Masters 2012 Hole-By-Hole Preview: Augusta National

Augusta National Golf Club
Par 72
7,435 yards
Augusta, Georgia

The Masters: No. 1 
Par 4
445 yards

2011 Average Score: 4.24
2011 Difficulty: 2nd

Hole Name: Tea Olive
This slight dogleg right plays uphill with a yawning bunker 317 yards off the tee. Drives to the left may catch the trees.

2008 Flashback: Arnold Palmer celebrated the 50th anniversary of his first Masters victory by hitting the opening tee shot for the second year in a row. After the ball disappeared into the early morning fog, Palmer quipped, “Did you see that shot? I hit the ball out of sight.”

The Masters: No. 2
Par 5
575 yards

2011 Average Score: 4.67
2011 Difficulty: 16th

Hole Name: Pink Dogwood
The easiest hole on the course last year, this dogleg left should be reachable in two for the longer hitters. Large, deep greenside bunkers can catch errant second shots.

The Masters: No. 3
Par 4
350 yards

2011 Average Score: 3.89
2011 Difficulty: 14th

Hole Name: Flowering Peach
The shortest par four on the course. Golfers usually hit short of the four fairway bunkers, resulting in a full club to an L-shaped green where it is better to be long than short. The tricky green slopes right to left.

2011 Flashback
In retrospect, we should have known it was Charl Schwartzel's year after his stunning chip-in for eagle, which came after a chip-in for birdie at No. 1. 

The Masters: No. 4
Par 3
240 yards

2011 Average Score: 3.22
2011 Difficulty: 4th

Hole Name: Flowering Crab Apple
A long par 3 that got a whole lot longer with the most recent round of changes. The hole is made even tougher by changing winds. Two greenside bunkers guard the wide, sloping green.

The Masters: No. 5
Par 4
455 yards

2011 Average Score: 4.16
2011 Difficulty: 8th

Hole Name: Magnolia
An uphill dogleg left hole with a sloping green, this hole was inspired by the famed Road Hole at St. Andrews. 
The deep fairway bunkers make accuracy off the tee essential. It is a 315-yard carry over the bunkers. The pin is always on the upper level of the two-tiered green, which slopes down to the front.

The Masters: No. 6
Par 3
180 yards

2011 Average Score: 3.09
2011 Difficulty: 10th

Hole Name: Juniper
Fans often gather on the hillside beneath this elevated tee, which looks down to a large target. The green features a big hump on its right, making pin position the key. Three-putts are not uncommon.

The Masters: No. 7
Par 4
450 yards

2011 Average Score: 4.16
2011 Difficulty: 7th

Hole Name: Pampas
This hole is straight but extremely tight. Drives are often played to the left-center of the fairway, leaving a short to mid-iron from a level lie. Players will need to avoid the three bunkers in front of the green and the two behind.

 

The Masters: No. 8
Par 5
570 yards

2011 Average Score: 4.75
2011 Difficulty: 15th

Hole Name: Yellow Jasmine
The longer hitters can get home in two, but there’s a fairway bunker in play on the right, placing a premium on accuracy. This uphill hole features trouble left of the green. This played as the easiest hole on the course in 2007.

2011 Flashback
It was the high-water mark of Tiger Woods' otherwise forgettable 2011 season: A birdie on No. 8 gave him a share of the final-round Masters lead, before his putting let him down on the back nine.  

 

The Masters: No. 9
Par 4
460 yards

2011 Average Score: 4.03
2011 Difficulty: 12th

Hole Name: Carolina Cherry
This hole is best known for a green that slopes from back to front. Players often hit their tee shots down the right side to take away the two greenside bunkers on the left.

Front Nine Scoring Average (2011): 36.21

The Masters: No. 10
Par 4
495 yards

2011 Average Score: 4.17
2011 Difficulty: 6th

Hole Name: Camellia
The famous downhill fairway of this long par 4 can produce some long drives, although tee shots that stray to the right can leave an awkward stance off a slanted lie. The green slopes right to left. Historically, this is the toughest hole at Augusta National.

2011 Flashback: It was one of the defining images of a wild final day: third-round leader Rory McIlroy, hitting his second shot on 10 from the cabins left of the fairway on his way to a triple bogey and final-round 80. 

The Masters: No. 11
Par 4
505 yards

2011 Average Score: 4.33
2011 Difficulty: 1st

Hole Name: White Dogwood
This difficult hole is the start of Amen Corner, and wind is often a factor. A pond guards the green to the left, and a bunker is strategically placed right-center. This hole has decided all but three of the Masters sudden death playoffs, and may be best remembered for Larry Mize’s incredible chip-in in 1987.
 

The Masters: No. 12
Par 3
155 yards

2011 Average Score: 3.23
2011 Difficulty: 3rd

Hole Name: Golden Bell
One of the most famous holes in golf, this is the shortest par 3 on the course. With swirling winds, club selection for a knee-knocking tee shot can range from a 6-iron to a 9-iron. Rae’s Creek and three bunkers guard the impossibly narrow green.
 

The Masters: No. 13
Par 5
510 yards

2011 Average Score: 4.58
2011 Difficulty: 18th

Hole Name: Azalea
A delightful risk/reward hole where both three and seven are possibilities. An accurate shot to the center of the fairway allows a player to go for the green in two. A tributary of Rae’s Creek guards the green, and behind the putting surface are a deep swale and four bunkers. From tee to green there are approximately 1,600 azaleas.
 

The Masters: No. 14
Par 4
440 yards

2011 Average Score: 3.94
2011 Difficulty: 13th

Hole Name: Chinese Fir
The only hole on the course with no bunkers, No. 14 is a deceptively tough hole made more difficult by a green that terraces down sharply left to right, with significant contours. From a well-struck drive, the second shot will usually be a short-to-middle iron.

2006 Flashback: Tiger Woods produced one of the more epic roars ever heard around the storied grounds of Augusta National. During his first round, Woods drilled a 377-yard drive at 14, then saw his 8-iron approach land softly and disappear into the cup for an eagle.
 

The Masters: No. 15
Par 5
530 yards

2011 Average Score: 4.59
2011 Difficulty: 17th

Hole Name: Firethorn
Accuracy is critical off the tee of this par 5. Still, it’s an eminently reachable par 5 when the winds are favorable. A well-hit second shot must carry the pond and avoid the right-hand bunker. Gene Sarazen’s double eagle here in 1935 is golf’s most famous shot.

2011 Flashback
Tiger Woods hit a pure 7-iron approach, twirling his club confidently as the ball nestled four feet from the hole for eagle. But Woods' shocking missed putt typified his frustrating final-nine 36 after an outward 31. 

The Masters: No. 16
Par 3
170 yards

2011 Average Score: 3.08
2011 Difficulty: 11th

Hole Name: Redbud
This tee shot is all carry over a pond to a green secured by three bunkers. The famous Sunday pin placement tucks the hole behind the pond and front bunker.

2011 Flashback
As usual, 16 was a pivotal hole in 2011. Adam Scott stuffed his tee shot to within two feet to take a one-shot lead, but Charl Schwartzel answered with a 15-foot birdie to tie.  

The Masters: No. 17
Par 4
440 yards

2011 Average Score: 4.17
2011 Difficulty: 5th

Hole Name: Nandina
The famous Eisenhower Pine at the left-center of the fairway is approximately 210 yards from the tee. Again, an accurate tee shot is a must. The green slopes dramatically off toward the back; players need to leave their approach shots below the hole.

2011 Flashback
Charl Schwartzel finally took the lead all by himself with a 10-foot birdie putt on 17, the most decisive of his four closing birdies. 

The Masters: No. 18
Par 4
465 yards

2011 Average Score: 4.13
2011 Difficulty: 9th

Hole Name: Holly
A rugged finisher, this uphill dogleg right is protected off the tee by two bunkers at the left elbow. The uphill second shot will likely require a middle iron to a green guarded by two bunkers. Par is a good score, especially under the crushing Sunday pressure.

2011 Flashback
An incredible final day came to a fitting climax, as Charl Schwartzel became the first Masters champion to birdie the final four holes. His sliding putt on 18 snuck into the side of the cup and gave him a two-shot win and a final-round 66, the best final round by a winner in 22 years. A few moments earlier, Luke Donald had made a birdie for the ages, chipping in for his fourth birdie in his last six holes. 

Back Nine Scoring Average (2011): 36.22
Total Scoring Average (2011): 72.43