By Rick Dorsey
Chronicle Staff Writer
There's no official count as to how many golf balls are at the bottom of Rae's Creek, but you can rest assured knowing there are no magnets or vacuums or suction devices on the creek's floor.
It only seems that way.
Rae's Creek flows ominously in front of the famous 12th hole at Augusta National, guarding the sacred green with tepid waters that can intimidate the most intrepid golfer.
The waters continue on behind the 11th green, while the water fronting the 13th is a Rae's Creek tributary.
Its name hails from John Rae, a well-known Augustan in the late 1700s whose house was the farthest fortress up the Savannah River - at the time, the mouth of the creek - from Fort Augusta. The house provided Augustans with a safe haven during Indian attacks when the fort proved out of reach.
For golfers, Rae's Creek's waters are never out of reach, especially before the 12th green.
When Billy Andrade once described the creek, he said: "It's not a place you want to go swimming or fishing or anything like that. It's a nice name, but it's a creek you do not want to visit."
In 1980, Tom Weiskopf found the creek a record six times - taking a 13 on No. 12. Other golfers have unwillingly visited Rae's waters, but it may be the shot that didn't go in that's most famous.
Fred Couples, on the way to capturing the 1992 Masters, watched his tee shot on No. 12 spin back toward the creek, then hang on for dear life. Someone must have turned off the vacuum.
Originally, the creek served as a 12-mile stream draining into 19 square-mile Lake Olmstead west of downtown Augusta. Residents in the Brynwood subdivision have battled Rae's Creek and its flooding for years, including the Great Flood of 1920.
A $1.4 million project to widen the tributary has helped make it less threatening, easing homeowners fears whenever rains come.
For golfers, the fear is ongoing.
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