Augusta National
Treasure
The par- 4, 495-yard 10th hole, named
Camelia, is historically the most difficult
hole on the course.
AUGUSTA, GEORGIA | It is rare to come
upon a golf course as renowned as the
tournament it is hosting. And that’s
especially true when it comes to major
championships.
Good as Oakmont and Shinnecock
Hills may be, for example, they will never be bigger than the U.S. Opens they
occasionally host. Ditto Medinah No. 3
with its Ryder Cup, or Turnberry and
Troon with their Open Championships,
or any of the many great venues that
have hosted a PGA Championship.
But Augusta National is different,
and the course is every bit as big as The
Masters. Big enough to get equal billing
with the tournament. And big enough to
be held very much in the same regard.
To be sure, an argument can be
made that the Old Course on the links
of St. Andrews is just as significant as
The Open Championship that is played
there every five years. But no other
track even comes close to Augusta.
Why is it that? Start with the course
itself, designed in 1932 by architec-
tural genius Alister MacKenzie, aka the
“Good Doctor,” and amateur golf leg-
end and Augusta National co-founder
Bobby Jones. Initially conceived as an
inland links and modeled in many ways
after the Old Course, the Augusta Na-
tional layout they created has evolved
into much more of a parklands course.
