It has been rumoured for years. Now, it looks like Augusta National is finally lengthening its iconic par-5 13th.
New pictures posted on social media by Eureka Earth, the Georgia-based aerial imaging service, show significant work taking place both on and behind the existing tee box at The Masters host venue.
The existing trees and shrubbery at the back of the existing tee have been removed, with new trees planted around 50 yards or so further back on land purchased by Augusta National from the neighbouring Augusta Country Club in 2017.
If the hole is indeed being lengthened, it marks the latest twist in a fascinating saga and, indeed, a stand-off between Augusta National Golf Club and the game’s two ruling bodies, the R&A and USGA.
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Augusta chairman Fred Ridley has previously spoken about the impact that modern hitting distances have had on ‘Azalea’, as the hole is named.
In 2018, in his first press conference as the chairman of Augusta National, he said that the club is “intent on making sure that we maintain the design philosophy that Mr Jones and Alister MacKenzie devised”.
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