Phil Mickelson skipped the 2026 Masters (to take care of a “personal health matter,” he said), however on Friday afternoon, he discovered time for one in every of his favourite hobbies: chumming the water on X.
In a reply, he added, “Not a single eagle putt on 13. Crazy [facepalm emoji].”
When my Fried Egg Golf colleague Will Knights identified that, the truth is, six gamers putted for eagle on No. 13 in spherical two, Mickelson replied, “6 of 90. Like I said ‘so few.'”
Huh?
Anyway, Phil’s grievance has been a typical one amongst followers ever since Augusta National lengthened the 13th and 15th holes earlier this decade. Mickelson and lots of others consider these modifications have rendered two of essentially the most well-known par 5s in golf uninteresting to observe.
Of course, it is a matter of style. But we would as effectively be correct about what’s actually occurring on the holes.
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On No. 15, gamers have tried to achieve the inexperienced on their second pictures at a excessive charge. Sixty-three p.c went for it on Thursday, 48% on Friday, and 72% on Saturday. Almost everybody within the discipline appeared keen to go for it after drive. Even Brian Harman — 151st on the PGA Tour in driving distance — gave it a go in rounds two and three.
So to say that few gamers are lengthy sufficient to achieve the fifteenth inexperienced in two, as Mickelson did, is flatly inaccurate.
When it involves No. 13, he’s barely nearer to being proper. In the primary spherical, 33% of the sphere went for the inexperienced; within the second spherical, 42%; within the third spherical, 43%. (I’ve included in these percentages a few cases the place gamers hit their drive in water, took a drop, and tried to achieve the inexperienced on their subsequent shot.)
But numbers like these shouldn’t be surprising for a par 5. As Augusta National’s co-designer Bobby Jones put it in 1959, “We call 13 a par 5 because under certain conditions of wind and ground few players will risk trying for the green with a second shot.”
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Besides, I do not assume the outlet in its present kind truly does discriminate in opposition to shorter hitters. With the exception of some getting older previous champions, each participant within the Masters discipline can cowl 545 yards in two pictures. Just observe Mike Weir, 5 foot 9 and 55 years outdated, launching a fairway wood at the green in the first round.
So why do gamers lay up on No. 13 greater than half the time? Well, as a result of the drive is exacting and the method is treacherous. You must hit nice pictures so as to earn an opportunity at eagle. The added size merely ensures that this stays the case as gamers proceed to dial of their #distancemaxxing protocols.
Critics of the lengthened thirteenth and fifteenth holes will insist that layups are boring and extra layups imply extra boredom. I disagree with that, however I gained’t say it’s fallacious. Again, it is a matter of style.
For my half, although, I get pleasure from Nos. 13 and 15 greater than I did earlier than they have been lengthened. I like watching gamers hit lengthy irons and hybrids into agency, fiercely protected greens. I like that errors usually tend to lead to water balls. I like seeing contenders make arduous choices within the fairway on Sunday. I like that elite ball-strikers are getting their simply deserts. And I even just like the layups — or extra particularly, the nuances of how gamers place their layups to sure pins.
Par 5s are enjoyable. I want extra of them existed at the professional stage.
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Augusta National
Augusta, GAAlister MacKenzie & Bobby Jones1933
Ever because it opened, Augusta National has been in a continuing state of evolution (for higher or for worse), but it surely stays one of many biggest championship venues on this planet
Hole 1 – Tea Olive
Par 4445 yds
Augusta National’s property is outlined by a single broad downslope that ends at Rae’s Creek, and this par-4 opener is the one gap on the course that sits utterly on high of it.
Strategically, No. 1 at Augusta National is among the most compelling opening holes in skilled golf.
Hole 2 – Pink Dogwood
Par 5585 yds
The second gap at Augusta National produces extra off-the-tee selection than most par 5s in skilled golf.
Hole 3 – Flowering Peach
Par 4350 yds
Players face three fundamental choices off the tee: hit an extended iron or hybrid close to the bunkers at the highest of the primary ridge, leaving a full wedge in; bash it left, previous the bunkers and into the valley brief left of the inexperienced; or go straight for the inexperienced in hopes of at least holding the slim shelf brief proper.
The most strategically complicated gap on the golf course, “Flowering Peach” has stood the take a look at of time, much less affected by distance beneficial properties than most holes at Augusta National.
Hole 4 – Flowering Crab Apple
Par 3240 yds
The first — and longest — par 3 at Augusta National has traditionally required a robust strike with at least an extended iron, although membership choices within the Masters have shifted as distance beneficial properties have spiraled uncontrolled. Can you execute a towering shot with an extended iron, hybrid, or fairway wooden?
Hole 5 – Magnolia
Par 4 495 yds
“Magnolia” is like Paul Thomas Anderson’s movie of the identical identify: good, most likely underrated, however a tad bloated. Nonetheless, the outlet presents an trustworthy problem, and the inexperienced is among the most artfully formed at Augusta National (or wherever else).
Hole 6 – Juniper
Par 3180 yds
“Juniper” is, in our opinion, Augusta National’s second-best par 3. Each pin place presents a special vary of challenges and thrilling doable outcomes.
Hole 7 – Pampas
Par 4450 yds
Yes, the inexperienced contours are enjoyable, however “Pampas” has morphed into one thing that Alister MacKenzie seemingly wouldn’t endorse: a gap that merely defends itself via size and narrowness quite than asking complicated strategic questions.
Hole 8 – Yellow Jasmine
Par 5570 yds
This uphill three-shotter constantly produces the best scoring common of Augusta National’s 4 par 5s, but it surely nonetheless presents a welcome birdie alternative after the powerful stretch of Nos. 4-7.
“Yellow Jasmine” is essentially the most underrated gap at Augusta National.
Hole 9 – Carolina Cherry
Par 4460 yds
The ninth gap performs from a excessive level close to the primary and eighth greens, down via a valley regularly utilized by galleries, and up the hill the place the clubhouse sits. From a risk-reward perspective, “Carolina Cherry” is a little bit of a muddle.
Hole 10 – Camellia
Par 4495 yds
The tenth gap kicks off the again half of the spherical in hair-raising style, plunging 100 ft right into a valley shrouded by tall pines. Perry Maxwell’s 1938 transformation of “Camellia” is among the uncommon instances through which a change to MacKenzie and Jones’s design represented a considerable enchancment.
Hole 11 – White Dogwood
Par 4520 yds
No. 11 is solely a brute, typically enjoying as essentially the most tough gap to par at Augusta National. It’s additionally been one of the crucial regularly tinkered-with holes at Augusta National.
Hole 12 – Golden Bell
Par 3155 yds
The focus of Amen Corner and the middle of gravity in any last spherical of the Masters, the twelfth gap at Augusta National is as terrifying as it’s stunning.
Hole 13 – Azalea
Par 5545 yds
This iconic risk-reward par 5 gives the primary of a sequence of birdie alternatives on Augusta National’s dwelling stretch.
Hole 14 – Chinese Fir
Par 4440 yds
Although some nuances of MacKenzie and Jones’s authentic strategic idea for the outlet have been misplaced, “Chinese Fir” continues to be a compelling par 4, rewarding exact and well-shaped pictures each off the tee and into the inexperienced.
Hole 15 – Firethorn
Par 5550 yds
No. 15 constantly presents one of many hardest choices gamers need to make throughout their rounds: go for the inexperienced in two or lay as much as one of the crucial demanding wedge pictures in golf.
Hole 16 – Redbud
Par 3170 yds
Set at the bottom of the ridge that the fifth inexperienced and sixth tee occupy, the par-3 sixteenth gap gives a prepared stage for championship-defining pictures. Over the previous a number of many years, the sixteenth has proven an simple knack for spectacle.
Hole 17 – Nandina
Par 4450 yds
From tee to inexperienced, No. 17 is among the easiest holes at Augusta National and is probably going the least-loved gap on the second 9.
Hole 18 – Holly
Par 4465 yds
“Holly” is a bit funky, however its design is wise and stylish: bend it across the timber on the appropriate and bypass among the pure issue of the following shot.
