Augusta National Golf Club is always tinkering with its 18-hole layout in the pursuit of perfection – and the build-up to the 2024 Masters has been no different.
Since Jon Rahm bested Brooks Koepka at the exclusive Georgia layout 12 months ago, work quickly began on shaving this off by 1mm and adding a lick of paint to that fence, and so on.
But in terms of serious alterations or noticeable changes, what has been done? Rory McIlroy recently took a trip to Augusta as part of his latest scouting mission as he attempts to complete the career Grand Slam more than a decade after his most recent Major victory.
Upon his return, and ahead of the Valero Texas Open – in which the four-time Major winner would go on to finish third after a sparkling Sunday – McIlroy ran through the handful of adjustments from his point of view.
The first of which was the par 5 second hole tee box being moved back by 10 yards – a modification that the Northern Irishman says is extremely subtle.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
McIlroy said: “I thought it was going to be a different visual than it used to be, but it’s — I thought whenever someone said they moved it back and to the left, I thought the tee box was going to point you out towards that right bunker and you’re going to have to hit more of a draw around the corner.
“I mean, if you didn’t know, you would think you were on the same tee box, it doesn’t look that much different. You can still see left of the bunker and I thought it was really going to force you to hit some sort of draw shot around the corner, but you can still, you can still hit a straight away shot and keep it left of the trap. It’s not as drastic of a change as I thought it was going to be.”
Elsewhere, McIlroy says Augusta National’s team of greenkeepers and ground staff have been busy refining the club’s putting surfaces in order to allow for greater versatility in pin positions.
As well as a new tee box on the second, that par 5 hole’s green has undergone a minor face lift. Number two has been joined by the 240-yard par 3 fourth (Flowering Crab Apple) and 180-yard par 3 sixth (Juniper) in receiving a modification.
McIlroy continued: “And yeah, there’s new greens on 2, 4 and 6. Slightly — there’s like a back middle hole location on 2, there’s a slightly bigger area in…
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