Every year, it’s so exciting when The Masters rolls round. It’s the first Major of the season, it coincides with the arrival of spring and Augusta National is familiar to everyone bar first-time viewers.
One of the joys of having the same host venue each year is viewers build up a strong knowledge bank of Augusta’s holes – great moments, horror shows, likes and dislikes.
There are no bad holes in this idyllic corner of Georgia, but some are more exciting and memorable than others. Here, I’ve listed my five favourite and five least favourite holes at Augusta. It’s worth reiterating again that I don’t think those in the ‘least favourite’ category are bad – they merely don’t excite me as much as the others. As is the case with any subjective list, you may disagree!
My favourite 5
The 11th
I’ve thought a lot about this and the 11th hole is the one I’ve enjoyed watching the most over the years (just). There’s nothing quite like the sight of your favourite player appearing over the crest of the hill, ready to take on arguably the most daunting approach shot in golf.
There’s just no margin for error with a long-iron in hand, playing towards a green with a magnetic pond to the right (watching players who miss right off the tee punching shots with right-to-left spin through a channel of trees is great, too).
Players also know bailing out right presents a really difficult downhill chip towards water (and potentially over sand depending on the pin position), so the pond is very much in play.
Double-bogeys are common, birdies are rare and par is a really good score – that’s my kind of golf hole!
The 15th
Of all the par 5s at Augusta, the 15th is my favourite. I love holes where you just have to stand up and hit a good golf shot; where miscues are severely punished. One great swing can change the entire course of a tournament (see Sergio Garcia in 2017), but one bad one can be disastrous (see Garcia in 2018!).
What’s more, players often decide to go for the green in two when they’re in two minds. Why? If you lay up, the third shot is played with a wedge from a steeply downhill lie. You don’t see too many birdies from lay ups and spinning back into the water is a real possibility. There’s also water long if you catch it a bit thin. It’s a…
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