Viewer's guide: sold out: tournament remains one tough ticket

MASTERS PATRONS SHOULD be happy that ticket prices will remain at $175 for a weekly badge and $31 to $36 for practice rounds despite increases in 2004. However, for those without Masters tickets who were hoping more spectators might be allowed into the main event, don't hold your breath.

The waiting list for tickets is closed and won't reopen in the "foreseeable future," officials say. You can still score practice-round tickets for 2006 by applying to Masters Tournament, Practice Rounds, P.O. Box 2047, Augusta, Ga., 30903-2047 (include name, address, daytime telephone and Social Security number). Submissions will be put into a lottery.

The only other way to buy a ticket is from a broker or directly from someone on the patron list. Regardless, you'll spend hundreds more, and Augusta officials frown upon the second- hand selling of tickets.

The front nine

Don't hit it here And don't hit it there.

Hole diagrams by Chris O'Riley

We asked 18 players from this year's Masters field, including the last six champions, to identify the one spot on each hole at Augusta National where you absolutely can't hit it and avoid bogey--or worse.

1 Par 4 435 yards

"A lot of guys talk about the fairway bunker, but I say the one place you can't go is over the green. There's a false rear on the back side that can suck balls all the way down the slope even when you land your approach shot hole-high. It's an impossible chip from back there."--Stewart Cink

2 Par 5 575 yards

"The No. 1 no-no on No. 2 is left off the tee. Over there you bring the creek into play, and you've turned a birdie hole into maybe a bogey."--Fred Funk

3 Par 4 350 yards 3

"Anything short and left of this green is no good, especially when the pin is up front. From down there, you're about 15 feet below a green that runs away from you. If you're there in two, you're just hoping to make bogey." --Justin Leonard

4 Par 3 205 yards 4

"The worst miss is in that left bunker, particularly when the hole is front left. I've seen some of the best bunker players in the world not get up and down from there." --Kirk Triplett

5 Par 4 455 yards

"There isn't a pin on that green where long left is good, especially when the hole is on that little knob front-center. You're not going to save par from there." --Jim Furyk

6 Par 3 180 yards 6

"When the pin is back right, you can't go long. More often than not you'll leave the next shot short with your chip or putt, and you'll probably be long with the next. Then you'll face a difficult two-putt from 80 feet or so for a double bogey."--Phil Mickelson

7 Par 4 410 yards

"Two places you can't go: left off the tee and long with your approach. That's one green you've got to hit in regulation, and you can't do it from the left trees. Over the green might be even worse; you can't get up and down from back there." --Bernhard Langer

8 Par 5 570 yards

"The one place you never want to hit it is left with your second shot. There's some rough, and your approach will be blocked by trees. Anything over there is trouble." --Mike Weir

9 Par 4 460 yards

"Long and right of the green is tough there, and the toughest pin is the new one on the back shelf. You feel like you can't get your approach shot back there, and when you take a little more club you bring that back right into play." --David Toms

10 Par 4 495 yards

"Hit it too far right off the tee and you don't get that roll to the bottom of the fairway. Avery long approach from that rough is very difficult to hold."--Jeff Maggert

11 Par 4 490 yards

"Off the tee you can't hit it right with all those new trees around. You used to be able to hit it as far right as you wanted, but now they've moved the tee box more to the right, angling you left."--Tiger Woods

12 Par 3 155 yards

"That back bunker, especially if you have a downhill lie, leaves you with a scary shot because of the water if you're long." --Vijay Singh

13 Par 5 510 yards

"You have to avoid that creek in front of the green. It's right there calling your name. Because the green is above you, you have to remember to play for five more yards. Otherwise it's easy to hit it in there."-Ernie Els

14 Par 4 440 yards 14

"When you short-side yourself on 14-or anywhere at Augusta, for that matter-you're dead. But that green is brutal. Whatever side the pin is on, don't miss the green over there." --John Daly

15 Par 5 500 yards 15

"You really don't want to drive it down the left side. The tee shot is everything, and you've missed a great opportunity for birdie if you can't go for the green in two." --Robert Allenby

16 Par 3 170 yards 16

"You definitely don't want to miss that green right. Except on Sunday, the pin is usually in a spot where if you miss right off the tee you'll be looking at a 40- or 50- footer to save par." --Chris DiMarco

17 Par 4 425 yards

"Like a lot of holes at Augusta, you don't want to go long on 17. There is very little chance of stopping your chip close to the hole unless it's all the way on the front." --Jose Maria Olazabal

18 Par 4 465 yards

"If you hit it right in the trees off the tee, you are dead. You can't hit it far enough down the right side to avoid them. On the approach shot, left of the hole is always a no-no, and long is generally better than short." --Jack Nicklaus

TV schedule

First- and second-round coverage (all times Eastern Daylight Time): April 7-8: 4-7 p.m. (USA); rebroadcast 8-11 p.m.; highlights 11:30-11:45 p.m. (CBS). Third-round coverage: April 9: 3:30-7 p.m. (CBS). Fourth-round coverage: April 10: 2:30-7 p.m. (CBS). Masters on the Web: golfdigest.com/masters, masters.org, pgatour.com

Yardage

Hole            1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9
Masters tees   435   575   350   205   455   180   410   570   460
Par             4     5     4     3     4     3     4     5     4

Hole            Out    10    11    12    13    14    15    16    17
Masters tees   3,640   495   490   155   510   440   500   170   425
Par             36      4     4     3     5     4     5     3     4

Hole           18     In    Total
Masters tees   465   3650   7290
Par             4     36     72

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