Changes to the 11th and 15th at Augusta National Will Make the Masters Tougher

Players will find added length to both holes, making the 11th, which is the longest par-4 on the course, even longer.

AUGUSTA, Ga. – There are few secrets when it comes to spectating at the Masters, but if one remains it is the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.

The gates to the 2022 tournament week opened early Saturday morning, and traffic jams returned to Augusta after two years impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. That meant spectators in abundance to watch the 3-year-old Masters tradition but perhaps the best opportunity all week to check out the golf course and all its nuance.

Because the field is so small – just 30 players make the cut for the Women’s Amateur – there is plenty of space and excellent viewing locations, due also in part to the fact that Augusta National limited the number of tickets it sells.

It also provided a chance to see two of the biggest changes made in the offseason to Augusta National – the lengthening of the 11th and 15th holes.

The par-4 11th was stretched from 505 yards to 520 yards, adding more zest to a hole that was already one of the most difficult in tournament history. And the par-5 15th – traditionally among the easiest – went from 530 yards to 550 yards.

Fifteen trees were removed from the right side of the 11th fairway, along with a significant amount of pine straw. The second shot that Tiger Woods hit to the green during the final round of his 2019 victory no longer exists; it appears there is actually more room on that side of the fairway.

“It’s a big change,’’ said Rory McIlroy after seeing the 11th for the first time when he visited for practice rounds on Monday and Tuesday. “It’s obviously a longer hole, the fairway’s much wider, so even if you miss it right, you still have a chance to hit the green.’’

“The green complexes are the same, but the surrounds of the green are much more penal so that sort of bail-out to the right is much more difficult than it used to be. Overall, I think it’s going to play tougher than it has in previous years and it was already one of the toughest holes on the course.’’

McIlroy described a far longer par-4 that no longer has the same area to the right of the green from which Larry Mize to pitched in during a sudden-death playoff in 1987 to defeat Greg Norman. McIlroy said he needed a 4-iron to reach the green on one day, a 6-iron that next.

The 11th has played as the second-most difficult in Masters history, with an average of 4.30, with No. 10 playing as the most difficult. Last year, the 11th was the second-most difficult hole at 4.399 and the 10th was fifth at 4.22.

“If they didn’t tell you that they changed anything and you go there, you’d think it looks the same as it did every other year,’’ said Woods in an interview with Golf Digest before he visited Augusta National on Tuesday. “It’s just absolutely amazing.’’

Woods described the 11th hole as “a good change’’ because “they took some of the dogleg out’’ of the hole. He also remarked about moving the 15th tee back.

Although it’s only a 20-yard difference, the hole looks different because at least 15 Holly trees have been planted to the right of the tee – which is now almost directly behind the 10th green. The mounding on the right side of the fairway also appears to be a bit steeper, meaning more slope from right-to-left.

The 15th is often the scene of high drama, despite often ranking among the easier holes on the course. Last year it was the fourth easiest, with a scoring average of 4.766. It is the second-easiest all time.

“I haven’t seen it yet, but we’re almost going to be on the back of 10 green,’’ Woods said in the Golf Digest interview. “I didn’t know there was land back there. They find land, they can make land.’’

A few Masters contestants started to trickle onto the driving range Saturday afternoon after the Women’s Amateur was won by Anna Davis, the only player to finish the tournament under par. More will show up Sunday for afternoon practice rounds – might Woods be among them? – before the masses arrive on Monday, with full crowds expected for the first time since 2019.

They will have a more difficult time seeing what was easier to navigate on Saturday, although given the venue, few are likely to complain.