Masters 2013 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

2012 Average Score: 4.39
2012 Difficulty: 1st

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

2012 Average Score: 4.64
2012 Difficulty: 18th

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.

2012 Flashback: Before Masters Sunday 2012, there had been 19,809 rounds of golf at The Masters, but this was a first: Louis Oosthuizen's second shot found the green, then improbably tracked toward the hole, dropping for a double eagle 2. Had Oostie gone on to win, it might have gone down as the greatest shot in major championship history. 

The Masters: No. 3
Par 4
350 yards

2012 Average Score: 3.90
2012 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.

The Masters: No. 4
Par 3
240 yards

2012 Average Score: 3.22
2012 Difficulty: 6th

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.

2012 Flashback: This long par 3 was where it all went wrong for Phil Mickelson in his attempt to win a fourth green jacket. Mickelson put his tee shot into the trees on Sunday, them made two comically ill-fated attempts to hit the ball right-handed on his way to a triple-bogey 6.

The Masters: No. 5
Par 4
455 yards

2012 Average Score: 4.21
2012 Difficulty: 7th

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

2012 Average Score: 3.17
2012 Difficulty: 8th

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

2012 Average Score: 4.17
2012 Difficulty: 9th

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

2012 Average Score: 4.86
2012 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.

 

The Masters: No. 9
Par 4
460 yards

2012 Average Score: 4.25
2012 Difficulty: 4th

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 (2012): 36.81

The Masters: No. 10
Par 4
495 yards

2012 Average Score: 4.24
2012 Difficulty: 5th

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.

2012 Flashback: On a day that included a double eagle and two holes-in-one, Bubba Watson's shot at 10 in the playoff with Louis Oosthuizen — where he hooked a wedge off the pine straw out of the trees onto to the green to set up a clinching par — is the shot that they'll still be talking about at the 2050 Champions Dinner.

The Masters: No. 11
Par 4
505 yards

2012 Average Score: 4.32
2012 Difficulty: 2nd

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

2012 Average Score: 3.06
2012 Difficulty: 13th

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

2012 Average Score: 4.72
2012 Difficulty: 16th

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.

2012 Flashback: After a curling eagle putt and emotional fist pump during a dramatic Saturday charge, it looked like it might be Phil Mickelson's year at The Masters. But he was undone by a pair of triple bogeys that left him a mere two shots out of the playoff.
 

The Masters: No. 14
Par 4
440 yards

2012 Average Score: 4.09
2012 Difficulty: 12th

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.

The Masters: No. 15
Par 5
530 yards

2012 Average Score: 4.72
2012 Difficulty: 18th

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.

2012 Flashback: It was vintage Phil on Masters Saturday. Mickelson's patented flop shot from a difficult position set up an easy birdie on his way to a third-round 66 that included a back-nine 30.

The Masters: No. 16
Par 3
170 yards

2012 Average Score: 3.11
2012 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.

2012 Flashback: With a short birdie putt — his fourth birdie in a row — Bubba Watson drew even with Louis Oosthuizen, setting up their playoff showdown. The 16th was also the scene of dramatic holes-in-one from Bo Van Pelt and Adam Scott.

The Masters: No. 17
Par 4
440 yards

2012 Average Score: 4.16
2012 Difficulty: 10th

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.

The Masters: No. 18
Par 4
465 yards

2012 Average Score: 4.31
2012 Difficulty: 3rd

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.

2012 Flashback: A birdie from Tiger Woods on the 72nd hole did nothing to ease the sting of a lost weekend for the pre-tournament favorite. Woods' final round 74 left him at 5-over, 15 shots behind Bubba Watson and Louis Oosthuizen. 

Back Nine Scoring Average (2012): 36.68
Total Scoring Average (2012): 73.50