When you come to think of it that is the secret of most of the great holes all over the world. They all have some kind of a twist. C.B. MACDONALD
Think of this posted by the Masters YouTube page as the springtime version of a yule log…and also a reminder that the 12the green is really, really small.
Who needs the Calm app when you have this?
Why not go back into the past and do a little reading?
If 2020 means a lost spring Masters and a longshot November playing, maybe the year can at least offer time to reflect on the incredible creation by Bobby Jones and Alister MacKenzie.
So if you want to learn more about the design origins, with some colorized images to bring the original more to life, MacKenziephile Josh Pettit has several excellent original MacKenzie writings and plans at his site posted.
For those interested in the original Par 3 course concept, where it sat on the grounds and Dr. MacKenzie’s vision, Pettit has also detailed all of that and more on this page.
Twenty five years ago Ben Crenshaw captured his second Masters.
We discussed that week and a range of other Masters topics, and we zeroed in on the wondrous par-5 13th’s ingenious details. I have plenty of show notes below, so here is the show thanks to iHeart with a special shoutout to producer Tim Parotchka for turning around the first week of shows within hours of recording.
Here is the iHeart embed below, the Apple podcasts link and of course, a subscribe on your favorite podcast platform will auto download the Shack Show.
Show Notes:
Ben playing the 13th hole in 1984:
The 1995 Masters final round broadcast.
Ben playing the 13th hole in 1995 starting with the tee shot:
Alan Shipnuck’s Golf.com story on watching the 1995 Masters recently with the Crenshaws.
Pages from A Feel For The Game discussing his final round shirt by Jeff Rose featuring Bobby Jones images.
Abebooks results for A Feel For The Game. ABEBooks is also featuring many independent booksellers offering new and used books.
Scott Sayers and Ed Clements interviewed Carl Jackson this week.
Ben Hogan hitting a shot into the 13th at Augusta National.
Here are Ben and I discussing the 13th in 2018 for a Golf Channel feature.
Here is a link to Steve Eubanks’ book, To Win And Die In Dixie, referenced by Ben in the discussion. Abebooks offerings are more affordable.
Also a reminder, for current book buying, Bookshop.org is raising proceeds for independent booksellers.
Talk of Herbert Warren Wind, Amen Corner provides an excuse to return to Karen Crouse’s definitive New York Times story opening with extensive quotes from Ben.
We are all clamoring for things to look forward to. It’s already been too long without sports and the dearth of competition stings a bit more as Masters week arrives with no Masters. That the planning has gone on behind the scenes is perfectly understandable. There is no playbook for dealing with a situation like this and golf will undoubtedly be the first major sport back.
However, the Surgeon General of the United States warned just yesterday that this week would be “the hardest and the saddest" for Americans.
"This is going to be our Pearl Harbor moment, our 9/11 moment, only it's not going to be localized, it's going to be happening all over the country and I want America to understand that," Vice Admiral Jerome Adams said on "Fox News Sunday."
There was this from the President of the United States on Sunday, too:
"This will be probably the toughest week between this week and next week, and there will be a lot of death, unfortunately, but a lot less death than if this wasn't done but there will be death," Trump said.
Worldwide, 70,000 people have died and as of this post, at least 9,600 in the United States where there are 337,000 confirmed infections. More than 3000 may die in a single day this week. Hospital bed shortages are prompting makeshift hospitals in multiple American cities. Another 600 lost their lives to the COVID-19 coronavirus in Britain yesterday, surpassing Italy’s death toll for the second day in a row. The Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, is in intensive care.
Yet, the leading organizations of golf—typically associated with charitable efforts more than all sports combined—have been working hard behind the scenes to help stop the spread by wheeling out a new fall schedule. Even as nearly all experts suggest large gatherings to not be on the table any time soon and doing so on a day when thousands more will succumb.
Feeling the need to share this information publicly, for no rational reason as every other sport quietly waits out this terrible time and with only faint regard for the threats posed by not taking every protective measure possible, diminishes the efforts of those attempting to stop this pandemic.
For Way Too Immediate Release:
Golf World Presents Revised Calendar of Events for 2020
Safety, Health and Well-Being of All Imperative to Moving Forward
April 6, 2020 – United by what may still be possible this year for the world of professional golf, and with a goal to serve all who love and play the game, Augusta National Golf Club, European Tour, LPGA, PGA of America, PGA TOUR, The R&A and USGA have issued the following joint statement:
“This is a difficult and challenging time for everyone coping with the effects of this pandemic. We remain very mindful of the obstacles ahead, and each organization will continue to follow the guidance of the leading public health authorities, conducting competitions only if it is safe and responsible to do so.
“In recent weeks, the global golf community has come together to collectively put forward a calendar of events that will, we hope, serve to entertain and inspire golf fans around the world. We are grateful to our respective partners, sponsors and players, who have allowed us to make decisions – some of them, very tough decisions – in order to move the game and the industry forward.
“We want to reiterate that Augusta National Golf Club, European Tour, LPGA, PGA of America, PGA TOUR, The R&A and USGA collectively value the health and well-being of everyone, within the game of golf and beyond, above all else. We encourage everyone to follow all responsible precautions and make effort to remain healthy and safe.”
Updates from each organization follow, and more information can be found by clicking on the links included:
USGA: The U.S. Open, previously scheduled for June 15-21 at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, New York, has been officially rescheduled for September 14-20 and is confirmed to remain at Winged Foot. For more information and comments from USGA CEO Mike Davis, click here.
The R&A: The R&A has decided to cancel The Open in 2020 due to the current Covid-19 pandemic, and the Championship will next be played at Royal St. George’s in 2021. The Open was due to be played in Kent, England, from July 12-19, but it has been necessary to cancel the Championship based on guidance from the UK Government, the health authorities, public services and The R&A’s advisers. For more information and comments from The R&A Chief Executive Martin Slumbers, click here.
PGA of America: The PGA of America is announcing today that the PGA Championship is now scheduled to take place August 3-9 and will remain at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco, California. The PGA Championship was originally slated for May 11-17 but was postponed on March 17.
Furthermore, the PGA reconfirmed the Ryder Cup remains as originally scheduled, September 22-27, at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wisconsin. For more information and comments from PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh, click here.
Augusta National Golf Club: Augusta National has identified November 9-15 as the intended dates to host the 2020 Masters Tournament, which was previously scheduled for April 6-12 and postponed on March 13. For more information, and comments from Chairman Fred Ridley, click here.
PGA TOUR: While collaborating with the PGA of America to find a viable date for the PGA Championship in August, the PGA TOUR worked with its host organizations and title sponsors to move the Regular Season finale – the Wyndham Championship – and all three FedExCup Playoffs events one week later, starting the week of August 10 and concluding with a Monday, September 7, Labor Day finish for the TOUR Championship.
The TOUR will seek to reschedule tournaments into the weeks formerly occupied by the U.S. Open, The Open Championship and the Men’s Olympic golf competition in June and July. The TOUR will make further announcements about this potential, as well as its fall schedule, in the coming weeks. For more information and comments from PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan, click here.
European Tour: Due to the many complexities involved, the European Tour is currently working through various scenarios in relation to the rescheduling of our tournaments for the 2020 season. The European Tour will make further announcements on these in due course.
LPGA: On April 3, the LPGA released a revised look at the LPGA Tour’s 2020 summer schedule, beginning on the week of June 15 with the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G. In addition, the LPGA Tour announced that they have successfully rescheduled their first two majors of the year (the ANA Inspiration moves to the week of September 7 at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California; and the U.S. Women’s Open conducted by the USGA moves to the week of December 7 at Champions Golf Club in Houston, Texas). For more information, click here.
Summary:
A listing of the revised schedule of events announced today follows:
TO BE CONFIRMED: June 15-21 (formerly U.S. Open week) – potential PGA TOUR event
CANCELED: July 13-19, The Open Championship, Royal St. George’s GC, Sandwich, Kent, England
TO BE CONFIRMED: July 13-19 (formerly The Open Championship week) – potential PGA TOUR event
TO BE CONFIRMED: July 27-August 2 (formerly Men’s Olympic Competition week) – potential PGA TOUR event
CONFIRMED: August 3-9 – PGA Championship, TPC Harding Park, San Francisco, California
CONFIRMED: PGA TOUR’s season-ending event/FedExCup Playoffs
August 10-16 – Wyndham Championship, Sedgefield Country Club, Greensboro, North Carolina
August 17-23 – THE NORTHERN TRUST, TPC Boston, Norton, Massachusetts
August 24-30 – BMW Championship, Olympia Fields CC, Olympia Fields, Illinois
August 31-September 7 (Labor Day) – TOUR Championship, East Lake Golf Club, Atlanta, Georgia
CONFIRMED: September 14-20 – U.S. Open, Winged Foot Golf Club, Mamaroneck, New York
RECONFIRMED: September 22-27: Ryder Cup, Whistling Straits, Kohler, Wisconsin
CONFIRMED: November 9-15: the Masters Tournament, Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta, Georgia
As NBC prepares to re-air the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur (1 pm ET Saturday), I’m anxious to see how it all plays out on television after witnessing the Jennifer Kupcho-Maria Fassi duel in person.
Numerous moments from the day stand out a year later, from the epic shots played on the back nine par-5s to the crowd size building as the duel played out and word filtered through the property. Remember, this was a first time event, many were there just to get on the grounds and pick up some merchandise, so interest in two relatively unknown golfers was not exactly fever-pitch.
However, by the final holes fans were walking briskly (ok, I saw running, apologies Mr. Roberts) hoping to position themselves to witness these two exceptional golfers battle. In person, it remains one of those exceptional moments where the combination of shotmaking and sportsmanship rose to a level only seen surpassed by a handful of moments in modern golf history. It was an “instant classic,” as Beth Ann Nichols wrote at the time.
There are also the smaller lessons from the day to be learned about what values really matter in a golf course, tournament golf and how the sport is played. I wrote about the retro vibe to the day down to the restoration of momentous decisions that we so rarely see any more. In lieu of happier times without so much human suffering and a second edition of the “ANWA”, it should be enlightening to witness this duel all over again.
And in the coming days, months and years, let the lessons of the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur influence how the sport searches for what really matters.
The Augusta Chronicle’s Wynston Wilcox reports on Augusta National Golf Club’s donation of $2 million to help Augusta University expanding COVID-19 testing in the region and an emergency fund for the most vulnerable populations.
The release states that $1 million will go to Augusta University to expand testing in the area. Another $1 million will be given to the COVID-19 CSRA Emergency Fund, launched by the Community Fund and the United Way of the CSRA to “directly support relief efforts for the most vulnerable populations affected by the Coronavirus pandemic in the community.”
AU president Brooks Keel expressed his gratitude for the donation.
“Augusta University is incredibly grateful for the generosity and leadership of the Augusta National Golf Club and the Community Foundation to support these important efforts,” Keel said. “This gift is an immediate and important contribution to the expansion of our COVID-19 screening and testing efforts. It provides us with needed resources to limit the spread of the virus through quicker identification and treatment. There is no doubt that because of this gift, many lives will be saved.”
Well done Lou Stagner and daughter!
Hopefully the charity sale is not blocked by the Lords of Augusta…
My daughter and I built this replica of Augusta National #12 out of Lego.
— Lou Stagner (Golf Stat Pro) (@LouStagner) March 17, 2020
We are planning to sell it to raise money for charity.
Enjoy! pic.twitter.com/nawBF79W2d
Joel Beall with the GolfDigest.com exclusive on Augusta National notifying members that the club is closing by Friday March 20th in the interest of its staff.
"Beginning today, we are taking the necessary steps to curtail our operations so, by the end of this week, the Club will be closed until further notice. We intend to maintain our properties with limited personnel on site, and we will support our many other functions by working remotely where possible. But this is about much more than business continuity. This is about our employees, and the foundation of this decision is built-in upon keeping everyone safe while preserving the financial stability of those we care about most.”
While Beall notes the news arrives less than 24 hours after the CDC urged a nationwide halt to gatherings of more than 50 or more people, the precedent set by Augusta National would seem likely to lead other golf and country clubs to follow suit even if playing golf—without a cart or 19th hole gathering—is seemingly a safer place to be.
On the public course side, the city of Austin has included its golf courses in a closure of city facilities according to the KXAN report.
The only somewhat understandable caveat in the case of Gabriela Ruffels: the U.S. Women’s Amateur Champion intends to retain her amateur status until the end of her career at USC. Meaning, she might not win the Amateur again but play well enough to get an invitation to Augusta next year.
Still, it’s somewhat confounding to imagine an amateur golfer getting the opportunity to play Augusta National and instead choosing to play one of five women’s professional majors at Mission Hills. Yet that’s what Ruffels has decided after ANWA invitations went out.
From the Sydney Morning Herald:
"Yeah it was a really tough decision, but I think we all decided ANA would be the best," Ruffels said.
"I'm only getting the ANA start because I won the US Women's Amateur and it's a rare opportunity; they don't give out exemptions to anyone at majors."
Ruffels, had she played the ANWA, would have been one of the favorites and a huge focus of pre-tournament interest.
Did I note yet that she would have had the opportunity to play at least one round at Augusta National? Oh I did, sorry for the repetitiveness.
Good on G.C. Digital for calling up Augusta National to ask if the service road under construction and visible in Google’s updated imagery is, indeed, a service road. Confirmed! This news should come as no surprise given the club’s expanded footprint and eagerness to help service or maintenance vehicles move around more efficiently.
However, I believe I speak for us all in saying we’re all way more interested to know if the home of the Masters will cut through ancient pines and add a new 13th tee to prevent the USGA and R&A from having to take away Keto-infused distance gains.
And we have our answer for the 2020 Masters: no.
Google’s last couple of images above Amen Corner show the area prior to this summer’s construction on newly-acquired Augusta Country Club land, followed by the construction from summer when the fairways are, eh-em, off-color.
Frankly, I’m more concerned for Augusta Country Club members in their ninth fairway taking tee shots from the 8th than anything else I see here:
Noel Freeman deserves kudos for taking the job of explaining why Golf magazine’s panel dropped Augusta National out of its top five courses on the planet.
His take was sympathetic with the dreadful plight of trying to keep up with the modern game:
Technological advancements and the rise of the so-called bomb-and-gouge movement are vexing dilemmas not only for Augusta National but also for tournament courses all over the world. But the feeling here is that Augusta has gone too far in its efforts to “modernize.”
The club could and should pay more homage to the design’s original intent by removing trees and rebuilding a firm course that presents players with more angles and therefore more options. The result would be both a more complete and more compelling test for players, and more interesting theater for viewers.
I hopefully slipped in as much detail as possible regarding a busy week for Augusta National as a venue. Slower greens appeared to make the difference in faster play, while the new 5th almost played tougher than the 13th and 15th. And the 11th hole is still a complete affront to the philosophy of Bobby Jones and Alister MacKenzie.
As the 2019 Masters became a whirlwind affair, I wasn’t able to keep up with all of the amazing content. The Masters.com folks debuted a Masters podcast that even debuted and is queued up for me to keep savoring this year’s event for days to come.
I will selfishly start by posting my walking tour of the course, a walk I traditionally make on the weekends before settling in the Press Building (see map above…it starts at the clubhouse and goes up No. 1). The walk allows me to see all but the 4th, 5th and 12th hole locations up close and to get a sense of the wind, vibe and other conditions.
This year I was only able to do it Saturday and it took longer than normal, but generally it takes about 40 minutes and is a great way if you get to the Masters to see the entire course setting in a folding chair or grandstand.
The video was the idea of the Masters.com team to accompany my essay designed to settle most general questions about how to get the most from a Masters visit. Naturally, it was an honor to share this and I hope it’s handy for years to come if you get the privilege of attending the Masters.
Another stellar piece of content, if nothing else because chef David Chang takes you so many places so rarely seen in footage, is the piece embedded below. He reveals the not-so-secret (apparently!) Stand 12 drink. He even blends Masters sandwiches, but mostly does a lovely job summing up elements of the experience. Check it out:
Thanks to reader JB for Brian Costa’s Wall Street Journal look at Augusta National’s real estate purchases, with the Journal estimating $200 million spent.
From the story, with some really nice graphics and an overhead aerial of 2002 vs. 2018 worth playing with too.
In the areas immediately surrounding golf’s most exclusive club, there are generally only two types of properties: the ones Augusta National has acquired—and the ones it will acquire.
In the last 20 years, the club has spent around $200 million to buy more than 100 pieces of land totaling no fewer than 270 acres, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of property and tax assessor records and interviews with people familiar with the transactions.
To further insulate one of the most hallowed grounds in American sports from the outside world, Augusta National has bought and demolished entire residential blocks and commercial strips. It has purchased properties more than a mile from its iconic clubhouse. And it is hardly slowing down.
The Augusta Chronicle’s Susan McCord looks at the announcement Wednesday by Chairman Fred Ridley explaining what some of these purchases mean: a new television compound across the street.
The predicted (second) lengthening of Augusta National’s 13th hole will not be happening in the summer of 2019 based on Chairman Fred Ridley’s prepared remarks delivered to the media Wednesday.
Read carefully and read between those lines…
It should come as no surprise to any of you that we continue to study other enhancements to the golf course. That includes much‑talked‑about changes, potential changes, to the 13th hole.
Admittedly, that hole does not play as it was intended to play by Jones and MacKenzie. The momentous decision that I've spoken about and that Bobby Jones often spoke about, of going for the green in two, is to a large extent, no longer relevant.
Although we now have options to increase the length of this hole, we intend to wait to see how distance may be addressed by the governing bodies before we take any action.
I think the former USGA president may have just suggested he senses action is coming.
I’m sorry, I interrupted…
In doing so, we fully recognize that the issue of distance presents difficult questions with no easy answers. But please know this: The USGA and The R&A do have the best interests of the game at heart. They recognize the importance of their future actions. You can be assured that we will continue to advocate for industry‑wide collaboration in support of the governing bodies as they resolve this very important topic.
Of course, no resolution has been the stance of the PGA Tour, PGA of America and most major manufacturers, so the idea of a conclusion to the liking of Mr. Ridley and Augusta National would seem to include some form of new distance regulation. Or a new tee that they clearly do not want to add.
Geoff Shackelford is a Senior Writer for Golfweek magazine, a weekly contributor to Golf Channel's Morning
Copyright © 2022, Geoff Shackelford. All rights reserved.
