A new look at Augusta National : THE COURSE - features of Augusta National Golf Course - Brief Article

The new look of Augusta National--the one with a buzz-cut of rough around each fairway and most greens--was first introduced in 1999, but few noticed a big difference. Last year, however, it had players playing defensively, pundits writing offensively and TV viewers adjusting their contrast. Few cared for it, and many blamed it for the lack of drama.

Wrong. Cold weather and high winds were responsible for the conservative play in 2000. Augusta National's grooming is just another attempt to Tigerproof the course, although club officials will never admit it. They won't even call it rough, preferring to label it a "second cut'' of fairway. Rarely has so much fuss been made about so little. The rough is just 131/48 inches deep, not the sort that causes anyone to pitch out sideways. Sure, it's enough to cause a knuckleball that has no chance of stopping on a rock-hard green. But Masters competitors are smart, talented and well equipped. They can pick a ball cleanly out of light rough, use the grooves on their irons--or avoid the rough in the first place.

What Augusta's rough has done is make the Masters more of a test of drives and second shots, and less of a putting contest. Last year's winner, Vijay Singh, had three three-putts, more than the combined total of the previous seven Masters champions. But he led the field in greens in regulation, and won by three shots. For the 2001 Masters, the strategy will be the same: fairways and greens. (For an 18-hole slide show of the course, see www.golfdigest.com/masters.)

COPYRIGHT 2001 New York Times Company Magazine Group, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2001 Gale Group