If Tiger Woods is to win another Masters green jacket — his first since 2005 — he’ll need to play better on holes 7 and 11.
That’s where Augusta National has had its most success “Tiger-proofing” its storied layout, if that’s indeed what it was trying to do. Once two of the easiest holes for the world’s No. 1 player, those two par 4s now rank among the more difficult for Woods to negotiate.
“Basically those two holes have changed the way that he’s been able to play the golf course,” former PGA Tour pro and ESPN golf analyst Andy North said. “… We all made a joke of them needing to Tiger-proof these courses. Well, you know, they’ve done that in some way at Augusta National.”
The Masters competition committee has intensely focused on toughening its golf course since Woods annihilated the field by 12 shots to win his first Masters title as a PGA Tour rookie in 1997. Initially they did that by lengthening the course. But Woods still went largely undeterred and won three more times before 2006.
Then Augusta National got serious. Between 2005 and 2006 the club made significant changes all over the course, but most radically to Nos. 7 and 11.
No. 7, long one of the easiest holes for the field, was lengthened by 35 to 40 yards in 2006 and trees were added to both sides of the fairway. It now plays 505 yards to a postage-stamp green surround by deep bunkers.
On 11, the tee was moved back 15 yards, with the fairway shifted to the left and dozens of fully grown pine trees added to the right.
“I don’t know if they had Tiger in mind when they did that or not,” said Steve Stricker, who has played in 12 Masters, but is looking for his first win. “When they lengthened the course, it actually played more into Tiger’s hands because he could hit a 3-wood and get away with it while most guys had to hit driver. But since then they’ve gone through a period of time where they’ve been toughening the course.”
Woods chewed up and spit out 7 and 11 during his initial nine-year reign. In the four years that he won the tournament, he was under par for the week on those holes six times and never over par. For nine years, he bettered par on them 22 times.
After the changes, Woods has birdied each hole just once and made an eagle on 7 in 2010. He has recorded over-par averages on one hole or the other nine times in the past seven years. That’s compared with only five times the previous nine years.
“Eleven is a way different hole,” said Woods, who has averaged 4.29 strokes on that hole since 2006, with just one birdie and eight bogeys. “We didn’t have that span of trees down the right-hand side that we do now, and the tee was much, much farther up and to the left. We used to be able to hit driver down there.
“I remember playing with Seve (Ballesteros) and Raymond (Floyd), and they always said to just hit it over (to the right) where the gallery is; that’s the angle you want to come from. Well, you can’t get over there anymore.”
Woods said he used to hit 1- and 2-irons off the tee on No. 7 and would have only a 9-iron to a sand wedge left for his approach. Now he’s trying to guide a fairway wood onto narrow fairway.
“A good drive will leave me somewhere between 8-iron to a 5-iron in there,” Woods said.
Of course the changes haven’t been limited to 7 and 11. Woods recalls hitting a driver and a 60-degree wedge on No. 1 his first time at Augusta National.
“I’m like, ‘what bunker?’” he said with a laugh.
It’s not as though it has ruined Woods’ chances. He still plays well in Augusta.
Other than last year’s tie for 40th, Woods has been in the hunt every year since the 2005 changes. He finished second twice, third once and never worse than sixth in the other starts.
“He’s still had a bunch of top-5 finishes,” North said. “But at the same time, if you’re half a shot over par on two holes more than you used to be, that’s a shot a day over four rounds, and that’s a bunch of shots. That’s the difference of winning and being fourth.”
Of course, whatever difficulties those holes may create for Woods, they are doing the same for the rest of the field. Only four times in the past seven years has Woods played the holes worse overall than his competitors on average.
Woods didn’t indicate any strategic changes for playing his nemesis holes this week. With three victories already in 2013 and six in the past 12 months, he reclaimed the No. 1 world ranking that Rory McIlroy had held for 32 weeks and comes in again as the overwhelming favorite.
“I feel confident with every aspect of my game,” Woods said. “I feel like I’ve improved and gotten more consistent, and I think the wins show that.”
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