Welcome to Golfnutter’s Blog – a weekly commentary highlighting contemporary golfing issues, in Pattaya and beyond. For more on matters golf, especially the Masters, visit golfnutter.wordpress.com.
The publication of today’s Pattaya Mail should coincide with close of play on day one of the first of this year’s majors. Timely then to analyse the type of game best suited to the uniqueness that is Augusta National, to look at the specific skills needed to don that Green Jacket come Sunday afternoon.
The course has now been returned to its risk versus reward set-up, designed to encourage the more adventurous. Its recent lengthening has seen it assessed with an unofficial USGA Course Rating (unofficial because Augusta does not allow its course to be rated) of 78.1, placing it among the ten most difficult courses in the US.
Augusta National’s defence is its greens. Their undulations are complex and their speeds faster than any the pros encounter. This course demands the very best in determining exactly where on a particular green the ball should come to rest, then executing the very shot that gets it there. Having done that, determine the precise line to the hole. Finally, ensure the ball is hit with the correct pace. And therein lies the two keys to winning the Masters – approach shots and putting.
Stimpmeter speeds at the Masters are thought to be around 12 – 14 feet, although this information is not released. By comparison, the local Mountain Shadow course used to boast fast greens, five to ten years back. At their best they would have run at circa10 feet. Crystal Bay often state their green speeds on a notice board outside the locker rooms. On a good day it will read Stimpmeter 8.5. To get an understanding of Masters speeds, try putting to a central pin from the back of Bangpra’s 6th or 14th, or the Emerald’s 7th or 12th. And whilst you do, imagine if your ball misses the cup it could be hazard-bound.
The effect these putting surfaces have on scores cannot be overestimated. Any flaws in a player’s putting stroke will be agonisingly exposed. The challenge from tee to green still exists, obviously. But fairway width is generous, and if the ball finishes in the second cut – Augusta has no rough – chances are the player can still reach the green.
The test, therefore, is to place the tee-ball in a position from where the approach shot can best be played, with a lofted club. In short, long off the tee, hope for a reasonable lie, determine where on the green to land and hit it there – with an absolutely pure strike.
So who will win and what is likely to be the winning score?
The second question is the easier one. Here’s a tip that could win you a beer or two when backing what you think will be a tournament’s winning score. By the time you read this, you should know the score, relative to par, of the first round leader. Simply double it and then deduct two or three shots. If the leading first round score is six under par, then the winning score is likely to be 10-under. This tends to work at most tournaments except US Opens – where you should just stick to a score between 2-under and 2-over par – or the Open Championship where you never predict the winning score unless you know what the wind is going to do, on what day, and from which direction it will do it.
As to who will win, well, that is a far harder question. Consider the characteristics of play that Augusta National demands:
Length: The course has been lengthened by 500 yards over the last five years. At 7445 yards it is genuinely long. It normally has roll, but the most important aspect is enough of it will permit the use of a more lofted club for the approach shot, and that is vital.
GIR: Greens in Regulation is a crucial part of scoring well at Augusta. In the last seven years, five of the winners have ranked 1st or 2nd for tournament GIR. Rather reinforces the need for pure ball-striking.
Putting: Enough has been said.
Consider the last four winners – Watson, Schwartzel, Mickelson and Cabrera – and ask yourself what two golfing characteristics do they have in common? These players are high in driving distance but not in fairways hit. The same would be true of multiple Masters winners from recent years; Tiger Woods, Jose Maria Olazabal and perhaps the most errant hitter of all the greats, the incomparable Severiano Ballesteros. The fact that their drives miss the fairway matters far less at the Masters than it does at a US Open.
So to the winner; look for a long-hitter come noted ball-striker, who can stand at the top end of a bathtub and have his putt stop before it reaches the plug-hole.
Happy golfing!
Golfnutter
