Augusta National GC

By Neville Leck Last updated: 4th April 2011

OVERVIEW:

Augusta National Golf Club, considered the masterpiece of the legendary Bobby Jones, the game's only Grand Slam winner, was built in the early 1930s and opened in 1934 with hardly any members, but is today rated by Americans in general as their country's most revered course.

Perhaps because it is in play year after year whereas its rival courses have to share the other three majors on a rotational basis, Augusta has an advantage, but there is no denying its beauty and condition which is especially evident when the Masters is held there in early spring.

And it is not for nothing that it has just been rated by the influential Golf Digest as the No 1 Course in the USA for the third year in a row.

Every hole on the course is named after a tree or a shrub that grows on the hole, some of them being Magnolia, Pink Dogwood, Flowering Crab Apple and Azalea, but perhaps the most famous holes are the testing 11th, 12th and 13th which have collectively come to be known as 'Amen Corner' after Herbert Warren gave them that name in a 1958 Sports Illustrated article.

CLUB FEATURES:

Because of its history, the club has many features, but perhaps the best known are:

The Crows Nest: Reserved for amateurs who have qualified for the Masters by winning the US and British Amateurs, it provides living space for up to five individuals and golfers have to climb a narrow set of steps to get there.

Eisenhower Cabin: One of ten members' cabins on the Augusta National property, it was built for member Dwight D. Eisenhower after his election as President of the United States. The cabin was built according to Secret Service security guidelines, and is adorned by an eagle located above the front porch.

Hogan Bridge: A bridge over Rae's Creek that connects the fairway of Hole 12 to its green. It is constructed of stone and covered with artificial turf. The bridge was dedicated to Ben Hogan in 1958 to commemorate his 72-hole score of 274 strokes five years earlier, the course record at the time.

Magnolia Lane: The main driveway leading from Washington Road to the course's clubhouse. The lane is flanked on either side by 61 magnolia trees, each grown from seeds planted by the Berckman family in the 1850s. Magnolia Lane is 330 yards (301.75 m) long and was paved in 1947.

Nelson Bridge: A stonework bridge over Rae's Creek that connects the teeing ground of Hole 13 to its fairway. In 1958, it was dedicated to Byron Nelson to honour his performance in the 1937 Masters.

Sarazen Bridge: A bridge over the pond on Hole 15 that separates the fairway from the green. Made of stone, it was named after Gene Sarazen for his sensational albatross (double eagle) with a four wood at the 1935 Masters tournament which was called "the shot that went around the world" because of all the publicity both he and golf received internationally.

MEMBERSHIP:

Georgia's Augusta National Golf Club, made famous by the legendary Bobby Jones and his brainchild, The Masters, is one of the most exclusive clubs in sport.

Membership is strictly by invitation and the golf course and the club's other facilities are available only to members and their guests.

No women has ever been invited to join the club, though some women have played the course as guests, and its membership list of the who's who, past and present, of US business, politics, law and other largely conservative professions is seldom allowed to grow much beyond the 300 mark.

Members, among them Bill Gates, co-founder and chairman of Microsoft, Warren Buffet, businessman and member of the Forbes 400 List and Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric, are said to pay annual fees ranging from $25,000 to $50,000

Along with the legendary Cliff Roberts who led the club and established many of its fundamentals from the time of its inauguration in 1934 until 1976, Augusta has had a total of six chairman, William Porter 'Billy' Payne being the man in charge at the present time.

Other chairman included William Lane (1976-80), Hord Hardin (1980-91), Jack Stephens (1991-98) and William 'Hootie' Johnson (1998-2006), the main target of the Martha Burk-led National Council of Women's unsuccessful campaign to get women admitted to Augusta.

THE COURSE - HOLE BY HOLE:
(key to rank: 1=hardest, 18=easiest)

1st (Tea Olive), 445 yards, par 4: reduced in length by 10 yards in 2010. Deep bunker on the right and the contours of the green make it a really tough opener (rank 4).

2nd (Pink Dogwood), 575 yards, par 5: going left off the tee brings a ditch in the trees into play. Bunkers left and right short of the green see a lot of action. Nick Faldo once holed a 100-foot eagle putt here (rank 16).

3rd (Flowering Peach), 350 yards, par 4: shortest par four on the course and a real teaser. The pear-shaped green with a steep slope in front allows for some wicked (rank 14).

4th (Flowering Crab Apple), 240 yards, par 3: the back tee - not always used - went back 30-35 yards three years ago and turned it into a beast with the green sloping from back to front. Jeff Sluman aced it in 1992 (rank 5).

5th (Magnolia), 455 yards, par 4: Jack Nicklaus twice holed his second shot in 1995, but Immelman was delighted to open his birdie account three times. Another devilishly difficult green (rank 6).

6th (Juniper), 180 yards, par 3: from an elevated tee down to a vast green with a huge slope in it. Jose Maria Olazabal took seven in 1991 and lost by one to Ian Woosnam (rank 11).

7th (Pampas), 450 yards, par 4: what used to be a real birdie chance had 35-40 yards added two years ago. Trees were also added and the green re-shaped (rank 3).

8th (Yellow Jasmine), 570 yards, par 5: the bunker on the right, about 300 yards out, pushes players left and from there it's harder to find the green in two up the steep hill. Bruce Devlin made an albatross two in 1967 (rank 17).

9th (Carolina Cherry), 460 yards, par 4: the tee was pushed back 30 yards in 2002. The raised green tilts sharply from the back and anything rolling off the front can continue down for 50-60 yards (rank 7).

10th (Camellia), 495 yards, par 4: a huge drop from tee to green and a big right-to-left shot required to get the maximum run. Over all the years of the Masters the most difficult hole (rank 2).

11th (White Dogwood), 505 yards, par 4: a hole to be feared since the tee was moved back 10-15 yards four years ago, trees added down the right and the fairway shifted left. Water front and left (rank 1).

12th (Golden Bell), 155 yards, par 3: probably the most famous par three in golf. Narrow target, water in front, trouble at the back, it's seen everything from a one (three times) to Tom Weiskopf's 13 in 1980 (rank 13).

13th (Azalea), 510 yards, par 5: massive dogleg left where scores have ranged from Jeff Maggert's albatross two in 1994 to Tommy Nakajima's 13 in 1978. Rae's Creek runs down the left and then in front of the green (rank 15).

14th (Chinese Fir), 440 yards, par 4: no bunkers, but three putts are common on a viciously sloping green. Joint course record holder Nick Price took eight here in 1993 (rank 12).

15th (Firethorn), 530 yards, par 5: often a tough decision whether to go for the green in two across the pond on the hole where Gene Sarazen sank his famed 235-yard four-wood shot (heard around the world) for an albatross in 1935 (rank 18).

16th (Redbud), 170 yards, par 3: the hole always to be associated with Woods's chip-in in 2005, while Padraig Harrington and Ian Poulter have both aced it (rank 10).

17th (Nandina), 440 yards, par 4: while the Eisenhower Tree in front of the tee is a famous feature it does not really come into play much. Control of the second shot is the key (rank 9).

18th (Holly), 465 yards, par 4: the drive through an avenue of trees was made much harder when the tee was moved back 60 yards in 2002. The fairway bunker from which Sandy Lyle got up and down to win in 1988 is now 300 yards away (rank 8).

Neville Leck