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Tunnel Vision
Using technology to solve the mystery winds of No. 12
By Alan Shipnuck
Phenomenon of the Flags
 Jack Nicklaus once called the 12th at Augusta National
"the hardest hole in golf." Lloyd Mangrum settled on "the
meanest." How merciless is the 12th? During the first round of the 1980
Masters it took Tom Weiskopf 13 strokes to navigate the 12th's 155 yards. (He
rallied the next day with a 7.) In '72 Bobby Mitchell finished three strokes
back of the champ, Nicklaus, after making a bogey and three doubles at
12.
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One wind, two directions |
| The 12th green sits at the lowest spot on the course, in a valley formed by two
hills, one behind the green, the other behind the tee. The prevailing south wind
splits as it blows over the hill behind the green, causing a shear that occurs
about 65 yards from the tee. Some gusts are funneled to the east, into the open
space around the 11th green, stiffening the flag. Other gusts swirl to the west,
into the amphitheater of pines around the 12th green. Thus, the flags at the
11th and the 12th -- separated by only 400 feet -- often fly in opposite
directions. | | What makes this exacting hole so maddening is the heretofore indecipherable
winds. It's not uncommon for the flag on the adjacent 11th green to point east
while the flag at the 12th blows in the opposite direction. Meanwhile, the tree
branches sway in various
directions.
Over the years the ghostly winds have given rise to a host of theories. Ben
Hogan once said, "Never hit until you feel the wind on your cheek."
Hubert Green passes on this hypothesis: "When the dogwood tree to the right
of the 13th tee stops moving, then there's no wind blowing over the 12th
green."
In an effort to unlock the 12th hole's secrets, SI approached the University of
Western Ontario, one of the world's leading research centers on boundary layer
effects, the discipline of engineering that examines how wind interacts with the
earth's surface. Using topographical information supplied by Augusta National,
Western Ontario constructed a mini Amen Corner 10 feet in diameter. The
researchers reproduced the prevailing April wind (from the south) and the
typical velocity (median 7.5 mph). According to Western Ontario, this is
the first time a golf course has been wind-tunnel-tested. After 68 years of
superstition, you have before you the science of the 12th
hole.
Wind Tunnel 101
Augusta National is a one-of-a-kind golf course, but all it takes to reproduce it
(albeit at a scale of 1 to 200) is high-density foam sculpted with drywall
compound, more than 600 trees made of sponge and wire, an acrylic Rae's Creek
(complete with tiny silicone waves) and, for good measure, foam golfers that are
nearly as stiff as the real thing. In January the model was put to the test at
the University of Western Ontario's Boundary Layer Wind Tunnel
Laboratory.
To marry the wind-tunnel technology to the specific demands of the 12th hole's
tee shot, Maxfli supplied SI with trajectory information for an average Tour
player's eight-iron. The shot's path was represented on the model by a fixed
piece of copper tubing 5/16 of an inch in diameter. Meteorological data
from 1949 through '99 (collected at Augusta Regional Airport, about 10 miles
south of Augusta National) was then analyzed by computer to create a simulation
of the typical April winds that blow through Amen Corner. Smoke was used to give
these breezes visual paths. To illustrate the turbulence at higher elevations, a
wire coated with oil was fixed upwind from the model. An electrical current was
sent through the wire until the oil burned, producing yellowish smoke. To depict
the wind's effects along the trajectory of the shot, 13 evenly spaced holes were
drilled along the copper tubing. Inside, titanium tetrachloride was introduced,
producing bright white
smoke.
According to Maxfli, a typical eight-iron shot is in the air for slightly more
than five seconds. At Augusta that journey is fraught with peril. On the tee the
wind is in the golfer's face, quartering slightly to the left (east), in the
direction of the 11th fairway. About 25 yards into its flight the ball
encounters a crosswind blowing to the east. Another 40 yards toward the
green, as the shot is approaching its apex, the ball is slammed by a wind shear,
with gusts blowing to the west toward the 13th fairway. This wind dissolves
into low-speed swirling 20 yards from the green, as the ball is passing over
Rae's Creek.
The 12th hole has played a pivotal role at numerous Masters, and no
wonder -- the wind a golfer feels on the tee barely hints at the turbulence
his ball will experience in the air. With its secrets revealed, will the 12th
(statistically the second-hardest hole, after the 10th) be tamed? Doubtful, says
Greg Kopp, the project leader at Western Ontario. "The challenge used to be
trying to figure out the wind," he says. "Now the players have all the
information, but they may wish they didn't. It's still a frightening shot into a
very difficult
wind."
Issue date: April 8, 2002
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