One of the dominant stories in the last few years around Augusta National has been trees … and how they’re not staying upright.
Two years ago, heavy winds brought down three trees during the tournament, crashing across the 17th hole in what was a very dangerous incident. Thankfully, no one was injured. In the past year, far more significant damage occurred when Hurricane Helene swept through the southeast. In its wake—and despite far more pressing issues than the condition of a golf course—Helene has subtly altered the appearance of Augusta National.
But if there’s one thing we know for certain about the world’s most famous golf club, it’s that they have a maintenance and agronomy team like no other—one that springs into action immediately. Three-time Masters champion Phil Mickelson offered a reminder of this on Wednesday.
During a pre-tournament press conference for LIV Miami, Mickelson was asked if he had visited the course this spring. He said he had not, but then eagerly shared a story about massive trees falling. “I’ll give you a little Augusta story, if I may, while we’ve got a minute,” he began.
“Speaking of trees coming down, I was playing a practice round there one year. It was two weeks before the tournament. Probably nobody even knows this happened. Two weeks prior to the tournament, I’m playing the 11th hole, I’m back lining up my tee shot, and I see this tree on the left fall over right in the middle of the fairway—crashing down, right by the group in front of us. They were probably 100 yards away. This massive Georgia pine comes down, tears up the fairway, and so forth.
“By the time I had walked from my tee shot into the fairway, I could hear on the walkie-talkie: ‘Get off 2, get to 11; get off 4, get to 11.’ And these—hundreds of workers, I don’t know how many—there were numerous workers piling in, racing to this tree, firing up the chainsaws, and starting to cut it down.”
It brings to mind the reaction in 2023. The second round of the tournament was underway when those trees fell across the 17th hole. Fortunately, there was a gap between groups, and no players were on the hole at the time. Almost immediately after the trees had fallen, play was suspended for the day, and patrons were asked to leave the premises. Competitors were ushered into the clubhouse, photographers and media were asked to remain in the media centre, and those chainsaws were up and running within minutes.
I had rushed to the scene to report on the incident but couldn’t get within 100 yards. A ladder had been brought out to remove the 15 feet or so of tree that still stood below the break. The rain couldn’t mask the smell of fresh sawdust in the air. Yet, by the time everyone returned the next morning—perhaps 12 hours later—it was as though nothing had happened. Mickelson’s experience is remarkably similar.
“So now the limbs,” he continued, “by the time I walk off the 11th green, all the limbs of the tree have been cut off and loaded onto a truck, onto the back of these carts. By the time I got to 15, I looked down, and they were cutting up the trunk; the entire tree was being carted away.
“By the time I finished and got back to the 18th tee and looked down, they were re-sodding the fairway. Like, nobody knew—you couldn’t tell two days later this had happened. I just thought, if that was my home course, that tree would still be there three weeks later, but they had this thing removed. It was one of the most impressive things I’ve ever seen, their ability to handle situations like that.”
🚨⛳️👏 Phil Mickelson tells an incredible story about how detailed and dedicated the green staff is at Augusta National.
(Via: @flushingitgolf)
— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) April 2, 2025
Tracking that timetable conservatively, it seems that within 20 minutes, Augusta National had chainsaws removing all the tree limbs, and within an hour, major sections of the trunk were being cleared away. Within two hours, new sod had been laid to patch up the turf and restore it as closely as possible to its original condition.
In other words, yes, there are bound to be some slight changes to Augusta National’s appearance this year, but Mickelson concluded with an 11-word statement that feels like the ultimate truth:
“I’m sure the course is going to be in great shape.”
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