The Masters, Part I, Golf (Video) - by Pete Styles
The Masters, Part I, Golf (Video) - by Pete Styles

So if you’re like me, you’ve been involved in golf and you’ve grown up watching The Masters Golf Tournament on the television, you probably know the Golf Course Augusta better than any other golf course around the world apart from the ones you’ve played yourself, and that’s because there’s a major championship there every year. Most to the majors travel around to different golf courses, but The Masters goes back to the same golf course Augusta Georgia every single year so you get a really good feel for the golf course. You must know the greens before you actually see the shots land on the green. It’s a really interestingly well-designed golf course. For most people, it’s probably the golf course they would want to go and play. If they had one opportunity to go and play in any golf course around the world, they would often say they want to go and play Augusta Georgia.

If we look at the golf course, we take on the approach that the play is playing around there, why is it such a fascinating golf tournament to watch? Well again, the golf course is almost like trying to play a game of chess against it. You have to think one or two moves ahead. The real feature of the golf course is the greens, the speed of the greens, but also the severity of the slopes. There are quick greens, but probably not the quickest greens throughout the year that the professionals would play on. But they’re also some of the sloped greens that we’ll play on and probably some of the most tactical greens. There are lots of different balls, arrays, rays, and plateaus where the organizer can put the pins. So, the players have to work out, where do they want the ball to be to have a good putt at the flag. Then, they have to think another move back, where do they want it to be to hit that shot onto the green from, and maybe even one move further back, where do they want it to be to hit their tee shots into the right position.

So let’s take a hole like the 3, for example, I’m not sure you can pitch to the 3. There’s a big swinging dogleg from right to left, then over the water, over raised creek, onto the green for the par five. The tee shots are big right to left swinging hook for the right hander. Often people would play three around that corner to get a bit more bend and a bit more shape on the ball. Position the ball in the fairway. Then if you are brave, you can attack the flag, you can go over the top of raised creek on your second shot on the par five, trying to land it on the green, or as Zach Johnson laying up short of the green like he did in 2007 but he won The Masters chipping onto the green for the third shot.

Then, we actually get to the green itself, towards around the front to the green, quite a big a green but a very, very severe slope on the green, with a very small plateau on the top and a big dip down at the bottom. Now, when the flag is down at the bottom, the play is really like that because although the flag is very near to the water, they don’t need to land the ball near the water. They can land the ball high up on the bank on the left hand side and into the hill and actually let the slope of the green gather the ball down to the hole, and as it gathers down to the hole, they are actually often left with a relatively flat putt, it’s one of the difficult putts to place, but it is quite flat.

And most to the players when they are playing, would rather have quite a long flat or slightly uphill putts than a downhill putt, particularly something like Augusta on fast greens, sloped greens, being above the hole is real problem, and the caddies worked really hard with the players to make sure the players are always aware of where the flag is, where the slopes are, and where you want to leave the ball. After the players quite happy at ten or twelve feet below the hole, then three or four feet above the hole, very slippery on those down the hill putts.

Now, if you can apply that to your own game, it’s just this idea of thinking back through the hole, thinking back through where the green is, and particularly if you’re on fast greens, maybe stimping above ten or ten-and-a-half on the stimpmeter. Think about always laying the ball short or below the hole. Never getting yourself upon the high side. Maybe playing your chip shots so they run pass the hole to leave you a nice little putt back up the slope rather than being too aggressive running a chip that goes beyond the hole and then leaving yourself a very difficult putt back.

So, have a real good read next time you’re playing on quick, particularly sloped greens. Look where the hazards are. Look where the slopes are coming from. Always try and play your ball below the hill to lie you an uphill putt, and like when you’re around playing at Augusta, play golf like you’re playing a game a chess, thinking one or two moves ahead.

 2012-05-31

So if you’re like me, you’ve been involved in golf and you’ve grown up watching The Masters Golf Tournament on the television, you probably know the Golf Course Augusta better than any other golf course around the world apart from the ones you’ve played yourself, and that’s because there’s a major championship there every year. Most to the majors travel around to different golf courses, but The Masters goes back to the same golf course Augusta Georgia every single year so you get a really good feel for the golf course. You must know the greens before you actually see the shots land on the green. It’s a really interestingly well-designed golf course. For most people, it’s probably the golf course they would want to go and play. If they had one opportunity to go and play in any golf course around the world, they would often say they want to go and play Augusta Georgia.

If we look at the golf course, we take on the approach that the play is playing around there, why is it such a fascinating golf tournament to watch? Well again, the golf course is almost like trying to play a game of chess against it. You have to think one or two moves ahead. The real feature of the golf course is the greens, the speed of the greens, but also the severity of the slopes. There are quick greens, but probably not the quickest greens throughout the year that the professionals would play on. But they’re also some of the sloped greens that we’ll play on and probably some of the most tactical greens. There are lots of different balls, arrays, rays, and plateaus where the organizer can put the pins. So, the players have to work out, where do they want the ball to be to have a good putt at the flag. Then, they have to think another move back, where do they want it to be to hit that shot onto the green from, and maybe even one move further back, where do they want it to be to hit their tee shots into the right position.

So let’s take a hole like the 3, for example, I’m not sure you can pitch to the 3. There’s a big swinging dogleg from right to left, then over the water, over raised creek, onto the green for the par five. The tee shots are big right to left swinging hook for the right hander. Often people would play three around that corner to get a bit more bend and a bit more shape on the ball. Position the ball in the fairway. Then if you are brave, you can attack the flag, you can go over the top of raised creek on your second shot on the par five, trying to land it on the green, or as Zach Johnson laying up short of the green like he did in 2007 but he won The Masters chipping onto the green for the third shot.

Then, we actually get to the green itself, towards around the front to the green, quite a big a green but a very, very severe slope on the green, with a very small plateau on the top and a big dip down at the bottom. Now, when the flag is down at the bottom, the play is really like that because although the flag is very near to the water, they don’t need to land the ball near the water. They can land the ball high up on the bank on the left hand side and into the hill and actually let the slope of the green gather the ball down to the hole, and as it gathers down to the hole, they are actually often left with a relatively flat putt, it’s one of the difficult putts to place, but it is quite flat.

And most to the players when they are playing, would rather have quite a long flat or slightly uphill putts than a downhill putt, particularly something like Augusta on fast greens, sloped greens, being above the hole is real problem, and the caddies worked really hard with the players to make sure the players are always aware of where the flag is, where the slopes are, and where you want to leave the ball. After the players quite happy at ten or twelve feet below the hole, then three or four feet above the hole, very slippery on those down the hill putts.

Now, if you can apply that to your own game, it’s just this idea of thinking back through the hole, thinking back through where the green is, and particularly if you’re on fast greens, maybe stimping above ten or ten-and-a-half on the stimpmeter. Think about always laying the ball short or below the hole. Never getting yourself upon the high side. Maybe playing your chip shots so they run pass the hole to leave you a nice little putt back up the slope rather than being too aggressive running a chip that goes beyond the hole and then leaving yourself a very difficult putt back.

So, have a real good read next time you’re playing on quick, particularly sloped greens. Look where the hazards are. Look where the slopes are coming from. Always try and play your ball below the hill to lie you an uphill putt, and like when you’re around playing at Augusta, play golf like you’re playing a game a chess, thinking one or two moves ahead.