Behind the Curtains at Augusta National (Part 2)

Five Architects Weigh in on Annual Site of The Masters

This week’s Masters marks not only the first major golf championship for 2015 but also once again brings to the forefront the showcase 18-holes called Augusta National Golf Club. Founder Bobby Jones and course architect Alister MacKenzie sought to bring to into being a golf course that would revolutionize all future golf courses. The strategic nature of Augusta National was a gigantic leap away from the more penal style courses that often served as sites for major golf events.

 

Viewers have been watching numerous Masters over the years and the golf course Jones and MacKenzie envisioned has been dramatically altered over the years. Given all the changes -- otherwise stated as “improvements” by the club -- the evolution of the golf course has been an ongoing matter of extreme importance -- and at times major controversy. For many watching the telecast this week the focus will be on the players and who ultimately dons the green jacket at the presentation ceremony in Butler Cabin.

 

Augusta National Golf Club, along with Pebble Beach in California and The Old Course at St. Andrews, are three of the most viewed and examined golf courses in the world. In fact, both Jones and MacKenzie had extreme affection for The Old Course and sought to incorporate many of those same architectural elements for Augusta National. To better understand the key elements, five architects have been enlisted to provide their expertise in shedding additional light on the major course progressions that have happened over the years. None of the men participating in the question and answer dialogue have worked on Augusta National and therefore have no direct conflict on the information they present.

 

The debate of when changes to a course are needed and how they are carried out is a matter of serious importance. Have such improvements been helpful in providing the needed balance as clubs and balls technology made startling advancements over the last 20 years? Have such architectural changes been in the spirit of what Jones and MacKenzie wanted? Or, have many of these changes simply been a hodge-podge of knee-jerk reactions in order to protect the course at all costs against the increasing skills of today’s world class players? There are no easy answers but the resulting debate makes for a lively dialogue on one of the most fascinating courses in golf.

 

The Participants ...
 
RICHARD MANDELL

 

Has worked on more than sixty golf courses since 1992 in 13 states and China. Restoration of Ellis Maples’ Orangeburg Country Club recently voted Renovation of the Decade by the South Carolina Golf Raters Panel this past month. Acclaimed work at the storied Keller Golf Course in St. Paul, Minnesota named Golf Magazine Municipal Renovation of the Year 2014. In 2011, named one of the 15 Most Influential Architects by GolfInc. Magazine. www.golf-architecture.com.

 

KELLY BLAKE MORAN

Has designed golf courses for over 30 years collaborating with other professionals to produce 23 new golf courses, and renovate 15 existing courses in 5 countries. Based in the United States and can be contacted at [email protected].

 

 LESTER GEORGE

Golf course architect for 25 years - located in Richmond, VA. Member of the ASGCA since 2006, retired as U.S. Army Lt. Colonel. Notable award-winning designs and renovations include Kinloch Golf Club, The Old White, Country Club of Florida, Ballyhack Golf Club, Independence Golf Club. www.georgegolfdesign.com.

 

IAN ANDREW

Has been a golf course architect since 1989, a member of the ASGCA since 2004 and lives just outside Toronto. www.Andrewgolf.com.

 

STEPHEN KAY

Member ASGCA, in practice since 1983 and has done renovation work at more than250 golf courses. Has designed 20 new golf courses while providing renovation services to over 250 courses specializing in Donald Ross, A.W. Tillinghast and Charles Banks courses. Architects GC, and restoration of Llanerch CC, are examples of his work. www.kayandsmithdesign.com.

Hole needing most improvement at Augusta National and why?

KAY: I’ve never been crazy for hole 18. It is challenging but I’ve always felt spectators should be able to see more. Needs more risk with the tee shot, the longer hitters can lay up short of the fairway bunkers and still have a mid to short iron.

MANDELL: Improvement for the Masters at this point just means more length so I guess #7 comes to mind. 

GEORGE:  17. Now that Ike’s tree is gone, the hole needs to be entirely rebuilt for strategy’s sake. There is nothing there to hold the players’ attention or command their best effort.

ANDREW: I would remove the new fairway bunker on the 5th hole and restore the green. That set of green contours that left me speechless with its brilliant complexity. Touching that green was a crime.

MORAN: Hole 16 would be more exciting with the pond on the right side of an angled green. 

A general view of the 16th hole during the second round of the 2011 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 8, 2011 in Augusta, Georgia. David Cannon/Getty Images