The BWD Major Tournament Hole of the Day: The 14th at Augusta National, Home of the Masters Tournament

Augusta National Golf Club

No. 14 Chinese Fir
Par 4 440 yards

As the only hole at Augusta National without a bunker, the par 4 14th hole features a 4 severe green which provides a plethora of strategic decisions. Players often opt to hit driver instead of a 3-wood off of the tee in order to minimize the approach distance of their second shot. The landing area does not allow for unruly drives, however, as the sloping fairway kicks stray shots into trouble on the right. An ideal shot will be played with a right-to-left shape in order to fight into the left-to-right slope of the landing area. The best angle of approach into the green is from this left side as the front right of the putting surface is home to a severe false front. Large undulations make the green one of the trickiest to approach on the course. Assuming a competitor finds the sloped fairway, a mid-iron shot usually awaits from an uneven stance. The ideal shot shape is once again right-to-left, which is challenging for right-handed players given a hanging lie. Shots that clear the false front will find that the surface generally moves to the right. Landing areas provided to access the hole locations are small and players who aren’t precise are often left with long putts and severe breaks.

Statistical Analysis:
Historically the 14th hole has played as the 8th toughest on the course with a scoring average of 4.17. In 2015, it played slightly easier than usual with a scoring average of 4.08 (1 Eagle, 37 Birdies, 208 Pars, 52 Bogeys, and 6 Doubles).

Fun Facts:
• In 2010, Phil Mickelson holed out for eagle during an eagle-eagle-birdie stretch on Saturday which helped to propel him into the final grouping where he went on to win his third green jacket with a score of 272.
• The hole, now named Chinese Fir, was once known as Spanish Dagger (one of many common names for a plant named Yucca gloriosa). Evergreen Chinese Fir can be found along the left of the no. 14 fairway.
• Fred Couples faced a 4-foot birdie putt to pull within one shot of Mickelson in the final round of 2006. Couples ended up three-putting for a bogey and finished tied for third.