Augusta Alterations

Tom Fazio's work with Augusta National dates to the early '70s, when he and his uncle George redid the 10th tee. For the last few years Fazio and his staff have charted shots at the Masters. "Our decision to make these changes was not a shot from the hip," he says. "The ball's going farther. Something had to be done." Here is Fazio's take on the holes he renovated.

HOLE 1
PAR-4
435 YARDS
+25

"Along with moving the tee back, we enlarged the fairway bunker to bring it into play. But we also leveled the landing area so shorter hitters won't land on the upslope—a major disadvantage. There's an elevation change of three or four feet."

2002 CHANGES:——NEW BUNKERS——OLD TEES

HOLE 7
PAR-4
410 YARDS
+45
"Another hole where we had to move the tee back, but at roughly 400 yards the hole will still play as a tight little par-4. Long hitters were driving it past the trees and onto an upslope, leaving them a 40- to 50-yard approach they could hit with no spin to stick it close to the hole."

HOLE 9
PAR-4
460 YARDS
+30
"This hole is not only longer but also has added trees on the right. If you try to bail out with your tee shot, you can get in real trouble. I expect players will be more concerned about accuracy than length off the tee, causing some sweaty palms."

HOLE 8
PAR-5
570 YARDS
+20
"The changes actually help the medium and short hitters. The tee is slightly to the right of its old position, and we moved the fairway bunker closer to the green. The big sentinel pine now comes into play, so you can't start the ball way right and rope it back into the fairway. Look for more left-to-right tee shots."

HOLE 10
PAR-4
495 YARDS
+10
"In addition to moving the tee back and a little to the left, we regraded the area in front of the tee to make the fairway more visible from the tee. I wouldn't call this a restoration, though, because the hole actually rewards an even bigger right-to-left tee shot than it did before."

HOLE 11
PAR-4
490 YARDS
+35
"We moved this tee back four years ago, but we had to do it again because the hole was playing so short that few people were laying up to the right of the green anymore. Why play safe when you're hitting nine-iron or sand wedge for your second shot? We've made it a mid-iron approach again."

HOLE 13
PAR-5
510 YARDS
+25
"When Ray Floyd won the Masters [in 1976], he got home with a driver and a five-wood. Last year the players were hitting their second shots with four-, five- and even six-irons, so we've simply recreated the old shot values. With the tee moved back and a hair to the left, players must hit a good drive to find the proper landing area."