Augusta National is one of the world’s most famous courses, with the iconic layout seen on TV screens each and every April for The Masters. With its stunning views and memorable holes, the course is arguably the sport’s most famous and exclusive.
The land for the course was originally bought in 1931 by renowned amateur golfer Bobby Jones and Clifford Roberts. Upon inspecting the land, Jones was thrilled by the purchase, later claiming it “had been lying here all these years waiting for someone to come along and lay a golf course on it”.
To bring their exciting project to life, Jones and Roberts enlisted the help of famous golf course architect Dr Alister MacKenzie.
By that point, the Yorkshire-born Scot had established himself as one of the most skilful and prolific golf course architects, playing a hand in constructing several iconic courses, including Pasatiempo, Cypress Point, Royal Melbourne and Crystal Downs.
Jones first met MacKenzie at the 1926 Walker Cup and the great amateur developed a profound respect for MacKenzie’s work. Construction began in Georgia in June 1931, with the course completed a couple of years later in 1933.
Upon completion, it was decided that the course would play host to an annual tournament, originally called the Augusta National Invitation Tournament. MacKenzie, however, died two months before the first tournament was scheduled to take place.
While MacKenzie was the original architect, the course has seen a number of significant alterations over its storied history. Just one year into its existence, a great change was made when the nines were switched, with Bobby Jones quickly realising the potential for greater closing drama over today’s back nine.
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Perry Maxwell and Robert Trent Jones both had a huge influence on the course, too. Maxwell was known for his fearsome and undulating greens and redesigned several after MacKenzie’s death. Jones, meanwhile, redeveloped the 11th hole, while helping to turn the par-three 16th into the modern-day amphitheatre that many fans enjoy today.
Others, including Tom Fazio and even Jack Nicklaus, have helped shape Augusta National into the course it is today. The most recent notable change came last year, with the introduction of a new tee box on the par-five 13th,…
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