"Tiger-Proofing" Augusta National

With Tiger Woods making his long-awaited (well, not really all that long) return to golf at the 2010 Masters, "Tiger-proofing" Augusta National may take on a whole new meaning. This year, it may well mean keeping the spectacle of Tiger's return from befouling their sacred event – which will be a tall order.

     Previously, however, "Tiger-proofing" has referred to efforts made by the ultra-proud and exclusive club to toughen the course and keep Woods from winning every year. Since his historic and record-breaking 12-stroke victory in 1997, the benevolent despots at Augusta have added limited rough (for years the course had little to none) and, more significantly, added more than hundreds of yards to its total length. This has led to myriad complaints that they've significantly diluted one very important aspect of the special tournament – by tipping the scales in favor of conservative play.

Historically, Sunday at the Masters has been known for its back-nine "roars," as players in contention throw caution to the wind and attack the course in hopes of making a charge. Meanwhile, the leader sweats through his Foot-Joys knowing that he if doesn't play aggressively down the stretch, somebody else will – and likely pass him in the closing holes. There's no better risk-reward atmosphere in tournament golf. (Image: masters.org)

     The tradition of the back-nine charge goes back almost to the very beginning. In 1935, the tournament's second year, Gene Sarazen famously holed a 4-wood at 15 on Sunday for a double-eagle 2. The "shot heard 'round the world" got him into a playoff (36 holes in those days) with Craig Wood, which he went on to win by five strokes. Just two years later, Byron Nelson played holes 12 and 13 in 2-3 (birdie, eagle) on Sunday to Ralph Guldahl's 5-6. Picking up six strokes on the first two-thirds of what is now known as "Amen Corner," Nelson pulled ahead and stayed there, finishing two strokes better than the runner-up Guldahl. The Nelson Bridge at the 13th hole commemorates the feat.

     And who could forget 46-year-old Jack Nicklaus's famous back-nine Sunday 30 in 1986. It included an eagle-birdie-birdie stretch on 15, 16, and 17 that propelled him past a veritable Hall of Fame of would-be champions, including Tom Kite, Greg Norman, Seve Ballesteros, Nick Price, and Tom Watson. And it was no coincidence, either, that, more than any other tournament, the Masters always seemed to succeed in crowning an accomplished champion.
     But the Tiger-proofing seemed to take a toll in that regard.
     In 2007, Zach Johnson famously won the tournament with a strategy of laying up on all the par-5 holes. Johnson's approach and resulting success were viewed by many as a form a sacrilege, an affront to the gods of Augusta – proof that meddlers had succeeded in sapping the essence from the founders' original intent. That Johnson was a relative unknown at the time did not help – nor did a win by Trevor Immelman, another relative B-lister, the following year. With a final-round 75, no less. No one is ever supposed to "back in" to a Masters victory.
      So in recent years complaints have arisen that the so-called "Tiger-proofing" has gone too far (and in fairness, it wasn't just Tiger  hitting short-iron second shots into the par-5 greens). But in 2009, some of the roars seemed to return as Phil and Tiger, paired together, waged an epic, desperate, and ultimately futile front-nine duel on Sunday. The weather, course conditions, and, perhaps most-importantly, the course set-up combined to bring some of the Sunday excitement back to the Masters.

And the debate continues to rage over whether today's August National plays the way Bobby Jones intended it. It's just too bad he's not around to weigh in on this all-important issue, isn't it?
     Ah, but we have something almost as good. In the April 6, 1959 issue of Sports Illustrated, Jones wrote an in-depth article for the venerable publication outlining for posterity his intentions for the course, including an in-depth hole-by-hole analysis. An excerpt from the introduction:

Our over-all aim at the Augusta National has been to provide a golf course of considerable natural beauty, enjoyable for the average golfer and at the same time testing for the expert player striving to better par. We want to make the bogies easy if frankly sought, pars readily obtainable by standard good play, and birdies, except on the par 5s, dearly bought. Obviously, with a course as wide open as needed to accommodate the average golfer, we can only tighten it up by increasing the difficulty of play around the hole. This we attempt to do during the tournament by placing the flags in more difficult and exacting positions and by increasing the speed of the greens. Additionally, we try to maintain our greens at such firmness that they will not hold a misplayed shot. Generally speaking, the greens at Augusta are quite large, rolling, and with carefully contrived undulations, the effect of which is magnified as the speed of the surfaces is increased.

What strikes me about this overview is how well Jones's basic principles hold up – at least at first blush. Even back then, reachable par-5s, tricky pin positions, and hard, fast, wildly undulating putting surfaces were integral to the course's character. It's hard to imagine, however, that Jones could have conceived of the lightning-fast speeds today's greens have reached – or the amazing distances today's players hit the ball.
     In the next post, we'll examine how the club selections of today's pros compare with what Jones envisioned.