11 Architects Who Directly Influenced Augusta National
Even the most casual golf fan is aware that Augusta National Golf Club was designed by Alister MacKenzie, in tandem with amateur legend and Grand Slam winner Bobby Jones. However, not even serious Masters students realize that nearly 20 prominent figures in the game have effected changes to the course design over the past 90 […]
Geoff Shackelford: Imitation at Augusta National is the Highest Form of Flattery
Augusta National, which has been the inspiration for many courses built since, was itself largely inspired by the game’s classic layouts. At least, that’s what they said at the time. Augusta National started out as a concept course. A greatest hits package in spirit. Co-founder Clifford Roberts bought into Alister MacKenzie’s vision and then sold […]
Golf Course Architect Bill Bergin – LINKS Golf Podcast Ep. 168
Professional player turned golf course architect Bill Bergin joins the LINKS Golf Podcast to talk about his design of the Highlands Course at McLemore, and the new course he is building for the Georgia resort/community with Rees Jones called The Keep. The hosts also chat with Bergin about finishing 14th in the 1984 Open Championship, […]
18 of the Best Dogleg Holes
It would be a gross overgeneralization to say all straight golf holes are boring. The Old Course at St. Andrews has a lot of straight or straight-ish holes, but thanks to a combination of tantalizing fairway/green contours, bothersome bunkers that really are best-avoided, firm ground, and an ancient stone bridge, there’s not a single hole […]
False Fronts: History, Evolution, and 10 of the Best
When a serious green jacket contender sees his ball land on the false front short of the flag at Augusta National’s 9th hole on Sunday afternoon and reverse 20, 30, even 40 yards back down the hill toward him, the patrons can barely stifle their groans. They’ve probably witnessed the same distressing sequence befall a […]
10 Courses that Resemble Augusta National
Dreaming of dogwoods and azaleas, but find that a tee time at Augusta National is out of reach? There’s a fistful of courses in the U.S. that embody many, though certainly not all, of the virtues of Augusta National. Some layouts approach the ambience, others the conditioning and design, and still others the floral displays. […]
The 10 Most Significant Augusta National Course Changes
The home of the Masters has undergone annual changes of all kinds. This unscientific ranking takes into account the impact on the course and on tournaments. 10. Rae’s Creek tributary fronting the 13th green is allowed to fill with more running water in the late 1980s, only to be undone following criticism from the likes […]
What We Know About the New 13th Tee at Augusta National
Here’s what we know about Augusta National’s ambitious 13th tee: pretty much everything—minus one elusive detail Not long ago, players would turn up Masters week and get asked about course changes. Some reported phantom revisions, insisting the club had tweaked and tugged away at the design when no such thing occurred. The Lords of Augusta […]
The 10 Toughest Greens at Augusta National
A better title for this article might be “The 18 Toughest Greens at Augusta National,” because the reality is that every putting surface on this storied course can give players fits. It all depends on where the hole is located and where a player is putting from. Long putts, short putts—it doesn’t matter. Twenty-footers can […]
Notable Golf Courses with a Draw or Fade Bias
There is a sacred stretch of days each year when golf fans park themselves on the sofa and are seduced once again by the azaleas, cathedral pines, and lightning-fast greens of Augusta National. As he/she does annually, the committed fan will bone up on their Masters history and, perhaps, read something new about a course […]
