Augusta National is the most famous golf course on earth.
Part of what makes The Masters so special is that we return to the same hallowed ground every year. We watch the greats of today stand where Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods stood, as they etch their names into the annals of golfing history.
For those of us who watch The Masters each year, the course is like a second home. It feels as if we have walked the undulating fairways of this iconic golf course ourselves hundreds of times.
Despite that, Jon Rahm said there’s something that you can only understand about Augusta National if you have played there yourself.
Jon Rahm says what fans just don’t understand about Augusta National
Augusta is known for being a difficult test of golf, but that’s in large part because of the pressure that mounts on players as the tournament progresses. It’s not considered to be a US Open-style golf course.
But according to Rahm, Augusta is more difficult than fans know. He was asked if there are any shots that are underrated in terms of their degree of difficulty, and he said, “I could make that argument for every single shot on this golf course.
“Honestly, I don’t think the wedge shot on 13 and 15 if you lay up is ever talked about enough. You’re most likely going to be on quite a bit of downslope and into a green that is not always the easiest, especially 15. Like those shots to the front pins.
“Even the back middle one, even watching the Women’s Am Tour, it’s not the easiest shot. You have the leaders coming in, and hitting the green becomes a difficult task. And even hitting it close to the pin, it’s very, very difficult to hit the pin towards the back of the green.
“Those are two shots I always tell people, especially 15 with the water being more of a threat, 13 you can have a backstop to most of the pins, but for 60, 70, 80 yards, it’s a lot more difficult than anybody would realize. Again, I can make that case for a lot of shots.
“I think a lot of people have this idea that Augusta National is wide, and then you come here for the first time and you start seeing where, if you really, truly have to be aggressive on some shots, how narrow it gets, how narrow really 1, 2, 5 can get. 7 is way narrower than people think.
“Even 8, once you get towards the bunker, the end of the bunker becomes narrower, and even though they’ve made it wider, it’s no picnic.”
And with how firm the course is set to play this week, don’t be surprised to see the winner finish in single digits under par.
Jon Rahm explains the hidden difficulty in Augusta National’s elevation changes
At this point, everyone knows Augusta National is a test of endurance due to its elevation changes throughout the grounds. But Rahm said this undulation is more of a challenge because of the lies you get with the golf ball.
He explained, “I think more than the elevation changes is the lies that you end up having because of those changes. If you hit a good tee shot on two and you’re able to go left of that bunker, you have a very downhill lie with the ball above your feet, a lot of times with wind off the left on that hole. So that’s not an easy shot.
“What I was alluding to earlier on 13 and 15, you’re hitting a 50, 60, 70-, 80-yard wedge shot on a lie that you don’t ever practice because you don’t really have those ever in par-fives, and if you do sometimes, you try to avoid them.
“There’s some holes we need to hit it close enough, and there’s no way to avoid it on 15, for example. So it’s getting comfortable with that. Second shot on 13 as well, even the second shot on 18.
“Very few holes are that uphill. More than getting used to playing X amount of yards up or down, it’s the position you’re in on the fairway trying to hit those shots that I think can be
more of a challenge.”
Every shot shape is tested at Augusta, and to win you must be able to hit those shot shapes out of every lie. Only those with a complete game can earn a Green Jacket because of this.
