The Masters is one of the most prestigious golf competitions, and Augusta National is home to what is arguably the best course in the world. However, in advance of the 2024 competition, changes have been made.
Ahead of The Masters, Augusta National’s par-five second hole has been extended.
Few golf courses can compare to Augusta National Golf Club, home of the Masters, in terms of the pure aura of the tees, fairways, and greens. Augusta National’s architecture and design are a true synthesis of the ideas of many architects about what the course ought to look like.
Augusta National rewards strategy and deft planning just as much as raw strength. Pink Dogwood, the par-five second hole on the famous course, will be the longest hole when Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods, current champion Jon Rahm, and numerous other players contend for the green jacket.
Golfers can get off to a good start on the Pink Dogwood course, but as of 2024, some modifications have been made. The tee box is positioned 10 yards back and to the left, with the course measuring 575 yards from tee to hole on average.
With this modification, the hole’s scorecard yardage will now be 585 yards, the longest on the course. The second shot is meant to tempt players to try to reach the green in two and secure a putt for eagle. The hole is dogleg left and slopes downhill from the tee box to the green.
If players can get past the lone fairway bunker to the right and the forested ravine on the left, they stand a good chance of making a birdie or eagle. The angled green runs from short-left to the back-right corner, where the Sunday pin is usually placed. Two greenside bunkers hug this opening.
A well-executed approach can slant down from the front corner of the green toward the cup because of the putting surface’s tilt. Louis Oosthuizen became just the fourth golfer in Masters history to make a double eagle when he hit this shot back in 2012.
Although this is the first alteration to the second hole since 1999, Augusta National frequently modifies its holes. The club raised the tee box by 24 feet and extended the par five 13th hole by 35 yards last year.
In 2023, Pink Dogwood was regarded as Augusta National’s easiest hole. When the Masters starts on April 11th, it will be interesting to see if the recent modifications guarantee that once more.
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