee to green? In my opinion, probably not.

Is it the absolute best golf experience in the world? In my opinion, YES!

Experience

We arrived at 6PM (well we actually arrived at 4:30PM and sat in the Krispy Kreme parking lot for an hour) the day before we were to play. Driving up Magnolia Lane (even in the dark) for the first time is pretty special. Like chugging a 2 liter of Mountain Dew…After checking in at the desk we took our bags to our cabin and cleaned up for dinner. And yes, my member walked out of his room in his green jacket on…..pretty cool! After dinner we wandered around the clubhouse checking out the library and Crows Nest. Then back to the cabin with a bottle of wine and new logs on the fireplace. At Augusta you can call the front desk and get them to turn on any edition of the Masters back to 1960. We watched 1960, 1992, and 1997….that’s a lot of wine. Knowing we were going to be on a long frost delay we knew we could sleep in a little longer.

The next day I was up at 7AM (like I was going to be able to sleep) only to find a very heavy frost. We could not get out until 10:30ish, so what now…more time thinking about playing your first round at Augusta. We wandered around the clubhouse, locker room, and pro shop for a while and then went for a long breakfast. No menus, just pick whatever you want, they will make it.

They finally released us all to the range. I say all of us, I mean the three groups for the day were released to go hit balls and meet on the first tee at 10:45AM. All twelve golfers head to the range and all hit balls and then all twelve of us head over to the first tee together.

So there we are…all twelve golfers, all twelve caddies, and the head pro. Now you have to hit your first tee shot with a 30 person gallery, gulp.

Hole #1

Finally, the time has come. Now after thinking about doing this your entire life it’s pretty hard to get that out of your head. Don’t hit it right, don’t’ hit it left, don’t whiff it, and certainly don’t shank it and embarrass the member. Luckily I figured out how to think about something else and hit my drive right over the bunker and had a wedge in….now the fun starts. After only having 77 yards to the hole, I promptly flew the green and walked off with double bogey….Welcome to Augusta.

Hole #2

This is a reachable Par 5. The pin was in the Sunday position so everything had to be played out to the left for it funnel back to the pin. I laid up and hit a decent wedge and made par. Finally I started to settle down a little.

Hole #3

I really really wanted to hit a good drive so I could hit this second shot to one of the only greens (and holes) on the course that hasn’t really changed from Mackenzie’s original design. Of course I hit driver into the right trees and have to chip out in front of the green. Idiot!

Second shot #3

Green # 3

Hole #4

Great long par four.

Hole #5

This is the other hole I really wanted to hit the second shot in to…..and…..of course I hit my drive in the trees right of the fairway. Idiot! Still I have an 8 iron third shot to maybe the second best green on the course. The fairway bunkers on five have to be 20 feet deep. What an underrated hole.

Second shot #5

Green #5

The #5 green is fantastic.  Inspired by The Old Course you can truly run the ball onto the putting surface if you are bold enough to challenge the huge internal contours.

Hole #6

Great downhill par three to very hard green.

Hole #7

Seven is such a tight driving hole, to in my opinion the best bunkered green on the course. The green is awesome, the bunkers, the slopes, the shelves, just a great design. It is amazing that this hole in the original design was one of the flattest and banal on the course. In the early Masters players used to be able to drive the green. Now it is the exact opposite. The green is perched up and completely surrounded by huge bunkers.

Hole #8

Eight is a short par five and usually plays as the easiest hole on the course. Our group played it even par.

Hole #9

Even after going to the Masters several times you still don’t realize how up hill the second shot is on this hole. This may be the fastest green on the course. If you miss your second shot anywhere other than below the hole (but not too far because it will roll all the way down the hill in front of the green) you are going to three or four putt.

Hole #10

The tee shot is a much sharper dogleg than I had imagined. The second shot is much more uphill than I had remembered. Also, the green is much more tilted than can be seen on TV. This hole has a lot of slopes, angels, and pitches which always keeps you a little uncomfortable.

Second shot #10

The many angles of #10

Amazing tilt on #10 green

Hole #11

I am not sure what all the uproar is about on the trees on the right side of the fairway here. They simply don’t come in to play unless you really hit it right. I just don’t get why everyone was up in arms about the recent tree additions (and now a few removals). I hit a pretty good tee shot and got greedy on the second shot and went right at the left pin. My ball hits on the green, spins a foot left and trickles into the water. Welcome to Amen Corner! The shot from the drop zone is the hardest on the course. You are much better just dropping another ball from the fairway.

Second shot #11.

I can’t imagine how hard this hole would be if Jones would have got his way and left the pot bunker in the middle of the fairway. Luckily his dad hit his drive in it in the first round of the course and had a few choice words, so Jones removed it really early on.

Second shot #11

Hole #12

Where do I start on 12? You spend your entire life thinking about getting the chance to play Augusta and more specifically the 12 is probably one shot you want to hit the most. That’s all good and fun to think about over beers with buddies. But it is damn sure hard to get out of your head when you are actually standing over the shot. Luckily I hit a good 8 iron that came up 6 inches short of making the putting surface and left me in the bunker with a bogey. Walking off the tee we really did feel the wind gust and sure enough the 11^th flag was flapping in the breeze while the 12^th lay limp. I told the member I thought it was complete urban legend however now I know it is true. That same gust had just caused my playing partner’s ball to balloon up in the air and fall in the water on the right (twice). Needless to say we lost the hole.

Nick got this picture of my tee shot …

Very shallow green dept on #12

Hole #13

The other hole on course you spend a lot of time thinking about. I can say is it is a much sharper dogleg left that you see on TV. I chickened out and hit it right and was forced to lay up with a wedge. The green on this hole doesn’t get as much commentary about being as tricky as 6, 9, or 14 but it is a really really hard green to putt. I hit my wedge a little long and did my best not to four putt. Two of the other folks in my group hit great drives and gave the green a go in two and neither made it. Rae’s Creek claimed two more victims.

Maybe the most famous second shot in golf…

Green #13

Hole #14

Maybe the most underrated hole on the course. It could be because it doesn’t have any fairway bunkers, but wow, does the green make up for it. This green maybe my favorite green in golf.

The buried elephant under #14

Hole #15

As with the new trees on 11, the new trees on the right of 15 don’t seem to come into play. I suppose they eliminated the option of a hard hook off the mounds? Either way, this was the only par 5 that I was able to reach in two.

Slick slope in front of #15 green that claims anything short…

Hole #16

Sixteen played really short for us. The pin was right up front and the tee box was up as well. We had two balls almost spin back in the hole. I also had to walk to the back of the green and try the shot that Tiger holed. There were several divots there, so I was not the first one to give it a go. According to the caddie over the summer they flattened the back of the green out to take some of the slope

Hole #17

In my opinion 17 is one of the weaker holes on the course. With that said, we had the hardest pin placement on the back tongue where there is no margin for error. Strategy on this hole is to make sure you keep your approach below the hole. This hole is where I realized how strong the grain pulls ball toward the 12^th green. I asked my caddie “This moving about 2 feet left?” He responded, “I was thinking more like 4 feet right.” Seriously, my par putt broke up hill. No wonder it takes many rounds here to score well.

Severe slope behind #17 green…the back of this green reminds me of Pinehurst #2 a little

Hole #18

The shoot of trees you have to hit up on 18 is very very narrow. I heeled a drive and had a five iron up the hill to green. At that point in the round you realize its all about to end and you are just trying to take it all in and enjoy it before it’s all over.

Second shot #18

Here is a good early photo of Augusta that shows a inside dogleg bunker on #2, a fairway bunker on #14, a huge fairway on #15 with only a small creek, a flat #7 green, and what looks like a bunkerless green at #2. Lots have changed!

Summary

After playing Augusta, it is easy to see how players with great imagination (very similar to St. Andrews) like Seve, Tiger, and Ollie do well here. The imagination around the greens is the key element to scoring well. You HAVE to use all the subtle slopes on the greens to get the ball close to the hole. The more imaginative the player the better the score.

My favorite hole was the 14th. That green might be my new favorite green in golf.

In summary, I can’t imagine a much better experience in golf than spending 24 hours eating, drinking, and playing golf at Augusta National.

A lifetime of thanks goes out to Nick and the member…