There are certain holes around Augusta National where you take your par and run. Here’s the three holes that have played hardest of all, time and time again (1942-2022)
Hole 4, Flowering Crab Apple, Par-3 – 240 yards
Cumulative scoring average: 3.285 (3)
2022 scoring average: 3.258 (5)
Low Year: 3.089 (2020)
High Year: 3.497 (1956)
A lengthy par-3 requiring your Sunday best for all four rounds, just ask Shane Lowry. The Clara star’s challenge came unstuck with a triple-bogey ‘6’ here last year. The green is guarded by two popular bunkers, one front-right and the other running along the left side. The putting surface itself is super slick, with everything sloping to the front. Put down a quartet of threes here for the week and you’ll be gaining a bundle of shots on the field.
Hole 10, Camellia, Par-4 – 496 yards
Cumulative scoring average: 4.301 (2)
2022 scoring average: 4.233 (T6)
Low Year: 4.082 (2018)
High Year: 4.691 (1956)
The long, right-to-left downhill swinger proved the undoing of a young Rory McIlroy back in 2011. A devastating snap-hook led to a frazzling triple-bogey, when the tee-shot required a drive to the left or centre of the fairway, opening up a second shot into a green that slopes right to left. Prior to 1935, this was the first hole at Augusta National and is traditionally one of the most difficult holes on the course.
Hole 11, White Dogwood, Par-4 – 520 yards
Cumulative scoring average: 4.303 (1)
2022 scoring average: 4.477 (1)
Low Year: 4.064 (1995)
High Year: 4.644 (1956)
The 11th hole was fierce enough before its test was stiffened by a further 15-yards in 2022. The first of Amen Corner’s famous three demands a swing and a prayer, and should you find the right side of the fairway, you will be rewarded with a relatively flat lie and a nice angle to approach the green. Finding the putting surface is easier said than done, however, with water left and a strategically placed bunker lurking in the front right-centre. In 1987, Larry Mize didn’t mind missing the green though, chipping in for a playoff victory for the ages over Seve Ballesteros and Greg Norman.
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