The lack of trouble from tee to green turned the Masters into a “putting contest,” another phrase that rankles the tournament officials. That’s why this 63rd Masters will be like none other. Augusta National will finally have some rough.
AYEAR removed from winning the 1997 Masters with a record 18-under-par 270, Tiger Woods was comparing the typical U.S. Open layout to the Masters when he referred to Augusta National Golf Club as a “driving range.”
Woods was talking about the lack of rough on the storied course compared to the jungle that lined the fairways at Olympic last summer. At Augusta there was little to keep a bomber like Woods from slapping a golf ball as hard as he could down the wide fairways.
He meant no harm. But referring to the course that Bobby Jones and Alister MacKenzie designed in 1933 as a “driving range” no doubt made former Club Chairman Jack Stephens fume under his Green Jacket.
Woods was only speaking the truth. With its four-lane fairways and lack of significant rough it took a duck hook or banana slice to find trouble most tees. If an errant drive came to rest below the pine trees or was pulled 10 yards off the fairway, any decent pro had a shot for the green. Woods made birdie from the pines on the 13th hole in 1997. And he birdied the 18th hole on Sunday after pulling his drive way left.
The lack of trouble from tee to green turned the Masters into a “putting contest,” another phrase that rankles the tournament officials. That’s why this 63rd Masters will be like none other. Augusta National will finally have some rough, so to speak.
It will be just deep enough to cover a golf ball, but its ramifications could be enormous. At the very least it will make players think twice before they grip it and rip it off the tee. “Augusta with rough? On a hard, fast day? Man,” said Ernie Els, the two-time U.S. Open winner, who figures to be in the hunt come Sunday.
Augusta’s rough won’t be as deep nor as imposing as the rough at the typical U.S. Open where balls landing in the four to six-inch jungle require a wedge for escape. Instead of an insignificant five-eighths of an inch, the Masters “rough” will be grown to 1 3/8 inches.
It may not sound like much, but it will give the course a different look and demand more accuracy from its players. The key to success at Augusta is landing an approach shot on a quadrant of the green that allows for the easiest putt. To do that, a golfer often needs to spin the ball so it will bite on the slick surface and not roll into trouble. Hitting out of rough will make it more difficult to control the ball and heightens the chance for the dreaded flier.
“Obviously, all these years you’ve had a beautiful lie with which to do anything you can to the ball,” two-time Masters champion Ben Crenshaw told the Associated Press. “Even if you take just a little bit of spin off the ball, it will make a big difference.”
Hootie Johnson, in his first year as club chairman, would prefer to call it the “second cut.” It is just one of a number of changes on the course. The tees on the par-5 second hole and the par-4 17th have been moved back about 25 yards, and on the par-5 15th, pine trees have been planted on the right side of the fairway where mounds used to be. Also, the 11th green at the end of a 455-yard par-4 has been elevated about two feet.
Blame Woods for these changes. No one will admit it but they were likely conceived after his recording-breaking victory in 1997. Woods humbled the course with towering drives off the tees and perfect short-game. In winning the tournament by 12 strokes, he set 20 Masters records and tied six others. Soon, competitors like Nick Faldo were complaining of an unfair advantage.
Woods won because he dominated the par 5s. He played the 555-yard second hole in 3-under with birdies on the each of the last three rounds. He played the 500-yard 15th in 4-under, including an eagle on the opening day.
“He’s out there playing another game on a golf course he’s going to own for a long time,” said Nicklaus, a six-time winner, who will not compete this year since he is recovering from hip-replacement surgery.
Woods and the rest of the field must now adjust their thinking. Woods was reaching the 15th green with a wedge or nothing more than 8-iron on his second shots. Now that trees will guard the right side of the fairways instead of humps, he and the Tour’s other big hitters like Els and Davis Love III may not be as aggressive with their drives.
With the par-4 17th now playing at 425 yards instead of 400, the Eisenhower Tree comes into play in the middle of the fairway. Elevating the 11th green exposes it more to the winds that swirl around Amen Corner. Woods played the 17th in 1-under in 1997 and the 11th in 2-under.
After Woods humbled the field and the course in ’97, Stephens said there was no need to go beyond the normal tweaks annually made to the course. His assessment seemed accurate when Mark O’Meara needed birdies on the final two holes to shoot a 9-under-279 and win the 1998 Masters. Woods tied for eighth six shots back.
Yet, here comes this cluster of changes for the 63rd Masters. “While changes made to the golf course this year included distance, the principle objective was to place greater emphasis on accuracy off the tee,” Johnson said.
Consider the mission accomplished.