Nothing remains static at Augusta National Golf Club for long. The iconic home of the Masters has changed dramatically since the Alister MacKenzie design opened in 1932.
A handful of designers have made significant tweaks: Perry Maxwell, Robert Trent Jones Sr. and several other golf architects have left their mark in partnership with a string of club chairmen who have led alterations to the No. 2 layout on Golfweek’s Best list of Classic Courses in the U.S.
One of the biggest changes this year was made to the right side of No. 11, a long, downhill par 4 that typically plays as one of the most difficult holes on the property. Fifteen trees and a swath of pine needles was removed in the prime landing area, freeing up players to once again play down the right side of the fairway to establish a better angle into the green that is protected with water short and left. There are still trees bordering the fairway closer to the tee, but the prime landing area is no much more clear than in recent years.
Much of the work was captured in progress with excellent aerial photography by Eureka Earth as shown on Twitter in recent months:
Augusta National was for decades known as a wide layout, giving players plenty of options to select best lines on which to attack flagsticks on the quick, firm and sloping greens. But two decades ago and in concert with other changes that effectively narrowed Bobby Jones’ old stomping grounds, the club planted the row of trees down the right side of No. 11, forcing players into the fairway and eliminating the right-side option.
With all but three of the trees now removed and grass replacing the pine straw, some of the width – and strategy – of Augusta National has been returned.
The 11thalso was lengthened 15 yards this year, now playing 520 yards as a par 4, and the tee box was shifted to the players’ left. At the green, a gentle slope down from the right side to the putting surface also was reshaped into a much more dramatic swale of some 4 feet in depth.
Check out the these photos of the right side of the fairway at 11 through the years.