NO VERSION OF AUGUSTA COULD CONTEND
FOR ‘BEST’ BEFORE 1980, THE YEAR THE GREENS
WERE CONVERTED TO BENTGRASS.
HOLE 17 / 1995 MacKenzie and Jones envisioned far- ranging fairways so that players could maximise angles into greens.
ters, Nicklaus had about 235 yards to cover the water and chose to hit his 1-iron, which settled 12 feet from the hole. Eleven years later in 1986, Nick- laus played a 4-iron from 200 yards to the flag (the hole measured 20 yards shorter than in 1975) setting up a his- toric eagle. En route to his 1998 victo- ry, Mark O’Meara played a 3-iron from 220 yards, leading to the first of three birdies over the final four holes. By the mid-2000s, players were
architectural changes since the 1950s. Until 2002, the demands of the second shot to the 15th green, played downhill and over a water hazard, had changed little since Gene Sarazen knocked a 4-wood into the hole for a double eagle in 1935. Players almost always had 220 to 230 yards remaining after good drives, putting them in position to contemplate trying to reach the ta- bletop green with long irons or woods. During the final round of the 1975 Mas-
defensive. Average driving distances on the PGA Tour increased by more than 22 yards between 1980 and 2001. Even more concerning, the average winning score between 1990 and 2001 was 276.3, four strokes lower than the average winning score the previous 40 years (280.6). The 15th hole is a useful barometer for understanding how the distance gains provoked Augusta National to embark on the most consequential
68 GOLF DIGEST SOUTH AFRICA
MARCH/APRIL 2024
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