Will the Roars Be Muted at the 13th Hole in Next Week's Masters? Players Hope Not
Will the changes to the 13th hole backfire?
Starting next week, the additional 35 yards added to the iconic hole called Azalea will be scrutinized by players and media alike.
But the controlling vote will ultimately be that of the fans at Augusta National, voting with their roars.
The 13th has historically been the easiest hole at the Masters, sitting at end of Amen Corner, a three-hole stretch so named in a 1958 Sports Illustrated article by Herbert Warren Wind, it measured just 480 yards during the 1939 Masters and has been lengthened four times—in 1967, 1974, 1975 and 2002.
Playing this year at 545 yards, most players are going to be forced to do what they haven’t in some time, use driver off the tee and be faced with a second shot that will require anywhere from a fairway metal to a 5-iron off a hanging lie.
That’s of course if they find the fairway and not the creek, which is now staring one in the face with a 290-yard-plus carry.
“When you're talking about hitting a hybrid or a long iron or maybe even a 5-wood, drawing it's going to be harder to stop, especially to a middle or front pin,” 2012 and 2014 Masters champion Bubba Watson said after his reconnaissance mission to Augusta in early March. “I think the stats will come out pretty much the same. But the thing that I don't want to miss and I'm hoping that we don't miss is the roars.”
The pre-2023 13th hole was a democratic cross-section of scoring where eagles, double bogeys and others were plentiful.
Last year alone, six eagles, 91 birdies, 37 bogeys, six double bogeys and four "others" were recorded on Azalea.
The Watson Theory is that the eagles, double bogeys and others will be dramatically curtailed as players will not take the same risks as they did in the past and lay-up more, which inherently will cut down on the really good and really bad outcomes.
But of course it’s just a theory and not one that everyone subscribes to.
“I don't see myself laying up unless I absolutely had to,” three-time Masters champion Phil Mickelson said. “But I remember when Ray Floyd won in '76, he put a 5-wood in the bag and felt like that was a real key club because he hit it so many times into the four par 5s. I could see guys looking at a club in that area that gets the ball up a little bit higher and softer in that yardage area, you know, 230-ish. I think that's a possibility."
Not everyone is as long as Mickelson or Watson, so that will likely leave some players with a decision that the two lefthanders won’t have.
“If you don't hit a perfect drive, hitting 3- or 4-iron from that slope, you know, it's a little bit trickier,” 2017 champion Sergio Garcia said. “It's not as it's not as straightforward as if you're hitting a 7-iron or an 8-iron.”
The long hitters generally seem unconcerned with the new tee if in fact they find the fairway.
Missing the fairway or going right off the tee will make the decision of going for it moot, as even 2020 champion Dustin Johnson said he wouldn't think a 3-wood into the 13th green makes any sense.
“They just keep making it harder,” Johnson said.
For what reason?
Johnson’s response: “I don’t know.”