Countdown: My 18th Favorite Hole At Augusta National
Countdown time! We’re just a few weeks away from the Masters so I’m going to do a daily countdown of my favorite holes at Augusta National. Not a math guy but according to my calculations, we should wrap this thing up on the Friday of the tourney. Perfect timing.
18 holes. 18 days. Let’s do this.
17th, 440 yards, par 4 — Nandina
The 17th has changed dramatically from its original design, which is true about pretty much everything at Augusta National. I don’t frown upon that as much as some, but it’s still fascinating to look at the place’s tranformation.
Today the 17th plays as a pretty straight, narrow hole with bunkers guarding the front and left sides of the green. That was nowhere near the original intent. In 1934, the hole featured no bunkers and promoted a run-up approach.
Architect Alister MacKenzie said, who worked with Bobby Jones designing Augusta, “Until players have learned to play the desired shot, this will undoubtedly be one of the most fiercely criticized holes.”
He elaborated, “It will be necessary to attack the green from the right and it will be essential to play a run-up shot if par figures are desired.”
Golf Digest has a nice drawing of what it used play like.
Pretty wide open off the tee, options to run it up.
That’s not the case today, thanks to massive pines guarding both sides of the fairway and the bunker guarding the front of the green.
Here it is in 1948.
The hole’s made even less interesting today since it lost in 2014 what had became its most defining feature.
The Eisenhower Tree used to provide character to this otherwise bland hole. The old story goes that President Eisenhower asked for the tree to be removed during a club meeting because he hit into it so often; his request was denied, and it had been called the Eisenhower Tree ever since.
A brutal 2014 ice storm damaged it beyond saving.
Although the tree really shouldn’t have been in play for the pros, its disappearance has made the tee ball far less-intimidating aesthetically.
No, the hole’s simply not very interesting today, but it’s still the 17th at Augusta National with plenty of history. It’s still home to some HUGE moments in golf history.
And it’s tough enough to pique interest down the stretch. Justin Rose bogeyed here last year to fall back into a tie with Sergio. Tiger bogeyed here in 2005 after holing out easily the greatest chip in golf history on 16.
The severity of the slope behind the green makes certain pin locations treacherous, especially the traditional Sunday back right.
The 17th has carried a 4.16 stroke average (9th most difficult) over its history. May not be the most interesting, but it will be very pivotal.
And there it is. My 18th favorite hole at Augusta = the 17th hole. Tune in tomorrow for, you guessed it, my 17th favorite.