The changes to Augusta National, hole-by-hole

The US Masters is only two weeks away now (April 7 – 10) I know plenty of people who know every hole at Augusta National by heart, without ever stepping foot in Georgia let alone the golf course.

From Amen corner, to the dramatic 16th, to the knee trembling chute that greets your drive at the 18th tee, they all are marked onto our early morning Australian golf psyche as a mythical, faraway place.

Aaron Baddeley was playing a few practice rounds on the hallowed grounds this week and he still finds it an incredible place despite playing five US Masters tournaments there. “What an amazing place!! If Augusta is this good on earth I can only imagine what the courses will be like in heaven!!”, he said on Twitter this week.

Bobby Jones’ Augusta National has changed dramatically since it held its first tournament there in 1934 and Golf Digest have a fascinating article giving a hole-by-hole look at the changes to every golf hole through the years.

Take for example, the par-3 16th hole. The image below on the left is the original layout in 1934. The one of the left is the way we know it today. Different orientation, larger water hazard. It is a very different golf hole.

Check out the full story and analysis at Golf Digest for an interactive guide with full descriptions of the changes and when they were made.