The Masters lights up the golf world every April, its spiritual setting warming hearts around the globe. Among the awakening are the players who take to the architectural gem framed by an explosion of colors. To the man, they love to talk about the unparalleled tournament between the Georgia Pines at Augusta National Golf Club.
The gathering every spring is matchless, from the Augusta National Women’s Amateur and the Drive, Chip and Putt competition through the ceremony at Butler Cabin.
Ahead of the 86th Masters, Golfweek conducted its annual survey, this year getting takes on many things Masters from 25 players, nine of whom have won a green jacket, 12 major champions in all.
Today’s questions:
Masters survey: Part I | Part II | Part III
What’s the one hole you could do without?
“The toughest hole for me is No. 5. It’s pretty long, and when that green is firm and you’re coming up there with a 4-iron, it’s pretty tough.” – Abraham Ancer
“Five. They made changes and it’s worse.” – Matt Fitzpatrick
“Four or five, I can’t make up my mind. I wouldn’t mind playing three and skipping right over to No. 6.” – Justin Rose
“Number two is a tough one for me to visit. Just a tricky drive. It’s a bit of a dogleg left, and the bunkers are so well placed for me off the tee that they tend to swallow up my golf balls. It’s a much harder hole for me than it is for others.” – Matt Kuchar
“Seventeen. It doesn’t matter if I’m in the fairway or the trees, I make a mess of the hole. I just scramble too much on that hole.” – 2018 Masters champion Patrick Reed
“I think there is a great flow to the course, difficult holes, getable holes, so if you really changed one it would damper my feeling of Augusta National.” – Xander Schauffele
“Four and seven. I think they’re the two hardest holes on the golf course for me. They’re hard for everyone, but they’re really hard for me.” – Marc Leishman
“Five is the freaking hardest hole. But I love it. But it’s just so long.” – Max Homa
“I think five is not as good a hole now versus before the changes. The green was designed for a 7-iron and we don’t really see that anymore. It was such a fun hole before the changes, so I could do without five.” – 2015 Masters champion Jordan Spieth
“No. 11. I got really lucky the storm came a few years ago, four or five years ago, and knocked out some of the tops of the trees on 11. With those tall trees, I couldn’t aim it over the edge of the trees and cut it back. Now I can. Doesn’t mean I do it. It just means I have the ability to because trees are missing.” – Two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson
“No. 4. It’s just so long and then you’re hitting to such a small target. And if you get in the wrong spot, it’s almost impossible to make par.” – Kevin Kisner
“Since they lengthened No. 5. It’s sneaky the hardest hole in the course, given the green is so difficult. I think I played into the wind a couple times last year and I was hitting 5-iron into the green. Because the greens are firm and some of those pins are tucked, there’s really no place to hit it.” – Harris English
What is your favorite hole?
“I like No. 3. It epitomizes what Mackenzie and Jones did to design their greens, their magnificent greens. There’s a humpback green there. Hitting it short, the ball comes back to you. It you hit it long the ball goes into deep depression. You have to be careful there.” – Two-time Masters champion Tom Watson
“Probably 12. It’s just so cool, memorable. It’s just so amazing because anything can happen there.” – Abraham Ancer
“The 11th. Hopefully you’ve had a nice drive down there and you come to the top of the hill and you look down and Amen Corner just unfolds in front of you. It’s just knowing that some of the greatest yardage in the world of golf are in front of you. And 11, it’s a great hole, but it is such a difficult.” – Graeme McDowell
“Seven. I just love how tight it is. I like how the drive sets up, how the approach sets up.” – Matt Fitzpatrick
“I think 13. It’s an iconic hole and it can give you anything from a 7 to a 3. And it owes me a green jacket.” – Justin Rose
“The 72nd with a one-shot lead like I had in 2018.” – 2018 Masters champion Patrick Reed
“Once you get to 10 and you enter Amen Corner, that stretch gives you such an exhilarating feel. It’s something you’re not really scared of, but you’re sort of anxious to get to and see how you can do, especially with roars and oohs and aahs ahead of you. You want to make some roars for yourself.” – Xander Schauffele
“I love 16. It’s such a cool par-3, really exciting. Doesn’t need to be super long. It’s not more than a mid-iron. And you can make a 1 and you can make a 4 in a matter of feet.” – 2015 Masters champion Jordan Spieth
“I have to say 12. Once you start walking down the 10th hole, you know what you’re facing – 11, 12 and 13. And out of those three holes, 12 has a unique charm. Very narrow green, the water, the bunkers, the flowers. The tee box is full of people behind you. I think the green is the most isolated area of the whole golf course. There is nobody there. It is quite beautiful.” – Two-time Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal
“Twelve. It’s one of my favorite holes in the world. And I made a 10 there once.” – Kevin Na
“I think 12. Just because of those right pins, they look like they’re no big deal. But there’s so much strategy involved. Lee Trevino and Lanny Wadkins told me to check the wind and the trees behind 11. If the wind is back into, you try to keep your tee shots low below the trees on 12. And there’s so much more. And I’ve got wedge in my hand. I’m standing there thinking about three or four different things and the right pins look like nothing, but you just can’t go at them.” – Will Zalatoris
“No. 12 is just a great par 3. It entices you to be aggressive, but you need to be so precise. You need to think about so much and you have a short iron in your hand. Just a great, great hole.” – Brandt Snedeker
“Visually, I really like No. 16. OK, No. 12, if I was looking at a picture or had a painting of it, I’d go No. 12. But No. 16 is my favorite, just how it sets up for me.” – Harris English
“Twelve. It’s the easiest hole on the golf course when there’s no wind, and it’s the hardest hole on the golf course when there is wind. And the setting can’t be beat.” – Marc Leishman
“My favorite hole is whichever one I made an eagle on. I would have to say 13. It’s fun. I can shape the tee shot around the corner. And then it’s a chance for an eagle and to get the crowd roar. And you’ve seen so many hero shots there.” – Two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson
