The Masters Starts on the Back Nine on Sunday

I remember watching the Masters when I first took up golf in the late ’80’s. Back then, you didn’t get to see the leaders’ entire final rounds, just their back nine. There was significantly less television coverage than we have now, but there is still far less coverage of this major than any of the others.

The phrase we heard most often then (and now) is that the Masters doesn’t start until the back nine on Sunday, and because that was all we got to see, devotees of the Masters have grown accustomed to the holes the players face as they make their way back to the clubhouse where the Green Jacket awaits one of them.

So, whether this is the first time you’re going to watch, or like me you’ve seen these holes dozens of times, it helps to know what you can expect to see on Sunday, April 9, 2017.

Number 10 – Camellia

A robust par-4 of just under 500 yards, Camellia plays significantly downhill off the tee and is a fairly sharp dogleg left. Most players will sling a 3-wood down, shaping the shot right-to-left. If you can catch the downslope, and if it hasn’t been too wet of a spring in Georgia, you could see a ball bounding down the fairway, getting upwards of 70 yards of roll. The second shot plays to a green that is tilted right-to-left as you approach and falls off dramatically if you miss the putting surface left. Missing right is no prize, however, because of the slant of the green away from you.

This is as stern a test to start the back nine of a major as you will find.

The Good

In a playoff against Louis Oosthuizen, Bubba Watson hit his tee ball too straight and ended up in the woods right of the fairway.

The lefty played a massive hook off the pine straw to about 10 feet while Oosthuizen couldn’t find the green in regulation and gave Watson two putts to claim his first Masters and first major.

The Bad

Amateur Danny Lee holds the dubious distinction of having made the highest score on this hole when he carded a nine in 2009.

The Ugly

In 2011, Rory McIlroy, who was in the lead at the time, pulled his tee shot so far left that he was almost in one of the cabins to the left of the 10th hole. It would be the beginning of a disastrous stretch during which his lead evaporated. He ended up finishing in a tie for 15th place after posting an 80 in the final round.

Number 11 – White Dogwood

Things do not get any easier for the players as they enter Amen Corner. White Dogwood is a massive par-4 of 505 yards.

The best shot is a fade off the tee to try to get into the right side of the fairway which gives you the best angle into the green. The putting surface is guarded by a pond on the left. Any ball that gets near the pond goes into it, so the last thing you want to do is try to play over it.

The green is sloped toward the water, and because of the speed of the greens, any putt from above the hole has to be played with perfect touch or the player will face a testy four- or five-foot putt on the return.

Watch for a lot of players to miss this green right and try to make par with a pitch or a chip and a putt.

The Good

In 1987, Larry Mize and Greg Norman came to the 11th tee in a playoff after Seve Ballesteros was eliminated on the previous hole. Mize played extremely cautiously, missing the green right and leaving himself about 140 feet to the hole. Norman was just off the green, about 50 feet away.

Mize, a native of Augusta, holed his chip for an improbable birdie, and when the thunderstruck Norman couldn’t match it, Mize took home is one and only major championship.

The Bad

Ernie Els yanked his tee shot left of the fairway on 11 and had to play out of the woods during the third round. He would go on to post a 71 after making an impressive bogey on the 11th hole, but would finish one back of eventual winner, Phil Mickelson.

The Ugly

Greg Norman could teach a course about bad losses major championships, but Mize’s chip-in in 1987 had to be particularly heartbreaking as he had to be thinking he would have two putts to win the tournament.

It was the second consecutive time he finished second at the Masters. The year before, he fell victim to Jack Nicklaus’s incredible play at the age of 46 when the Golden Bear played the back nine on Sunday in 30 strokes including a birdie on the 11th hole.

Number 12 – Golden Bell

Easily one of the most famous par-3 holes in all of golf, Golden Bell sits at the lowest point of the course and among the towering pines that populate the majority of Augusta National. The wind is diabolical and nearly impossible to decipher on this little hole of just 155 yards.

You could have a spirited debate about what is the most difficult thing about this hole: The wind; the angle of the green and how narrow it is; the positioning of three bunkers around the green; or Rae’s Creek. Club selection and making solid contact are imperative. Many a contender has watched his chances of winning a Green Jacket disappear into the depths of Rae’s Creek on this demon of a short hole.

The Good

En route to his only major championship, Fred Couples caught his tee shot on the 12th a little heavy and watched it sail toward splashdown. Somehow, in defiance of all known laws of physics, the ball landed on the far side of the creek, but didn’t go in the water. How Couples managed to only walk to his ball as it clung to turf above the surface of the creek is almost as big a mystery as what stopped the ball there in the first place.

The laid-back, smooth-swinging Couples would make his up-and-down and a couple hours later would slip on the jacket offered to him by defending champion, Ian Woosnam.

The Bad

In 1951, Dow Finsterwald played the 11th hole in a combined 10-over for Masters week. He parred the hole on Thursday, but then made 11, 4, and 4 the remainder of the rounds.

The Ugly

Tom Weiskopf finished second at the Masters four times, but 1980 was not one of those years.

In 1980, Weiskopf played the 12th hole in 13 strokes when he managed to put almost two sleeves of balls into the water.

Number 13 – Azalea

By modern standards, a 510-yard par-5 is not a long hole. Most pros today could play this hole with a 3-wood from the tee, and still get to the green in two, even if the hole didn’t have a severe dogleg left.

As it is, most pros do hit 3-wood off this tee for the simple reason that one needs a high-flying right-to-left shot that will follow the shape of the hole. Hit the ball too long and straight, and you are among the pines on your second shot.

The green is guarded by a tributary of Rae’s Creek in front and on the right side and has bunkers behind it. Being in those bunkers is not a great option as the green has an enormous slope in it creating two tiers, one on the front of the green and one on the back. Having to play down that slope often means watching as your ball rolls past the hole and into the creek.

The Good

Most of the time, playing off pine straw from out of the trees on your second shot means you are not going for the green in two. Of course, not many play the game with the bravado and swagger of Phil Mickelson.

Playing the 13th hole on Sunday in 2010, Phil hit his tee ball too straight and ended up in the trees. Hitting from behind a tree and off pine straw, Mickelson put his second shot on the green and would go on to make birdie. A few hours later, he secured his third Green Jacket.

The Bad

There is talk that Augusta National may be looking at extending this hole and I have to admit I have mixed emotions about that.

On the one hand, the hole clearly needs to be lengthened if it is going to continue to be called a par-5. Pros routinely hit this green in two, most of them with middle irons. The long hitters are hitting short irons and wedges into this green. Clearly, that is not the way Alistair McKenzie designed the hole and thought it should be played.

On the other hand, pros still mess it up. It’s not an automatic eagle. It’s not even an automatic birdie. An alternative would be to simply make it a par-4, but that seems almost sacrilegious.

The Ugly

After an opening round 80, Curtis Strange had managed to find his game and take the lead in the tournament as he stood over his ball with a 4-wood on Sunday in 1985.

He mangled the hole by dunking his second shot in the creek and then trying, and failing, to play the ball to the green out of the water.

He went on to make a bogey on 13 and then bogeyed the other par-5 on the inward nine, two holes that most pros expect to play in no worse than 2-under. He would finish two back of eventual champion, Bernhard Langer.

Number 14 – Chinese Fir

Chinese Fir holds the unique distinction of being the only hole on Augusta National that has no hazards. There is no water on the hole, and no bunkers. For all that, however, this hole is not a pushover mostly because of the green.

Jordan Spieth of the United States hits his tee shot on the 14th hole…

Jordan Spieth of the United States hits his tee shot on the 14th hole during the third round of the 2015 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 11, 2015 in Augusta, Georgia. Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

The 14th is not unusually long at 440 yards, and it plays dead straight. However, trees loom over the fairway and if you don’t find the fairway, your chances of hitting the green with your next shot are probably no better than 50/50.

The green is severely contoured and sloped to the right, and if you do not find the correct level of the green with your approach, you can almost assume you will three-jack this green.

The Good

Mickelson is back for his play on this hole on Saturday in 2010. Needing a great round to get into the final group, Phil the Thrill eagled 13 and then holed out for an eagle on 14. He would add a birdie on 15, playing the three holes 5-under en route to a 67. That score moved him into third place alone, three shots ahead of KJ Choi and Tiger Woods in third.

As you read earlier, Mickelson would win the Masters the next day, his third Green Jacket.

The Bad

Nick Price was one of the best players on earth in the early 1990s. He had a simple, quick, repeatable swing and could putt as well as anyone when he was on his game.

It’s actually hard to believe he never won the Masters while he was winning absolutely every event in which he played while he was number one in the world.

However, in 1993, he made history in a way he probably wishes would be forgotten.

On Friday of that year, Price managed to make an eight on a hole with no hazards.

The previous highest score in the Masters on the 14th was 6.

Price put his tee shot against a tree root and took two swings to get the ball on the fairway. His next shot sailed over the green, and trying to hole his chip for bogey, he hit it too hard and ran it down the slope. Three putts later and he had made double par without incurring a penalty stroke, a feat not many pros could pull off.

The Ugly

In 1956, the 14th hole wore poor Horton Smith out.

During the Masters that year, Smith never once made par. He bogeyed the hole twice and doubled it twice for a record 6-over for the week.

The fact that that record has stood for sixty years is evidence for how ugly that record is.

Number 15 – Firethorn

The last of the par-5’s at Augusta is another interesting risk/reward hole. At 530 yards, modern pros can easily reach the green in two most of the time. However, if you do not find the fairway, or do not hit the ball far enough down the fairway, you can be left with a long iron off a downhill lie to a green protected in front by a pond. With the pressure of the tournament on the line, this might not be a shot you want to try to take on.

A general view of the 15th hole is seen during the final round of the…

A general view of the 15th hole is seen during the final round of the 2014 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 13, 2014 in Augusta, Georgia. Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

The green slopes toward the pond. While it is not filled with the undulations like the 14th hole, it is pretty easy to 3-putt this green if you aren’t paying attention.

The Good

Well, I could mention Jack Nicklaus’s majestic 3-iron he hit that set up an eagle in 1986. The eagle he made was part of his inward 30 he carded on the way to his record sixth green jacket (at the age of 46!)

But I would be remiss if I didn’t say the good on this hole is the fabled “Shot heard ’round the world.”

In 1935, playing in only the second Masters, Gene Sarazen laced a 4-wood on the 15th hole that found the bottom of the cup and propelled the Squire to a playoff against Craig Wood. Sarazen would win the playoff, but it was his albatross on the 15th that was the shot that helped lift the fledgling tournament to prominence.

The Sarazen bridge, which crosses takes players to the left side of the green is a memorial to the man and the shot he hit on the 15th hole.

A view of the Sarazen Bridge and the 15th green during the practice…

A view of the Sarazen Bridge and the 15th green during the practice round for the 2015 Masters Tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

The Bad

Chip Beck was an excellent player but was not possessed with above average length for a professional golf player.

In 1993, Beck stood on the 15th tee three back of eventual champion, Bernhard Langer. After their drives, Beck took a very long time trying to decide if he would go for the green in two to try to catch Langer.

He had 236 yards to carry the pond and 250 to the hole with a bit of breeze in his face. He elected to lay up and was pilloried for it afterward.

Commentators the world over called his choice to lay up an example of the problem with American golf players, that they tended to play for the money rather than the title.

I have to think he made the decision that was best for him as he was not one of the longer hitters on Tour, and that was not an easy shot in that moment. However, there is a point to be made about him not even attempting the shot that might have moved him toward possibly winning the Masters.

The Ugly

For a player of his caliber, and given the fact that he has won this tournament, Angel Cabrera’s play on the 15th hole in 2016 is shocking, to say the least.

Keep in mind that this is a hole most players are thinking birdie as they stand on the tee.

In last year’s Masters, Cabrera played the hole in 8-over for the tournament. On Thursday, he made a quadruple bogey 9 on Firethorn. On Friday, he managed to only double bogey the 15th. Cabrera made a par on Saturday, but fell off the wagon on Sunday, making yet another double bogey.

Pros expect to make birdies on par-5 holes on any golf course. If they can attack the green in two, they expect to make a 2-putt birdie or even an eagle. If they have to lay up, they expect to hit a short club into the green close enough for a birdie.

Cabrera is a two-time major champion. His playing this hole for four days without making a birdie is astonishing.

Number 16 – Redbud

The final par-3 on the course is not the easiest hole to play. At 170 yards it will play to a middle iron for most pros, but the green is guarded by water in front and all along the left side.

Chairs are seen along the 16th hole during a practice round prior to…

Chairs are seen along the 16th hole during a practice round prior to the start of the 2017 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 4, 2017 in Augusta, Georgia. Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

The right side of the green is higher than the left and the ridge that separates the two sides of the green is sharp. On Sunday, you will see the hole cut in its traditional position, about 2/3 of the way back and on the left, bringing the water and a small bunker wedged between the green and the pond into play.

The Good

It’s hard to find a more iconic moment on the 16th hole than the Golden Bear, Jack Nicklaus, lacing a shot right at the hole in 1986. While the ball was in the air, his son said, “Be right.” Knowing he had hit that shot he wanted to hit, Jack had already stopped watching the ball and simply replied, “It is.” The ball came within a couple feet of going in the hole. Jack went on to win his sixth Green Jacket that day at the age of 46.

One moment that might rival Jack’s shot was Tiger Woods’ in the final round in 2005. Leading by one, Woods pulled his tee shot long and left of the green. He aimed away from the hole, playing the chip shot up the slope and watched as it climbed the hill before rolling back toward the hole where it paused agonizingly on the lip before tumbling in for a remarkable birdie.

However, if only because it was something players hardly ever see, if ever, the shot that I am placing at the top is Louis Oosthuizen’s ace that ricocheted off JB Holmes ball that was already on the green.

J.B. Holmes of the United States and Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa…

J.B. Holmes of the United States and Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa shake hands after finishing on the 18th green during the final round of the 2016 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club… Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

Holmes hit a wonderful shot that finished about two feet from the hole. Oosthuizen hit his shot up on the ridge. It rolled down the slope, hit Holmes’ ball – almost knocking it in the hole – and then slipped in to make an ace for Oosthuizen.

You might see plenty of aces in your life, but you won’t see many like that.

The Bad

Herman Baron holds the record for the highest score on Redbud. He recorded an 11 in 1950. That is an incredible amount of strokes on a single hole for anyone, but especially for a professional golf player.

The Ugly

As bad as Baron’s record for a single playing of the 16th is, Richard Chapman played the hole four times and managed to par it only once, on Saturday. He bogeyed the hole on Thursday and Friday, and made a ghastly 10 on Sunday.

Number 17 – Nandina

A straightaway par-4 of 440 yards, Nandina really isn’t the same hole since Eisenhower’s Tree suffered severe damage in an ice storm and was removed in 2014.

With Ike’s Tree guarding the left side of the fairway, players were forced to play over it or around it from the tee to find the fairway.

Hideki Matsuyama of Japan hits his tee shot on the 17th hole during…

Hideki Matsuyama of Japan hits his tee shot on the 17th hole during the third round of the 2016 Masters Tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club on April 9, 2016 in Augusta, Georgia. Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

Now, though, the hole is relatively nondescript and unremarkable, especially considering its placement on the course. If it were possible, you’d almost like to see the 11th hole and the 17th trade places.

The only real trouble, if you want to call it that, is finding the right level of the green and avoiding the sand around it.

The Good

Who can forget the iconic moment in 1986 when Jack Nicklaus raised his putter in triumph while his fifth birdie of the nine (which also included an eagle), fell into the middle of the cup.

Jack Nicklaus of the United States sinks a birdie putt at the 17th…

Jack Nicklaus of the United States sinks a birdie putt at the 17th hole during the US Masters Golf Touranment held at the Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia on 13th April 1986. Nicklaus won the… Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

Verne Lundquist’s call was as memorable as the shot itself. As the ball toppled into the hole, Lundquist’s easily identifiable voice intoned, “Yes, sir!” and the magical comeback by the Golden Bear was made complete when no one could catch his 9-under score.

The Bad

Jim Foulis holds the record for Masters futility on the 17th hole. In 1947, Foulis played the 17th hole in 6-over for the week. He never made par on the hole, bogeying twice and making double bogey twice.

The Ugly

While the incident didn’t actually take place on the 17th hole, Roberto DiVicenzo’s gaff in scoring on the 17th lives in Masters infamy.

It’s a cautionary tale to anyone who has played or plans to play in a tournament to check your scorecard.

In the final round in 1968, DiVicenzo made a birdie on the 17th hole, but his playing competitor, Tommy Armor (who was responsible for keeping his score), marked him as making a four.

DiVicenzo signed the card without noticing the mistake and under the rules of golf, was stuck with that score.

Had he noticed the error, he would have been in a playoff with eventual champion Bob Goalby.

Number 18 – Holly

The 18th at Augusta plays through a chute of trees off the tee and doglegs right as it climbs the hill up to the clubhouse.

The longer players will take a 3-wood off the tee to avoid going into the cavernous bunkers that guard the outside of the dogleg. If you go into one of those bunkers, you very likely will not even see the flag when you address your ball.

Danny Willett of England hits a tee shot on the 18th hole during the…

Danny Willett of England hits a tee shot on the 18th hole during the first round of the 2015 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 9, 2015 in Augusta, Georgia. Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

A medium iron approach to a green guarded by bunkers on either side awaits you after you have negotiated the tee shot, but finding the proper level of this green is very important. Putting up or down one of the ridges in this green is a recipe for a 3-putt.

The Good

As with the 16th hole, there are any number of great shots on this hole you could pick.

Sandy Lyle made an improbable birdie in played a 7-iron out of one of the fairway bunkers to about 10 feet. He rolled in the putt to secure the win in 1988.

Mark O’Meara birdied the last two to win his first major in 1998. Charl Schwartzel birdied the last four to take the title in 2011.

But for me, the best finish to win the Masters was Phil Mickelson in 2004.

Phil is still the last man to have won on Tour as an amateur, and his career, while spectacular, would have seemed incomplete if he had never won a major.

The Masters in 2004 seemed to be the tournament no one wanted to win. On the front nine in the final round, three of the eventual top-5 finishers and third round co-leader Chris DiMarco were over par. Only KJ Choi and Ernie Els played the outward nine under par on Sunday.

On the inward nine, however, things got interesting. The group of players consisting of Mickelson, Els, Choi, Sergio Garcia, Bernhard Langer and DiMarco played the back nine in a combined total of 16-under par with three eagles, 16 birdies, two bogeys, and two double bogeys.

Mickelson recorded five of those birdies, including on the final hole, as he played the inward nine in a brilliant 31 to secure his first of three Masters titles and fulfill the promise of his incredible talent.

The Bad

Kelly Kraft would probably prefer to never play this hole again after his performance in 2012. Kraft not only didn’t par the hole all week. He played it progressively worse as the week went on.

After making bogey on Thursday and Friday, he made double on Saturday, and triple on Sunday.

The Ugly

While Jack Nicklaus was pretending he was 20 years younger than he was in 1986, Greg Norman would hit a shot that most of us are all too familiar with.

Needing only a par to force a playoff, Norman pushed his 4-iron approach and was unable to get up and down.

That year Norman completed what many have called the “Saturday Slam.” He led or had a share of the lead after the third round of every major in 1986. He would only manage to win the Open Championship.

In a career filled with heartbreak, Norman himself called his blocked approach to the 72nd hole in the 1986 Masters the “biggest regret” of his career.

So that’s it. That’s a look at all nine holes on the inward half of Augusta National, and a look at some of the more memorable moments on each of them.

Whether you’re a first-time watcher or a grizzled veteran, there are always incredible moments to watch at Augusta National during the first full week of April.

Have fun watching!

Cover Image via Flickr