Augusta National Hole No. 5 Is Hard - And It Just Got Harder

The par-4, fifth hole at Augusta National has always been one of the toughest holes on the course.  And for The Masters next week it will play tougher than ever. 

 

Dubbed Magnolia, No. 5 is a slight dogleg to the left, and has been lengthened from 455 yards to 495 yards.  Augusta National last changed this hole in 2003 when the club extended the two left fairway bunkers about 80 yards closer to the green to bring them more into play.  Now with the new tee box, a 313-yard drive will be required to carry those bunkers. 

Brandt Snedeker commented on the tees moving back 40 yards (to the other side of Old Berckmans Road, which has been closed to traffic since 2015), saying, 

"Significantly different.  It used to be a 3-wood for the long guys, then a short- to mid-iron.  It was a par hole.  You might make a few birdies.  You're not making a huge number there.  But now you're hitting a lot longer clubs in, and that's going to be a little different." 

 

Last year No. 5 played to an average of 4.16, making it the sixth-toughest hole during the tournament.  And over the last decade it's been the toughest par-4 at Augusta before making the turn. 

Augusta now plays at 7,475 yards (550 yards longer than 1997 when Tiger Woods won his first green jacket).  But this may just be the beginning of additional changes to the course in upcoming years.  

 

With the land purchased from adjacent Augusta Country Club two years ago, Augusta National could potentially transform the 11th green, 12th hole, and 13th tee (and that would mean a drastic makeover to Amen Corner). 

The fifth hole has meant different things to different players over the years.  For Jordan Spieth it's been a place of frustration and just trying to make par.  For Jack Nicklaus it's been an opportunity to add his name to more pages in the Masters record books (Jack  holed out for eagle twice on No. 5 in the 1995 Masters). 

 

Nicklaus remembered, 

"The  first day I hit a 7-iron.  The pin was on the front knob.  It's impossible to get to it.  I happened to hit it dead on the top of knob, it trickled over and went right in the hole.  The third round, the pin was back right.  Those were the two worse pins positions on the whole golf course.  I hit a 5-iron and pushed it just slightly.  It hit right on top, circled around and went right in the hole." 

Alister Mackenzie and Bobby Jones patterned the 5th hole after No. 17 at St. Andrews, the famous Road Hole.  The principle was to reward tee shots hit close to the fairway bunkers with a better angle into the green.  

 

And that better angle is a big reward because the green is guarded in the front by a slope about five feet high (which makes it play even smaller than it looks).  While over on the right side, bunkers protecting the putting surface are so deep that spectators sometimes can't even see the players beyond them. 

Magnolia has always been a key part of the front nine, in part because it serves as a line of demarcation between just holding on and then stepping on the gas. 

 

After a strong par-4, 445-yard opening hole with a narrow tee shot and danger on both sides (83 bogeys here last year), players get their first real birdie chance on the par-5 575-yard second hole (which has never played above par in tournament history).  That's followed by a short but tricky par-4, 350-yard third hole where a decision has to be made to go big or play for position off the tee. 

No. 4 is the longest par-3 on the course at 240 yards, and requires serious accuracy to avoid big trouble.  All that's left then is to get through No. 5, and four pretty reasonable scoring opportunities await to finish the front-nine. 

Five has always been a hole you're not likely to make birdie on.  It's more about surviving.  And now it will play even tougher.  Hopefully you hit the green, two-putt, and move on.  But no one ever hits it close.  

 

Except for Jack.