Norman Calls Changes To Augusta "Phenomenal," And He Didn't Mean It In A Nice Way!

I think by the time Greg Norman will have played his first Masters in seven years, Chrissy Evert is going to be begging Billy Payne to restore the course just so she doesn't have to hear Greg talk about the good old days.

But I think of all the criticism we've seen of Hootie Johnson and Tom Fazio's Augusta National butchery, none has been as illuminating to read as Norman's because he was away for several years. Well, sort of. There was that birthday trip for ex-buddy and Chrissy-ex Andy Mill, but thankfully no one asked about how the course played in 2006!).

Anyway, the Shark had a lot to say worth parsing thanks to the scribblers asking some nice follow ups:

GREG NORMAN: Well, I can tell you the golf course is 7,700 yards since I last played it, and that's adding about 420 yards on to the golf course. So there is a dramatic difference to the golf course. I was absolutely shocked to tell you the truth.

You hear about the changes. You don't really see them on television. These younger players have nothing to relate to what happened 20 years ago. So right now, they just sit back and play it, okay, this is the way it's always been.

But there's phenomenal changes, right from the very first hole. The tee now is back where the old putting green was when I last played there. So the thought of driving it over the bunker on the first hole is gone. I had a 176 yards into the green on Wednesday, and given there's no roll here; and back in the other days, it was 120 yards. So there's 50 yards just on the first tee shot alone.

Of course, in Augusta they like hearing things like that. Which is precisely why the design is in shambles.

7th hole, dramatic change. 11th hole, dramatic change. So it's going to be different. It's going to be a lot harder to play for someone who doesn't hit the ball 320 than a player who does hit the ball a long way.

Lost roars have been touched upon by many but never quite like this:

Q. You've referenced the course changes a number of times, and your absence actually covers a span of the old Augusta, a new Augusta. Tell me as an architect and as a fan of the game and as a player some of the things you might do to get the buzz back on Sunday afternoon.

GREG NORMAN: Well, just going on what I saw, I mean, I remember in my days in playing, if somebody came into the back nine at Augusta probably six or seven or eight shots behind the lead and feel like they could win it. That was a great feeling. If you're a player at the top of your game and someone else is running away from the field, a la what Jack Nicklaus did.

I think it's going to be a lot more difficult the way the golf course is now for those type of low numbers, the 30s and the 29s to be thrown out there. And again, this depends on how they set up the golf course.

And the roars, I think would be the significant thing that would be missing. When I used to play the 6th hole, for example and somebody was shooting a great round coming down 15, you would hear this enormous roar and you're only on the 6th hole and that would resonate all the way through until you got around to the 14th hole, 15th hole.

So I would be interested to see whether the decibel level is as loud as what it was back in those days.

And asked how he'd fix the mess, Norman started with the short holes lost. Might as well start as the most glaringly obvious change...well, obvious to almost everyone except the people in charge.

Q. Is there anything architecturally you might do? I know it's sacred ground in the golf universe, but they have messed with it in the last seven years. I'm wondering if there's anything you would do to try to maybe generate a little more fireworks.

GREG NORMAN: Well, I was just surprised to what they did to some of the great short holes. I can understand the par 5s. But some of the great short holes, for example the 7th hole, was one of the great classic risk/reward short holes. If you were a long hitter, like I used to try to drive the golf ball way up in front of the green and pitch it up, and that's gone now. And same with 14. I remember trying to whip a driver around there and get as close to the green with a sand wedge as I could. You can't do that stuff now.

The short holes have dramatically changed and I think that's the thing that stands out to me. I get it, the 11th hole probably needs to have some adjustment. It's an intimidating hole at 505. But you need those holes, I understand you need long par 4s. But I love the challenges in the old days of the short holes of Augusta, they can either bite you in the rear end or not.

And some of the excitement of the par 5s, 15, for example, just you would stand up there and think about it and now most of the field lays it up.

But other than that, he loved what he saw.