Risky Business

It wouldn't be the Masters without a course tweak. This year, an elongated 13th hole takes center stage. Will adding extra yards to this risk-reward classic heighten the Sunday roars―or silence them?

- RAN MORRISSETT

COURSE DESIGN BUFFS love talking about “half-par” holes, or those that play a half-shot more difficult—or easier— than the par noted on the card. What’s your favorite? On most people’s short list would be No. 16 at Cypress Point, No. 17 at St. Andrews and No. 13 at Augusta National. Though they’re each different pars—3, 4 and 5, respectively—a common thread runs through them: Alister MacKenzie. Of all the courses in the world, the Old Course was MacKenzie’s favorite, and he designed the other two.

A few of my GOLF colleagues actually prefer another famous half-par hole at Augusta National: the par-5 15th. They contend that, over the years at the Masters, the hole has generated even more drama than the course’s perpetually praised 13th.

At last year’s Masters, however, something strange happened: Across all four rounds, not a single eagle was posted on No. 15. The “committee” at Augusta National had, in the previous off-season, lengthened 15’s tee box, turning the hole from a risk-reward thrill ride into something, well, far less riveting.