Secrets of Augusta: The nine most challenging holes at the Masters and how to play them

Sporting News Australia

Secrets of Augusta: The nine most challenging holes at the Masters and how to play them image

Navigating through all of the nasty surprises that Augusta's 18 holes toss up is crucial to winning the Masters.

However, according to Aussie golf pro and 2014 Masters Low Amateur, Ollie Goss, there are some holes in particular that can make or break a player's round over the weekend at the iconic course.

Ahead of this week's Masters tournament, Sporting News sat down with Goss and dissected the nine most challenging holes at Augusta National and the strategy for playing them.

THE NINE MOST CHALLENGING HOLES AT AUGUSTA NATIONAL AND HOW TO PLAY THEM

1ST HOLE – 445 YARD PAR 4

"Disregarding the probably five thousand people that are around the first tee this hole looks amazing from the first tee," Goss said.

"You hit onto a plateau, so you're hitting up the hill... there's a fairway bunker on the right which you really think you don't want to go into but it's not a bad miss. Ideally, I'd be hitting a little fade with driver just left of the bunker and having a short iron into a really tricky green.

"You really don't want to be right of the fairway bunker. Left isn't a bad option if you're really far left, which is what I did. I snap hooked it off the tee every day and was in the middle of the ninth fairway, and it really wasn't a bad shot to hit it over the trees.

"I would play into the middle of the green and putt to the corners because all the flags are normally in the four corners.

"The green is super tricky as well because of the different grains, so if you miss that green it's a really tricky up and down to any flag."

6TH HOLE – 180 YARD PAR 3

“It’s severely downhill - a good 20, 30 metres down the hill - and there’s some really big trees that cover the left side of the hole so it's really difficult to calculate the wind," Goss said.

“There’s a really severe tier to the back right of the green and I think you’ve only got a dining table to land on.

"Otherwise, it's either going over the back, kicking off the to the right or spinning back down the tier and then you’ve got a 50-foot putt up a six-foot tier”

“If you miss it long, that’s a scary chip shot back down to the flag and there’s a very good chance it’s going to run off the back.

“It's just a very scary shot in general... the wind actually funnels through the trees… once you get that ball up above the trees, you could have completely miscalculated the direction of the wind”

7TH HOLE – 450 YARD PAR 4

“I think the 7th hole is underrated on how difficult it is," Goss claimed.

“You get a good drive away and you could get a short iron or wedge in. But the tricky part is the fairway slopes heavily left to right and the trees on the left come in quite quickly. So it's hard to start it left and play a fade and then it's going to bounce off into the right rough.

“At 250, 260 metres the fairway gets significantly narrower and you’ve probably only got a 10 metre fairway to hit it between, which at 300 metres is very, very tight, especially with the slope of the fairway.”

11TH HOLE – 505 YARD PAR 4

“For me one of the most difficult holes during the week, mainly because it’s a long hole," Goss said of the first hole at 'Amen Corner'.

"I was one of the longer hitters and I would have a good drive away and still have a 4 iron into a par 4 that has an insanely tricky green

“That hole could play significantly over par this week depending on the wind.

“You’ve got to somehow not hit it in the water, not miss to the right… hit it on this green that is about a 45 degree angle… it just sounds absolutely impossible

“You really can’t miss it left, if you do you’re going to lose your ball, miss it right you can chip out… but you’re probably not going to have a shot to the green…

“Hitting that second shot into the green it is a tiny landing area. You need to avoid the water on the left, not mishit it right and not hit it in the back-right bunker... you’ve honestly gotta man up and hit a really good shot.”

12TH HOLE – 155 YARD PAR 3

“Obviously one of the most iconic holes on the course and I think the reason why it’s so difficult for a lot of players is the wind," Goss said of the picturesque 12th.

"There are trees at the back and left so it can really mess with the wind.

“I split the green up into the two sections - left and right - and I was just playing into the middle of the left section and middle of the right section (depending on pin position).

“Commonly it could feel into the wind but it was actually off to the right and that’s what makes it difficult.

“A very, very tricky hole… even if it’s a pitching wedge to the front or a 9 iron to a back pin. It doesn’t seem that intimidating but it’s a very very tricky hole.”

13TH HOLE – 510 YARD PAR 5

“If you can get a good drive away it’s a huge scoring opportunity, it’s probably one of the holes you’re thinking about making birdie,” he said.

“The tee shot is really difficult. If you hit the driver straight, you’re going to hit it into the trees so you’ve got to shape it right to left around the trees and around the water and get it running down the left side.

“Or if you’re long enough you can actually now go straight over the corner."

15TH HOLE – 530 YARD PAR 5

"The 15th is easily the scariest sand wedge or pitch shot you will ever come across, especially to that left pin," Goss declared.

"They've also just added about 20 metres to this hole this year, which is going to bring more of that water into play. Even for the longer hitters who were hitting long irons in.. they're going to be taking head covers off if they want to go for it now.

"The tee shot is quite tough, you've got about half a fairway to hit it in because if you hit it too far left there's some trees, so you've really got to land it on the right side of the fairway if you want a clear shot at the green.

"Then you're hitting a shot that's probably 15 or 20 metres down the hill, over water and trying to stop it on this little piece of grass at the end there. If you hit it long there's a really good chance you could hit it into the water that backs onto the 16th hole.

"If you are laying it up, you kind of want to land it on the left side of the fairway, because of the grain of the green... hitting the ball from the left side you're kind of pitching back straight into the grain.

"But if you're on the right side it's going to spin hard to the left and bring that water into play. So that left pin you've probably got a dinner plate to land it on. I mean if you're short, it's going to spin back into the water. If you're long it's going to bounce over the back, and then you've got a really tricky chip back towards the water.

"That's what makes that third shot or that chip shot so scary... it's just so hard."

16TH HOLE – 170 YARD PAR 3

"Another really iconic hole... a very undulating green. There are two tiers right and left, which you don't see often," Goss said of the last par 3 at Augusta.

"If you've got a left pin you can hit it 10 or 15 yards right of the flag and it's going to role down towards the hole.

"That back left pin, if there was (no fans) and there was no tournament, it'd be what I'd call a hole-in-one hole where everyone's trying to get it in the hole

"If you hit it in the bunker you can hit it up the slope and it's going to come back.. the only place you don't want to miss it is to the right of the green... putting down that slope is really tricky.

"Again, the trees do a world of damage in terms of trying to figure out where the wind is going so the tee shot can be really tough."

18TH HOLE – 465 YARD PAR 4

"18 is probably one of the most demanding tee shots in golf," Goss finished.

"They lengthened that hole by a good 40 or 50 yards in the early 2000s and it made that chute between the trees that much more narrower (off the tee).

"I think it shows up in all the pictures quite well but in person, it seems even narrower. Especially when you're standing on that tee and you're on the verge of trying to make the cut or have a good finish, it makes it more tricky.

"You're basically trying to hit it at that fairway bunker you can see in the distance with a little fade. You have to be careful though because if you block it at all, there are some trees that come in quickly on the right so you could be chipping out fairly quickly.

"For the longer hitters, you're going to have a short iron in - maybe an 8 or 9 iron depending on where the flag is.

"But the second shot is really tricky because you're hitting back up the hill to a really tiered green.

"As everyone knows with that front left pin, you can use the slope to get the ball back towards the flag. But the back pins are the trickier pins, because if you catch the tier then it's coming back down the front, if you hit it long you've got a really tricky shot back down the hill.

"If you are on the back tier putting back down to one of the front pins, there's a sprinkler head on the fringe near the right bunker. If you putt at that sprinkler it's going to roll back down near the hole - that's one of the tricks my caddy taught me.

"There's no way you can go straight at the pin because the greens are too quick and it'd roll off.

"It's a very tricky green and a tricky hole in general, especially when you consider the added pressure of it being the last hole of the tournament and all the people are around and the significance of that."

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