There’s been a lot written about how the experience on site at Augusta National is significantly different to that when watching on TV. What for the somewhat limited TV coverage and the handful of camera angles, those watching at home get the exact glimpse into the tournament and the golf course that the golf club wants you to see.
I’ve been on site at my first ever Masters all week, so here’s five things I’ve learned about the tournament and the golf course that you can’t learn on TV.
The undulation
(Image credit: Getty Images)
I know this point has been flogged to death, but I truly was not ready for how undulating and hilly Augusta National is. I came to the event expecting to be amazed at how undulating this course is after reading countless accounts of just how many slopes there are, but you have to see it to believe it.
The 10th hole for example, which has a near 100ft drop to the lowest part of the fairway, is even more dramatic than it seems on camera. I just stared blankly down the fairway for a few minutes when I first saw it, desperately trying to collate the image I had in my brain of this hole a next to what I was witnessing with my own eyes.
Also worth mentioning are the hanging lies on the 13th fairway, the drop down to the par-3 6th green, the steep rise of the 8th fairway, the approach up to the 9th and the drop down 11 simply don’t correlate to the image you’ll have in your mind.
Feel free to add this to the umpteenth piece of literature you’ve read telling you ‘it really is that hilly at Augusta National’, but it’s truly breathtaking.
The wind
(Image credit: Getty Images)
The wind at Augusta National can be a real beast – and it’s proving to be this week. We’ve seen gusts of up to 40mph already and its been causing havoc for players. The best players in the world can deal quite competently with winds of any speed when its heading in one direction, but the gusting winds around the tall pines of Augusta National are hard to appreciate just watching on TV. This week, where we’ve seen sand flying out of bunkers, the audience at home been given a true appreciation of some of the winds that can fly through the property.
On a day as cloudless as this Masters Friday, players can’t even rely on moving clouds to give them an idea of the prevailing wind…
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