AUGUSTA, Ga. — It lurks at the farthest end of Augusta National's property, wreathed in the azaleas that are the source of its deceptively beautiful name. It's the most wicked kind of par-5, one that can propel you to victory or detonate your hopes. It's the 13th at Augusta National, and after years of taking the best punches of an increasingly overpowering field of players, it's finally punching back.
AUGUSTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 03: Justin Thomas of the United States plays his shot from the 13th tee during a practice round prior to the 2023 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 03, 2023 in Augusta, Georgia. AUGUSTA, Ga. — It lurks at the farthest end of Augusta National’s property, wreathed in the azaleas that are the source of its deceptively beautiful name. It’s the most wicked kind of par-5, one that can propel you to victory or detonate your hopes.
But as players grew in strength and length, the 13th became less of a threat. If you can simply blast your ball into the stratosphere, most course threats become irrelevant. The 13th has played to an average of 4.77 over its history, with the lowest year — 4.474 — coming in 2019. Clearly, changes needed to come.
."It presented its risks and rewards perfectly. But the golf ball has changed things. If you're not going to roll back the golf ball, you really need to lengthen the hole by 30 or 40 yards to test the players today." “Par 5s should give the option of risk or reward,” says architect Jeff Lawrence of Lawrence Golf Design. “We try as architects to give different lengths to par 5s — lefts, rights, different angles, uphilll, downhill. You want players to have to make a decision in the nitty gritty of the last few holes — do I go for it, if I don’t go for it, what are the implications?”
“I think you're going to see a lot more lay-ups, obviously,” Jon Rahm said. “If you don't quite hug the left side you're going to have such a long iron in that a lot of people [will] choose to lay up. But there's still going to be a risk, risk/reward aspect to it.”
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