By Daniel Rapaport
AUGUSTA, Ga. — On the driving range at the Floridian Golf Club a few months back, Claude Harmon III asked his star pupil a simple question: “How many times a year do you try and hit a draw with the driver?”

Dustin Johnson didn’t hesitate: “Never.”

Never. Not even once. The No. 1 player in the world plays a cut on every single driver tee shot, all year. This will surely perplex the 8-handicap who’s always thought the pros have “all the shots,” that they’re constantly shaping their tee balls and approaches to fit the contours of a specific hole.

For DJ, it’s an admirable commitment to sticking to his guns, but surely being so one dimensional hurts him on “shotmaker’s courses”—the ones where ski-slope fairways and undulating greens force a player to hit certain shots. You know, like Augusta National.

Try again. Johnson hit cut after cut after cut last year and fared … well, better than anyone ever has. His 20-under 268 was good for a five-shot win and set the 72-hole Masters scoring record by two. DJ trusted his left-to-right flight that week; contrast that with fellow fader Collin Morikawa, who finished 20 shots back in a tie for 44th.

“Last year I tried working in a draw, and I wasn’t playing my game,” Morikawa said. “I almost tried to, like, tailor my game to how the course fit instead of playing my game and if the hole didn’t hit me, find another way.”

Granted, last year’s one-off fall Masters took place on a much gentler Augusta National than we’ve probably ever seen. Four-iron approaches sat politely on greens and balls refused to tumble down hills like they do in April.

For example, it’s much easier to hit a cut with your tee shot on 10—where the fairway turns hard left but the right side of it actually kicks the ball right—if you know the ball is going to take an extremely soft bounce upon landing.

That won’t happen this week. Player after player has noted just how firm and bouncy the course is.

“It’s like playing on Washington Road,” said Billy Foster, caddie for Matt Fitzpatrick.

And it’s only Wednesday. Typically, Augusta continues to get dryer and more slippery as the week wears on, but the greens simply haven’t been as firm in recent years as they were in decades past.

“I would say for the last decade, the greens here are in the top 25 percent of softest we play on tour,” said three-time Masters winner Phil Mickelson, “and the golf course’s only defence is the greens.

Ben Walton

“So when the greens are firm, the precision, the course management, the angles, the leave where the ball is left, all of this stuff becomes incredibly important in your ability to play this course effectively. When the greens are soft, it’s irrelevant because you can fly the ball over all the trouble. Angles don’t matter. I plugged a 5-iron last year or last November into the second green. It plugged.

“The guys are so precise in their ability to fly the golf ball the correct yardage with every club that if you have soft receptive greens, it’s like having a military and then not giving them any weapons, right. It’s defenceless. With firm greens, that’s the defence.”

So if the greens are indeed firm this year, perhaps that will bring back the importance of shotmaking. Tiger Woods, the ultimate shotmaker, has won five times here and constantly shapes his approaches to fit the shot at hand. Bubba Watson is famous for curving his ball, and he’s got two Masters victories. So does Seve Ballesteros, who was allergic to the straight ball. The guy who wins this week will be someone who has the gusto to hit draws to left pins and cuts to right ones.

Right?

Not necessarily, says Scott Fawcett, creator of the DECADE course management system that’s rapidly growing in popularity among tour players. The system focuses on not losing shots rather than hunting birdies—on playing the percentages and avoiding costly mistakes, like penalty strokes and short-siding yourself. On a course that’s so firm, surely controlling your golf ball trumps trying to hit the picture-perfect shot for that hole.

“If you work the ball one way and stick to your stock shot, your shot pattern will be materially smaller,” Fawcett says. “Guaranteed. That is not even remotely up for debate. Look, what’s the purpose of a golf lesson? It’s to make your shot pattern smaller. And sticking to your shot will tighten your dispersion.

“If you try to shape the ball the opposite way that you’re comfortable with, your miss is likely a double cross. So say you’re a fader and you decide to hit a draw to a left pin on 12. Your miss is going to be a ball that starts right and curves right, and those balls that start away from the target and move further away from the target are always the biggest misses.”

And therein lies the crux of the stick-to-your-shot argument. Sure, there is a benefit to hitting a shot that curves toward the flag. If you want to birdie every hole, it’s going to give you a leg up. But major championship golf isn’t about birdieing every hole, and focusing only on the perfect outcome—in this instance, pulling off a draw when you’re primarily a fader—ignores the very real possibility of the big miss. There’s a reason Woods is considered perhaps the greatest iron player of all time; his ability to almost never double-cross himself is the exception, not the rule.

Dustin Johnson isn’t one to check spreadsheets or overlay Google Earth images with dispersion charts, but he seems to innately understand the accuracy-over-shape concept. DJ was asked on Tuesday whether switching to playing a fade helped him play Augusta National better.

“I think just once I started hitting the fade, it wasn’t—it’s not really better suited for here. I just started driving it straighter, so I don’t get into as much trouble.

“I mean, that’s about it. I mean, because obviously if you draw the ball, the course sets up fantastic, but for me, yeah, just hitting the fade, I just started hitting it a little bit straighter.”

Translation: It’s not that hitting a fade is better at Augusta; it’s that hitting your shot, whatever that may be, is always a better play at any golf course.

And keep in mind that these are the best players in the world, so their stock fade isn’t the same as the weekend warrior’s stock fade. It’s, say, a 10-yard cut instead of a 30-yard slice, and a 10-yard cut can work anywhere—so long as you accept that you’re not going to birdie every hole.

There are, of course, a few shots at Augusta that truly demand you to shape one a certain way. You essentially have to hit a draw off the 10th and 13 tees (which Johnson will do—with a 3-wood) … but that’s about it.

“I noticed a lot of shots around here, I almost imagined being a shot-maker almost too much, and so now just getting comfortable with my stock shot wherever it fits,” said Patrick Cantlay, who has top 20s in each of his past two Masters appearances. “The golf course is so big that there’s a lot of space for your stock shot.

“So just really realising that you don’t need to curve the ball as much as you would imagine growing up watching it on TV.”

MORE MASTERS 2021 STORIES FROM GOLF DIGEST:
A comprehensive history of every change made to Augusta National Golf Club
Bryson DeChambeau still intends to take down Augusta. But here’s how he’s changing his plan of attack
Everything you need to know about the three amateurs competing at Augusta National
Augusta National’s most under-the-radar champions
A newly discovered letter from Bobby Jones reveals he might’ve had a different architect in mind for Augusta National
Collin Morikawa’s yardage book reveals the work pros put in to prep for Augusta National

The post Augusta National as a ‘shotmaker’s course?’ Maybe not appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Ryan Herrington
Five months removed from the most unusual Masters in tournament history, it will be business as usual next week at Augusta National. OK, not exactly as usual. There’s no Par 3 Contest, a limited number of patrons will be allowed on the course and there’s the potential for players to be forced to withdraw due to positive COVID-19 tests. But at least we’re back in Georgia in April, which is a step in the right direction.

Being back in Georgia in April also means being back on schedule for how a Masters usually operates. You’ll recall in the fall, the 2½ fewer hours of daylight required Augusta National officials to use a two-tee start for the first and second rounds. Granted, the entire field got to experience the awkwardness of facing Amen Corner early in the round for one day, but it wasn’t something anyone would like a healthy diet of moving forward.

With just 89 players competing next week, everybody starts on the first tee Thursday, beginning with Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Lee Elder, making his debut as an honorary starter. Meanwhile, all the traditional Masters pairings seem to be lining up, most notable the defending champion (Dustin Johnson) playing in the same threesome as the reigning U.S. Amateur champion (Tyler Strafaci). And you can bet that the other two amateur participants in 2021 (Joe Long and Ollie Osborne) also will be paired with a former green jacket winners.

Below are the tee times for the first and second rounds on Thursday and Friday.

THURSDAY/First round (all times EDT off first tee. The UAE is 8 hours ahead of Eastern Time)

7:45 a.m. — Lee Elder, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus (Honorary Starters)

8 a.m. — Michael Thompson, Hudson Swafford

8:12 a.m. — Sandy Lyle, Matt Jones, Dylan Frittelli

8:24 a.m. — Ian Woosnam, Jim Herman, Stewart Cink

8:36 a.m. — Sebastian Munoz, Henrik Stenson, Robert Streb

8:48 a.m. — Bernhard Langer, Will Zalatoris, a-Joe Long

9 a.m. — Brian Harman, Ian Poulter, Brendon Todd

9:12 a.m. — Charl Schwartzel, Si Woo Kim, Corey Conners

9:24 a.m. — Danny Willett, Joaquin Niemann, Kevin Kisner

9:36 a.m. — Jason Day, Matthew Wolff, Cameron Champ

9:48 a.m. — Hideki Matsuyama, Harris English, Abraham Ancer

10:06 a.m. — Bubba Watson, Brooks Koepka, Viktor Hovland

10:18 a.m. — Sergio Garcia, Webb Simpson, Christiaan Bezuidenhout

10:30 a.m. — Dustin Johnson, Lee Westwood, a-Tyler Strafaci

10:42 a.m. — Xander Schauffele, Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy

10:54 a.m. — Patrick Reed, Daniel Berger, Paul Casey

11:06 a.m. — Vijay Singh, Martin Laird

11:18 a.m. — Larry Mize, Jimmy Walker, Brian Gay

11:30 a.m. — Carlos Ortiz, Mackenzie Hughes, Bernd Wiesberger

11:42 a.m. — Mike Weir, C. T. Pan, Robert MacIntyre

11:54 a.m. — Jose Maria Olazabal, Matt Wallace, Lanto Griffin

12:12 p.m. — Victor Perez, Jason Kokrak, Marc Leishman

12:24 p.m. — Fred Couples, Francesco Molinari, a-Charles Osborne

12:36 p.m. — Zach Johnson, Kevin Na, Gary Woodland

12:48 p.m. — Shane Lowry, Justin Rose, Matt Kuchar

1 p.m. — Billy Horschel, Tyrrell Hatton, Ryan Palmer

1:12 p.m. — Phil Mickelson, Tommy Fleetwood, Scottie Scheffler

1:24 p.m. — Patrick Cantlay, Sungjae Im, Matthew Fitzpatrick

1:36 p.m. — Adam Scott, Bryson DeChambeau, Max Homa

1:48 p.m. — Tony Finau, Louis Oosthuizen, Justin Thomas

2:00 p.m. — Jordan Spieth, Cameron Smith, Collin Morikawa

FRIDAY/Second round

8 a.m. — Vijay Singh, Martin Laird

8:12 a.m. — Larry Mize, Jimmy Walker, Brian Gay

8:24 a.m. — Carlos Ortiz, Mackenzie Hughes, Bernd Wiesberger

8:36 a.m. — Mike Weir, C. T. Pan, Robert MacIntyre

8:48 a.m. — Jose Maria Olazabal, Matt Wallace, Lanto Griffin

9 a.m. — Victor Perez, Jason Kokrak, Marc Leishman

9:12 a.m. — Fred Couples, Francesco Molinari, a-Charles Osborne

9:24 a.m. — Zach Johnson, Kevin Na, Gary Woodland

9:36 a.m. — Shane Lowry, Justin Rose, Matt Kuchar

9:48 a.m. — Billy Horschel, Tyrrell Hatton, Ryan Palmer

10:06 a.m. — Phil Mickelson, Tommy Fleetwood, Scottie Scheffler

10:18 a.m. — Patrick Cantlay, Sungjae Im, Matthew Fitzpatrick

10:30 a.m. — Adam Scott, Bryson DeChambeau, Max Homa

10:42 a.m. — Tony Finau, Louis Oosthuizen, Justin Thomas

10:54 a.m. — Jordan Spieth, Cameron Smith, Collin Morikawa

11:06 a.m. — Michael Thompson, Hudson Swafford

11:18 a.m. — Sandy Lyle, Matt Jones, Dylan Frittelli

11:30 a.m. — Ian Woosnam, Jim Herman, Stewart Cink

11:42 a.m. — Sebastian Munoz, Henrik Stenson, Robert Streb

11:54 a.m. — Bernhard Langer, Will Zalatoris, a-Joe Long

12:12 p.m. — Brian Harman, Ian Poulter, Brendon Todd

12:24 p.m. — Charl Schwartzel, Si Woo Kim, Corey Conners

12:36 p.m. — Danny Willett, Joaquin Niemann, Kevin Kisner

12:48 p.m. — Jason Day, Matthew Wolff, Cameron Champ

1 p.m. — Hideki Matsuyama, Harris English, Abraham Ancer

1:12 p.m. — Bubba Watson, Brooks Koepka, Viktor Hovland

1:24 p.m. — Sergio Garcia, Webb Simpson, Christiaan Bezuidenhout

1:36 p.m. — Dustin Johnson, Lee Westwood, a-Tyler Strafaci

1:48 p.m. — Xander Schauffele, Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy

2 p.m. — Patrick Reed, Daniel Berger, Paul Casey

The post Starting times and pairings for the first and second rounds at Augusta National appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By E. Michael Johnson
Augusta National and the Masters is long on lore. That’s to be expected for a tournament that’s been held, save for World War II, since 1934 at the same venue. Such familiarity, along with the mystical appeal of the club itself, has lent to a long list of tales—you know, the type where you tell a golf buddy, “You won’t believe this, but did you know Augusta National does this …”

As with most telling of tales, the stories tend to grow a little longer over time. Or perhaps not. When you have a place as special as Augusta National, some stories—heck, most stories—tend to actually be true to some degree. Here are some of the most spoken-about myths that circulate regarding the Masters along with our own Snopes-like assessments of their veracity.

The club lays ice on the azalea beds to help them bloom for the tournament
The Masters is known for its abundance of spring colours, and none is as synonymous with the tournament as its azaleas, resplendent in their bright pink, red and purple colours. And what would the Masters be without them? So, it stands to reason the club would spare no expense to get the timing of the bloom for the second week of April, right? Um, no. Come on, be serious. For starters, the ice would either shock the plants or melt fast, plus you’d pretty much have to have your own ice-manufacturing facility to make enough cubes to cover so much ground. While this rumour ran pretty hard for a number of years, thankfully most—but not all—Masters patrons have come to their senses.

Getty Images

• • •

Hostages were once taken at the club by a man demanding to speak to President Reagan
Since it’s basically impossible to get on the grounds at all without a proper introduction, this on the surface would seem far-fetched. Except it is absolutely true. In October 1983, Charles Davis barreled his pickup truck through a gate, made his way to the pro shop and took five hostages, demanding to speak to President Reagan, who was playing a round of golf on the course that day. Thankfully the incident ended without anyone being harmed.

While President Reagan was playing golf at the Augusta National Golf Club, Charles Davis drove his truck through Augusta National’s gates to try to talk to him.

• • •

There’s a house in the middle of a Masters parking lot that the owners won’t sell
Augusta National, in its efforts to make the patron experience as enjoyable as possible, has acquired a fair amount of property surrounding the club so that it could offer free Masters parking to patrons within a reasonable walk of the gates. As expected, the club has been generous in its offerings and has met little resistance—with one notable exception. A small, three-bedroom home belonging to Herman and Elizabeth Thacker sits smack in the middle of the activity. Despite repeated attempts from the club to purchase it, the answer has always remained a polite, but firm no (Herman passed away in 2019). Perhaps it is because they are hopeful one day to have a Masters participant as a house guest. Their grandson is the PGA Tour’s Scott Brown, who has yet to qualify for a Masters invitation.

Photo via Google

• • •

There is a lone palm tree on the course
Given how orderly everything is at Augusta National, finding something out of the ordinary is a rarity. Yet arborists who roam the course will notice a one-of-a-kind for ANGC on the fourth hole—a lone palm tree that stands sentinel to the right of the green, camouflaged by other surrounding trees. In recent years, the club cut back the trees and brush and now the Palmetto is a highly visible sight on the par 3.

Christian Iooss

• • •

The telecast pipes in fake bird sounds
This is one that has had some legs, with bird aficionados claiming the sounds they were hearing were not birds indigenous to the Augusta area. Not that the suspicions are without some merit. At the 2000 PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club, CBS got caught by eagle-eared ornithologists who recognized the sounds they were hearing could not be from birds in Louisville. When called on it, the network fessed up, which only ramped up the suspicion it was doing the same at Augusta National. The accusations got to a point where the New York Post reached out to Augusta National for comment during the 2001 Masters, bringing the following reply: “The birds you hear are live and they are indigenous to Augusta.” Well OK, then.

• • •

Cattle roamed the club grounds during World War II to maintain the course
When the club closed shortly after the 1942 Masters, it remained closed for several years due to World War II as many members and employees joined the war effort. With the club not financially secure at the time, co-founder Bobby Jones bought 200 cattle, figuring that not only would their grazing keep the grounds in acceptable condition, but that they could later be sold (see photo above). On the surface, a solid idea. However, according to Masters.com, “Things did not turn out as planned. With the Club closed, workers stopped the annual planting of winter grass, and as the bermudagrass on the grounds became dormant it provided little in the way of food and nourishment for the cattle. That led to a problem: the cows started eating the famous azaleas and the bark off young trees at Augusta National.” Ah, the best-laid plans …

• • •

Every champion donates a club to Augusta National for its champions collection
Not quite. Although this is a long-held tradition, an examination of the collection (which includes the 4-wood Gene Sarazen used for his famed double eagle and a number of other impressive artifacts) reveals one glaring omission. For reasons unknown, there is no club from 1992 Masters champion Fred Couples. Perhaps one day Freddie will let us in on why.

Augusta National is missing a club from Fred Couples 1992 Masters win. Jamie Squire/Getty Images

• • •

Hazardous chemicals are put in the ponds and creeks to keep them clean
The ponds and creeks are without question immaculate at Augusta National. But it has nothing to do with anything nefarious. Using a food-colouring-like dye, golf courses can give their ponds a rich, dark colour bordering on black, which provides a very consistent look while being perfectly safe. As for being dangerous to any wildlife, forget it. In fact, the ponds at the club are said to be wonderful fishing spots although the club downplays that bit of information.

Stephen Szurlej

• • •

A patron once was arrested for stealing sand
In 2012, Clayton Baker wasn’t looking to pull off a heist, but he was seeking a unique souvenir—a cup of sand from one of Augusta National’s pristine bunkers. Walking back up the 10th hole after Bubba Watson won in overtime, Baker slipped under the ropes and made his way to the famous free-form bunker and grabbed a cup of sand. This would be the definition of a bad decision. By the time he made it to the 10th tee, he was handcuffed and arrested, setting off a chain of events that ultimately would cost him some $20,000 in various legal fees and other costs associated with the stunt.

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