The Best Spot at Augusta National to Watch a Ton of Shots Might Surprise You
AUGUSTA, Ga. – I’m going to let you in on a secret. Just keep it between us.
I have identified the spot at Augusta National where you watch the most golf shots from a single location. It’s incredible. The best. This is my 11th Masters*, and a lot of painstaking research went into this project. It's time to share the results.
(*I know how this sounds. Eleven Masters? What a jerk! Look, I treasure memories from all of them and realize I'm absurdly lucky. Now do you want the viewing tip or not? Back to the column.)
Everyone knows the Masters doesn’t start until the back nine on Sunday, but badge-wielding patrons will want to get to this spot early, because the grandstands fill up. That’s right: for the best viewing, you have to climb a few steps and wade into the bleachers. Augusta’s quaint tradition of allowing fans to lug lawn chairs around the property and plop them onto spots to return to later is charming, but the best views are at elevation. Besides, do you really want to spend an afternoon in a cramped camping chair, craning your neck around balding Georgia Bulldog fans only to see a stray shot or two? My spot offers the chance to see not one, not two, not three, but four holes of action simultaneously.
It's the grandstands to the left of the 15th hole green. For the full experience, sit on the far left side of those bleachers. Here's a visual:
Four holes of viewing from a single location.
Google Earth
To confirm my research, I returned to the scene on Wednesday afternoon. It was hot and muggy and all the action was happening at the Par 3 Course. It was just me and one security guard in a sea of folding green chairs. I asked the cop if he knew of any better viewing experience than the one stretched out before us.
“Nope, can’t say I can,” he said. “You have a lot of angles here.”
He was on point. Sprawled out before us: the 15th hole approach shots and green. To the left, the entire 16th hole. Beyond the 16th hole green, the 6th hole green. And behind the 15th green, you have a look at the 17th hole tee and first half of the fairway. A ridiculous amount of golf views in a single location. It says here there is no finer place to max out the action. As a service to the press, Augusta reserves the top rows of these bleachers for the media, which come to think of it could bias this review just a tad, but there is plenty of space available for the paying public. This spot alone is worth the price of admission. Here's my look at it, spliced with three photos, as at Augusta I use a 15-year-old point-and-shoot camera with no panorama function.
The view from the left grandstands on the 15th hole.
Jeff Ritter
There you have it. No. 15, left bleachers. The best place at Augusta National to see a lot of action. Now it’s yours. Just save me a seat this weekend.