I love the fact that Augusta National’s holes are named after flowers and shrubs. It makes me feel like David Attenbourough when I’m watching the golf: “Let’s hope that Rory doesn’t get caught up in the White Dogwood”.
You get my not-so eloquent drift. The fact that their names refer to their nursery origin speaks to Augusta’s reverence for the past. With the Masters mere days away, I have decided to pinpoint my top-5 favourite Augusta holes. These decisions are not based purely on difficulty or aesthetic beauty but also consider the intangible legacy behind the specific holes.
5. 11th Hole- White Dogwood (Par-4)
Historically lauded as the most difficult hole at Augusta National, the long, exacting par-4 11th puts the ‘Amen’ in ‘Amen Corner’. White Dogwood is designed to exact a toll on the players. This hole requires a big tee shot to make the intimidating approach shot more palatable. Everything runs downhill and left to right in the fairway (a tee shot up the left-hand side will leave a shorter club into the green). Players who bail right could leave themselves with anywhere between 200-220 yards for their 2nd shot. That 2nd shot is made more intimidating by water both front and left (the water to the left of the green has a near-magnetic pull). The legendary Ben Hogan wasn’t immune to the perils of White Dogwood, doubling on the 11th after hearing a roar for a competitor.
4. 10th Hole- Camellia (Par-4)
The severity of the downhill slope on this big ol’ par-4 makes for one of the most dramatic approaches on the entire course (there’s always something a bit naughty about a steep downhill approach into an elevated green). This is one of those holes that proves why Augusta is tailormade for those who draw the ball. The entire fairway runs right to left, so much so that a well-placed draw can catch a speed-slot and leave the players with a dinky short iron. The green also tilts right to left, as if created by an ever-so-slightly inebriated leprechaun. It is cut against the backdrop of truly impressive pines, lending the entire hole an epic grandeur. Rory McIlroy memorably duck-hooked his tee-shot during his fabled 2011 collapse, becoming intimately acquainted with the member’s private white cabins en route to a soul-destroying triple-bogey.
3. 16th Hole- Redbud (Par-3)
This is arguably the most recognisable hole on the course for casual viewers. Why is that? Because the CBS coverage will inundate you with hole-in-ones throughout their coverage. Rosebud has seen 24 holes during the Masters (more than any of the other par-3’s). The hole is played fully over water to a green patrolled by three looming bunkers. The putting surface slopes hugely from right to left, leaving players to pray for the ball to hang on to the top-shelf hole locations. But everyone knows Redbud for its famous back-left Sunday pin placement. The pin is fiendishly tucked away behind the left greenside bunker, inviting players to use the severe contours of the green to funnel the ball down to glory. In the past, the delicacy of the shot has been too much for those in contention, with David Duval memorably flying the green and throwing away his chances during the 2001 edition.
2. 12th Hole- Golden Bell (Par-3)
The shortest par-3 at Augusta National, ‘Golden Bell’ proves the adage that dynamite comes in small packages. The middle leg of the famed ‘Amen Corner’, many a Masters dream has come unstuck on this deceptively simple masterpiece. It is a daunting tee-shot to a shallow green protected by Rae’s Creek and deep, penal bunkers (the shaved bank leading to Rae’s Creek looks as steep as Mount Doom). Players who miss the green have only a 62% chance of making par or better. Jordan Spieth’s 2016 meltdown largely centred around his quadruple bogey on the 12th. Poor Asterix Talley joined the likes of Speith and Weiskopf in Golden Bell infamy at the recent Augusta National Women’s Amateur, recording a quadruple bogey to emulate Spieth’s collapse (she also had a five-shot lead).
1. 13th Hole- Azalea (Par-5)
For me, there is no hole that more perfectly captures the joy and agony of Augusta than the par-5 13th. The final leg of the appropriately named ‘Amen Corner’, Azalea is the prototypical risk-reward hole. Players who find the fairway from the tee- especially if they hug the left treeline- will give themselves a great opportunity of going for this green in two. The mammoth green looks so inviting that players are often lulled into playing a touch too aggressively. The tributary of Rae’s Creek awaits any mistimed approach shot (players who lay up typically look to give themselves a full wedge as to avoid flirting with the drink). Defending Masters champ Sergio Garcia never said his prayers around the last leg of Amen Corner back in 2018, hitting five successive shots into the drink in his opening round (Kevin Costner would have been proud).
