AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) -- A hole-by-hole look at Augusta National Golf Club, site of the 70th Masters Tournament to be played April 6-9. Names of the hole in parentheses. After each hole are the clubs typically hit by Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus in their prime, and by Tiger Woods in 1997 and 2005:
No. 1, 455 yards, par 4 (Tea Olive): A slight dogleg right with a deep bunker requiring a 327-yard carry off the tee. The bunker now has a tongue in the left side, so anything that barely enters might be blocked by the new lip. The tee has been moved back 20 yards, and trees were added on the left side.
Palmer: Driver, 7-iron.
Nicklaus: Driver, 6-iron or 7-iron.
Woods '97: Driver, sand wedge.
Woods '05: Driver, sand wedge.
No. 2, 575 yards, par 5 (Pink Dogwood): A dogleg left that can be reached in two by the big hitters. Fairway bunker on the right comes into play, but it's difficult to reach the slope, which shortens the hole. Green guarded by two bunkers in front.
Palmer: Driver, 1-iron to 4-iron.
Nicklaus: "I always figured I could get home in two under any conditions."
Woods '97: Driver, 8-iron or 9-iron.
Woods '05: Driver, 3-iron or 4-iron.
No. 3, 350 yards, par 4 (Flowering Peach): One of the best par 4s in golf, a hole that hasn't been changed in 23 years. Big hitters can drive the green, but not many even try because of all the trouble surrounding the L-shaped green that slopes severely from right to left. Most players hit iron off tee to stay short of four bunkers on the left side.
Palmer: Driver, wedge or 9-iron.
Nicklaus: 3-wood or 1-iron, 8-iron to wedge.
Woods '97: 3-iron, pitching wedge.
Woods '05: 3-iron, 8- or 9-iron.
No. 4, 240 yards, par 3 (Flowering Crab Apple): Tees moved back 35 yards into the woods behind the third green, and tee slightly elevated. Should be a long iron for big hitters, fairway metal for others. Deep bunker protects right side of the green, with another bunker left. Club selection remains crucial because of the deceptive wind. Green slopes to the front.
Palmer: 3-iron or 4-iron.
Nicklaus: 2-iron to 4-iron.
Woods '97: 5-iron.
Woods '05: 4-iron or 5-iron.
No. 5, 455 yards, par 4 (Magnolia): The hole was lengthened by 20 yards four years ago, and the fairway bunkers extended 80 yards toward the green. Bunkers are so deep that players can only see the sky. Green slopes to the front.
Palmer: Driver, 5-iron.
Nicklaus: Driver, 5-iron to 7-iron.
Woods '97: Driver, wedge.
Woods '05: 3-wood, 7-iron.
No. 6, 180 yards, par 3 (Juniper): An elevated tee to a large green with three tiers, with significant slopes marking the three levels. Getting close to the hole is a challenge. Hole has not been changed in 31 years.
Palmer: 5-iron or 6-iron.
Nicklaus: 5-iron.
Woods '97: 7-iron.
Woods '05: 6-iron or 7-iron.
No. 7, 450 yards, par 4 (Pampas): This hole's changes likely will get the most attention. The tee was extended by 40 yards, and some trees were trimmed slightly on the left side. The tee shot is through a chute of Georgia pines, played to the left-center of the fairway into a slight slope. Green is surrounded by five bunkers.
Palmer: Driver, 9-iron or wedge.
Nicklaus: 3-wood or 1-iron, 8-iron to wedge.
Woods '97: 2-iron or 3-iron, sand wedge.
Woods '05: Driver-sand wedge, or 2-iron-pitching wedge.
No. 8, 570 yards, par 5 (Yellow Jasmine): An accurate drive is important to avoid the fairway bunker on the right side. The hole is uphill and features trouble left of the green. No bunkers around the green, just severe mounding.
Palmer: Driver, 3-wood.
Nicklaus: Driver, 3-wood, as little as a 5-iron in favorable conditions.
Woods '97: Driver, 2-iron to 4-iron.
Woods '05: Driver, 2-iron or 3-wood.
No. 9, 460 yards, par 4 (Carolina Cherry): Tee shot should be aimed down the right side for a good angle into the green, which features two large bunkers to the left. Any approach that is short could spin some 60 yards back into the fairway.
Palmer: Driver, 9-iron or pitching wedge.
Nicklaus: Driver, pitching wedge or sand wedge.
Woods '97: Driver, sand wedge.
Woods '05: Driver, pitching wedge or sand wedge.
No. 10, 495 yards, par 4 (Camellia): A long hole that can play shorter if drives catch the slope in the fairway. Difficult to save par from the bunker right of the green. The putting surface slopes from right to left. Has played as the most difficult hole in Masters history.
Palmer: Driver, 5-iron or 6-iron.
Nicklaus: 3-wood, 4-iron to 7-iron.
Woods '97: 2-iron or 3-wood, 7-iron or 8-iron.
Woods '05: 3-wood, 6-iron.
No. 11, 505 yards, par 4 (White Dogwood): Amen Corner starts here. Tee has been lengthened by 15 yards, and more pine trees were added to the three dozen on the right side, tightening the fairway. A 300-yard drive is required to get to the crest of the hill. A pond guards the green to the left and a bunker is to the back right. The safe shot is to bail out short and to the right in a swale.
Palmer: Driver, 3-iron.
Nicklaus: Driver, 4-iron or 5-iron.
Woods '97: Driver, 9-iron or pitching wedge.
Woods '05: Driver, 5-iron or 6-iron.
No. 12, 155 yards, par 3 (Golden Bell): Perhaps the most famous par 3 in golf, and the shortest hole at Augusta. Club selection can range from a 6-iron to a 9-iron, but it's difficult to gauge the wind. Rae's Creek is in front of the shallow green, with two bunkers behind it.
Palmer: 7-iron.
Nicklaus: 7-iron or 8-iron.
Woods '97: 8-iron.
Woods '05: 8-iron.
No. 13, 510 yards, par 5 (Azalea): An accurate tee shot to the center of the fairway sets up players to go for the green. A tributary to Rae's Creek winds in front of the green, and four bunkers are behind the putting surface. From tee to green, there are about 1,600 azaleas.
Palmer: Driver, 3-wood.
Nicklaus: 3-wood, 3-iron to 5-iron.
Woods '97: 3-wood, 4-iron to 6-iron.
Woods '05: 3-wood, 3-iron to 5-iron.
No. 14, 440 yards, par 4 (Chinese Fir): The only hole on the course without a bunker. Even if the drive avoids trees on both sides of the fairway, the green has severe contours that feed the ball to the right.
Palmer: Driver, 7-iron.
Nicklaus: Driver, 5-iron.
Woods '97: 3-wood, sand wedge.
Woods '05: 3-wood, 8-iron.
No. 15, 530 yards, par 5 (Firethorn): Tee has been moved back about 30 yards and to the left about 20 yards. A cluster of pines is starting to mature on the right side of the fairway, making it critical to be straight off the tee. The green can be reached in two with a good drive, but a pond guards the front and there is a bunker to the right. Gene Sarazen made a double-eagle from the fairway in 1935, the shot that put the Masters on the map.
Palmer: Driver, 3-wood or 2-iron.
Nicklaus: Driver, 2-iron or 3-iron. The least iron he ever played was an 8-iron.
Woods '97: Driver, 5-iron to a pitching wedge.
Woods '05: Driver, 8-iron when it was downwind in 2005.
No. 16, 170 yards, par 3 (Redbud): The hole is played entirely over water and eventually bends to the left. Two bunkers guard the right side, and the green slopes significantly from right to left. Pars from the top shelf of the green on Sunday are rare. Woods' chip in 2005 made a U-turn at the top of the ridge, trickled to the cup and paused two full seconds before dropping for birdie.
Palmer: 4-iron to 7-iron.
Nicklaus: 5-iron or 6-iron.
Woods '97: 8-iron.
Woods '05: 8-iron.
No. 17, 425 yards, par 4 (Nandina): The tee has been extended 15 yards, making the Eisenhower Tree to the left of the fairway more prominent and 210 yards from the tee, requiring another accurate tee shot. The green is protected by two bunkers in the front.
Palmer: Driver, 9-iron or wedge.
Nicklaus: Driver, anything from a 6-iron to a wedge.
Woods '97: Driver, sand wedge.
Woods '05: Driver, pitching wedge.
No. 18, 465 yards, par 4 (Holly): Now among the most demanding finishing holes in golf, this uphill dogleg right is protected off the tee by two deep bunkers at the left elbow. Trees get in the way of a drive that strays to the right. A middle iron is required to a green that has a bunker in front and to the right.
Palmer: Driver, 7-iron.
Nicklaus: Driver, 5-iron to as little as a 7-iron.
Woods '97: Driver, sand wedge.
Woods '05: 3-wood, 8-iron.
Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
