The Masters: Ranking All 18 Holes at Augusta National
By Ryan Andrade
14th hole (Chinese fir) – Even without a bunker, 14 is no pushover . . .
Par 4: 440 yards
Rank: 14
Virtual Flyover:
Ironically, coming in at the 14th spot is the 14th hole. The hole gets overlooked because it’s basically the hole between the two reachable par-5’s on the back side. Don’t let that fool you. It is always a critical hole in the outcome of the championship.
The 14th hole is the only hole on the course without a bunker, but it is no pushover. The drive is difficult because it’s a dogleg left with a reverse camber fairway that slopes away. Many tee shots will miss to the right on this hole. You just have to hope if you do miss your line off the tee to the right, that the ball settles before it goes into the pine straw where it will more than likely be blocked out by some dense canopy.
The green slopes hard from left to right and has multiple tiers. When the hole location is on the right of the green you need to play long and let the slope of the green take the ball to the hole. There is a huge ridge near the front of the green, that will take shots coming up short down the valley. From there, you will have your work cut out to make par. When the hole is back left, long of the green leaves an extremely difficult shot to try to make your par.
This is a hole where we have seen a number of hole-outs from guys using the slopes in the green. Phil Mickelson is the most recent one that comes to mind back in 2010. That eagle helped him take home his 3rd green jacket.
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