The Masters — a photo essay of Augusta National

I started watching the Masters at the age of 13, having taken up the game of golf a few years earlier.  My first Masters was the 1979 classic in which Fuzzy Zoeller defeated Tom Watson and Ed Sneed in a playoff.  Since that spring morning, I’ve watched the tournament every single year.  For the last five, I’ve been privileged to attend one or more rounds in person, witnessing all four rounds of Adam Scott’s win in 2013 and Bubba Watson’s second green jacket a year ago.

What makes the Masters so unique among major golf championships is that its the only one that is played every year on
the same golf course in Augusta, Georgia.  The U.S. Open, British Open (the Open Championship) and the PGA are all rotated through several courses.  Not the Masters: it’s held every April on the same terrain, a cathedral for the old game resplendent with the greenest grass you will ever see and a visual feast of towering pines and azaleas in bloom.  Like 99..9% of the golfing population, I’ve never played the course but I feel that I know it as intimately as the 9-hole course I grew up playing in Connecticut.   Decades of televised drama embed our brains with eternal memories of countless dramatic moments, legends created and heartbreak felt.  Seeing the tournament in person, especially on the final nine holes, a Masters fan can’t help but think of shots and putts made from previous years while watching new stories unfold.

When attending the Masters, it is as if you’re in a time warp.  Walking the course on a tournament day, you could as easily be in the year 1985 as 2015.  There is not a hint of corporate sponsorship.  No luxury suites, no signage, not a trace of the commercial world that we live in.  Cell phones and cameras are not permitted.  The only cameras you’ll see on tournament days are the CBS cameras and media photographers just as you would have seen 30 years ago.  The leader boards on the course and operated by hand just as they always have been.  A 20-ounce beer will run you just $3. You can buy a “regular beer” or a “light beer”, no brand names are provided.  Ditto for sodas; it’s “regular cola” or “diet cola” even though I’ll guarantee they’re serving Coca-Cola products, with headquarters only a few hours away in Atlanta. The only nod to our super-corporate world is the presence of company names and logos on the players’ shirts, hats and golf bags.  Other than that, nothing: the lords of Augusta do not run the Masters for profit.

Now, the “no camera” policy only applies to tournament days.  During the practice rounds, patrons may bring their own cameras onto the grounds.  Cell phones are still prohibited but regular cameras are OK: what follows is my click-free photo essay crafted from the last two years with my own lens, a hole-by-hole guide to Augusta National.

Hole #1 — “Tea Olive”   Par 4      455 Yards

The first hole is home to one of golf’s great traditions, the ceremonial opening tee shots by non-participating former Master champions.  For the last four years, I’ve arrived at the course during morning darkness in order to get through the gates near the front of the throng of patrons and secure a position to see three living legends open the tournament at around 7:50 AM.  For each of the last four years, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, and Gary Player (owners of 13 Green Jackets combined) have stepped up to the first tee, drivers in hand, and each swatted a drive down the fairway.   The photos below are NOT from the opening ceremony (no cameras allowed, remember) but from Wednesday’s Par 3 tournament, a family fun event in which both current players and legends of yesteryear compete.

 

When the tournament begins in earnest, minutes after the legendary trio departs, the players face what is historically the course’s fourth most difficult hole.  For any player battling the first hole major tournament jitters, the hole has one of the most diabolical putting surfaces he’ll see all day.  I’ve witnessed many three putts on the opening hole.   One of the nice things about the 1st is that, as you can see below, a spectator can get very close to the putting surface. You’ll often be just a couple of yards from players putting or chipping from the left side of the green.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hole #2 — “Pink Dogwood”    Par 5      575 Yards

As a par 5 reachable in two shots, the second hole is easily the best birdie opportunity on the front nine of Augusta.  As a spectator, from the right side of the fairway, you can see the players’ approach shots.  Then, with a pair of binoculars, you can see the putts.  From there, it’s a short walk through the trees to the 3rd green with a concession stand nearby. The other choice is to walk down to the back of the 2nd green, which provides a better view of the approach shots.  It’s a very short walk from there to the 7th green.  The green slopes from the players’ left to right which, when the pin is on the right side of the green (as seen below), a long approach shot can funnel towards the cup.  Louis Oosthuizen scored a double eagle this way in the final round of the 2012 event.

 

Hole #3 — “Flowering Peach”   Par 4      350 Yards

The shortest Par 4 on the course, some players are tempted to bomb it up close to the green.  My experience though is that a 25 yard pitch on this hole isn’t much easier than a 100 yard approach shot.  As a spectator, if you stand to the right of the 3rd green, you can also see the tee shots and (with binoculars) the putts on the Par 3 fourth hold.  It’s a big drop-off to the left of the green, you can’t see anything from there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Hole #4 — “Flowering Crab Apple”   Par 3      240 Yards

This is the longest and most difficult Par 3 at Augusta.  It’s an elevated tee shot so it plays a little shorter than the posted yardage but it’s still an extremely difficult shot.  It’s a two-tiered green with narrow width and it’s very difficult to make a putt if the ball isn’t on the same tier as the flag.  If there’s a break in the action on the 3rd green, go behind the 4th to have a really good view of the players long tee-balls into the 4th.  There is a grandstand to the left of the green if you so desire but, with some binocs, you can see the putts from behind the tee while remaining close to the 3rd.

Hole #5 — “Magnolia”    Par 4      455 Yards

I’ve seen very little action here over the five years I’ve been going to Augusta.  It’s a good hole but it’s not geographically convenient to the rest of the course and the left side of the fairway is closed to the patrons.  It’s tough to see much of anything from the tee or even the fairway but it’s another very interesting green, with multiple mounds that can yield terrorizing ten-foot putts if your ball and the flag are on the wrong side of said mound.  There are grandstands to the right of the green but you can also see the putts quite well behind the ropes on the left side (pictured below).  This also give you easy access to views from the 6th and it’s a short walk to the 16th.

Hole #6 — “Juniper”    Par 3    180 yards

This is a downhill-uphill Par 3.  The tee is highly elevated, but the putting surface is also elevated after a big dip which will give your calf muscles a good workout if you walk from the tee to the green.  The good news is that there’s a concessions tent behind the green.  On the other side of the concessions stand is the left side of the 3rd fairway.   This is a popular hole with the patrons.

Hole #7 — “Pampas”    Par 4      450 Yards

I really like the view of this hole from behind the green.  It offers an excellent angle to see the approach shots.  You can also see the approach shots on the 2nd hole and the drives on the 8th.  This is another narrow green with deep bunkers in front.  The grandstands you see behind the leader board here are for the 17th hole.  So this is a good spot because you have four holes of action nearby.

 

Hole #8 — “Yellow Jasmine”   Par 5      570 Yards

This is by far the toughest of the four par 5’s to reach in two shots but it’s yielded more than it’s fair share of birdies without the water peril of its more famous cousins on #13 and #15.  The green is a very short walk to the 1st green but otherwise not a great spectator spot.  The large mounds around the green block many potential viewing angles.  If you’re going to watch action at the 8th, I recommend giving your feet a break and utilizing the grandstand behind the green.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Hole #9 — “Carolina Cherry”   Par 4      460 Yards

Throughout the 1980’s and ’90’s, this was typically where the television coverage began.  The green is a very short walk from the 18th green and, like the 18th, is an uphill hole.  Unlike #18, which is a gradual uphill walk, the slope from the fairway to the green on #9 is severe.  The hole is famous for approach shots that spin just a bit too much and fall off the front of the green, running dozens of yards back down the hill (think Greg Norman in 1996).  There are no grandstands here but the natural slope offers many useful viewing angles.  Because of the uphill nature of the approach shots, it’s easy to follow the ball all the way into the green.

 Hole #10 — “Camelia”   Par 4      495 Yards

It’s a long hole but not nearly as long as the 495 yards suggests because it’s a severely downhill fairway from the tee. Most players will hit the ball well over 300 yards, with plenty of roll.  This hole, because it’s just 15-20 yards from the 18th green, has been the first playoff hole since the 1970’s when two or more players are tied after 72 holes.  This is where both Bubba Watson (in 2012 with the miracle hook) and Adam Scott (in the rain in 2013) captured their first Green Jackets.  The very large bunker that you see below in the fairway is not really in play for professional players (I’ve never seen a ball in there EVER, either on TV or in person).  There’s a good slope on the right side of the green for optimal viewing but the overall space is not quite sufficient for the masses that flock for a playoff hole.  When I witnessed Scott’s wining birdie putt in 2013, I did it from the fairway with my binocs.  Since this is a dogleg left, the green can be seen by the patrons from virtually the entire fairway.  From there, you can pop back to #18.  If you’re watching action at the 10th green, the 14th and 17th greens are also nearby.

 

  Hole #11 — “White Dogwood”    Par 4      505 Yards

This is the first of the three holes known as Amen Corner.  They’re the first three water holes on the course.  #11 is by far the most difficult; it’s historically the toughest hole on the course overall.  In yesteryear, it also provided some of the most dramatic playoff moments in the history of the Masters: Fuzzy Zoeller won here in 1979 on the 2nd playoff hole, Nick Faldo won two Green Jackets here and it’s the site of Larry Mize’s impossible chip-in birdie in 1987 to defeat Greg Norman, one of many Augusta heartbreaks for the White Shark.  In recent years, the lords of Augusta changed the playoff format to alternate between the 10th and 18th holes because, as parallel holes, it’s easier for the patrons to bounce back and fourth between.  There are always thousands of patrons to the right of the 11th.  You can see the action on #12 from there and there’s a concession stand nearby.

 Hole #12 — “Golden Bell”   Par 3    155 Yards

Certainly this is the most famous hole on Amen Corner.  It’s a short shot over Rae’s Creek to an extraordinarily narrow green.  Because the players are lofting short irons high into the air, a quick gust of wind can turn a birdie putt into a water ball.  The viewing angle to the right of the 11th green is easily the most popular on the course because it’s the only way to watch the action on the famous 12th.  There’s no space around the green for patrons so the players are by themselves with the nearest gallery members 100 yards away.  This and the 13th green are easily the most well-known picturesque images at Augusta because of the water and the azaleas.

 Hole #13 — “Azalea”    Par 5      510 Yards

With Rae’s Creek running up the left side of the fairway and in front of the green, this is the first of the two risk-reward Par 5’s on the back nine.  It’s a place where an eagle can jump-start a Sunday charge or a ball in the creek can result in a bogey.  It’s a sloping green from back-to-front, which once resulted in Tiger Woods putting the ball off the green and into the creek.  This hole is called “Azalea” because there are more flowers on this hole than any other on the course. There are multiple good spots to watch the action here on the entire right side of the hole.  Like #10, because it’s a dogleg left, you can see the action on the green from virtually the entire fairway.  As you can see, you can’t get really close to this green either; there are grandstands just out of view on the right side of this photo which also affords a good views of the tee shots on #14 with another concessions stand right behind it.

Hole #14 — “Chinese Fir”    Par 4      440 Yards

The one no-water hole within a span of five others, this is the only hole at Augusta without any bunkers.  The hole has no natural hazards but the green is a hazard; it has more undulations on than any other.  It’s not an easy hole.  When watching the Masters in person, it’s an easy one to skip.  While the 11th, 12th, 13th, 15th and 16th greens are all at the lowest level of the course, #14 goes back uphill.   It’s close geographically to the 17th green, 10th green and 11th fairway.  Still, with so many players on the course at once, it’s much easier to bounce from the 13th green to the 15th rather than go up and down the hill on #14.  You can see the 13th green far in the background, down the hill, in this photo.

Hole #15 — “Firethorn”    Par 5      530 Yards

This is the last of the par fives and certainly the most famous .  Like 13, it’s an eagle or a bogey hole but a little more difficult.  Anyone who has watched the Masters over the years has seen many balls hit the green, only to spin back down the slope into the water fronting the green.  The most well-known place to watch the action on #15 is in the grandstands either to the left of the green (pictured below) or next to the adjoining 16th tee but there’s also an underutilized spot to the left of the stands on the right side of the green. From there it’s a short walk to see the action at the 16th.

 

 Hole #16 — “Redbud”    Par 3      170 Yards

The final par 3 on the course has been the source of countless dramatic moments in the history of the Masters.  Think Nicklaus in 1975 and 1986 and Tiger’s chip-in birdie on his way to his last title in 2005.  It’s a hole with such a large viewing area that it looks like it should have been designed by Pete Dye (the architect of the “stadium golf” concept at the Tournament Players’ courses around the U.S.).  If you buy a Masters folding chair ($40 I think), this is where I would place it (on the slope, put it high enough that you can see the putts on #15).  People are very respectful here.  If you put your chair down (with your name identifying it on the back), people won’t sit in it until you return.

 Hole #17 — “Nandina”    Par 4      440 Yards

The penultimate hole was for years site of the famous “Eisenhower Tree,” a towering pine on the left side of the fairway that caught many a drive of the Augusta National member and former president Dwight Eisenhower.  Ike lobbied to have the tree removed but was rebuffed by club leadership.  Sadly, in the winter of 2014 the tree was damaged by an ice storm and had to be removed.  The hole is more difficult than it looks; I’ve seen many a player fail to get the ball up and down when they miss the green.  There is a grandstand to the left of the green but you can also see the action from behind it (which is then a short walk to the 10th or 14th greens.

 Hole #18 — “Holly”    Par 4      465 Yards

There is no greater walk in golf for a former or hopeful champion than the walk up the 18th fairway.  It’s an intimate amphitheater at the green, not a tremendous amount of prime viewing area.  Somehow it works at Augusta because many patrons don’t make the long walk up the hill from the 15th and 16th greens (the bottom of the course) up to #18 (at the top of the course).  Still, if you ever find yourself at Augusta on Sunday you’ve got to get there somehow and wedge your way in for a viewing angle.  I will admit it does help to be 6’6″ in this scenario.

If you’ve made it this far, thanks so much for taking the time to read.   And if you ever make it to Augusta, try to get to a practice round so you can make your own memories.

I’ll conclude this blog by adding some of my favorite photos from the two years I took pictures.  These pictures are not of the course specifically but of the players (from the practice round and the Par 3 tournament) and also a certain self-absorbed member of the gallery.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The best, the VERY best part about a long weekend at Augusta & the great concessions prices: