The 2023 Masters convenes at Augusta National Golf Club this week just like the 86 others that preceded it ... except this one will be a bit different. One of the most famous golf holes in the world -- the par-5 13th, "Azalea" -- has received a massive makeover. Azalea has been lengthened from 510 yards to 545 yards for the 87th Masters and beyond.
A number of past champions such as Scottie Scheffler, Tiger Woods and Jordan Spieth got an early taste of how 13 would play ahead of the tournament. All agreed, at least to some extent, that their strategy on the hole has changed.
"It's longer," Scheffler said. "It's a lot longer."
Does longer necessarily mean it will play harder? The par 5 has played to a historical scoring average of 4.77, making it the easiest hole at Augusta National. That's certainly not how it was originally designed to play with the risk-reward of a second shot that might not clear Rae's Creek quite high. However, modern equipment led to Azalea becoming a driver-wedge hole for some of the longest players in the world.
Depending on wind direction and current weather forecast, that's not going to be the case anymore.
"13 is kind of what that dramatic change was in '02," said Woods. "It seems dramatic to us now, but if these guys keep getting longer, keep getting talker, more athletic and keep hitting the ball further, that hole is going to play with a driver and a mid-iron. Similar to what happened in 2002, that change there and the change at 11 – pushing the hole back – or 18, I think there will be less 3s and 7s on 13; there will be more 4s and 5s. That's probably the best way to describe the hole, especially with the forecast coming up here. … The days of me hitting a 3-wood and an 8-iron there are long gone."
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It appears that extra 35 yards could have a massive effect on the tenor of the entire tournament this year and beyond. (Imagine how things would look if the proposed USGA and R&A rollback rule goes through and Augusta National adopts it for the Masters.)
"That hole was one where I'd hit the same shot I hit on 10," added Scheffler. "The 3-wood, it has enough spin where the ball can actually stay in the air. With the driver, when I hook it, the ball doesn't have enough spin to where it can stay in the air and hook that much. It kind of nosedives. But the 3-wood, I can sit up there and it will just be like a boomerang.
"But that's really the biggest change for me. Now, I'll just hit driver kind of out towards the corner and try and use more of the contouring to get the ball that way versus before. I should say it this way: My driver is now going where my 3-wood kind of used to go. My 3-wood, I could maybe get it a little bit further around the corner, but my driver is now going to where that 3-wood was before."
Scheffler isn't the only top-two player considering the 3-wood. Jon Rahm, who previously has referenced his desire to leave his 3-wood short of the trees running up the right side, said the change is going to benefit longer players (such as himself) and that he might still go 3-wood off the tee.
"You obviously don't really have a chance to turn the corner as much as people did in the past and have a short iron, right," said Rahm. "I've been able to hit an 8-iron there into the green and obviously that's a huge advantage. It's funny, mentioning this, obviously I've seen a lot of videos of people hitting a tee shot and then having a long iron into that hole, talking about 4-irons, 2-irons, possible woods. I think they just wanted it to play the way it's meant to be played, right. It kind of gets to a point that 11 being a par 4 being longer than 13, it's a bit odd.
"I'm not opposed to it. I think you're going to see a lot more lay-ups, obviously. If you don't quite hug the left side you're going to have such a long iron in that a lot of people who choose to lay up. But there's still going to be a risk, more so risk/reward aspect to it, because if you hit the green and give yourself an eagle chance, it's going to matter a lot more maybe than it did in the past."
What Rahm says here is key: Though a good tee shot might be out to the right, a great one might take on the creek up the left. It's clear that some of the original design has been restored in the golf hole.
Here's Garrett Morrison of The Fried Egg on the 13th from a few years ago.
This is a risky play, and individual players may decide that the juice isn't worth the squeeze. But the rewards are clear. "The player is first tempted to dare the creek on his tee shot by playing in close to the corner," Bobby Jones wrote in his 1960 book Golf Is My Game, "because if he attains his position he has not only shortened the hole, but obtained a more level lie for his second shot. Driving out to the right not only increases the length of the second, but encounters an annoying side-hill lie."
The 13th will seemingly once again reward taking on the creek and the flatter path. And regardless of whether it does, it has become clear based on the comments from top players that changes to this hole -- such a pivotal one over the history of the tournament -- will almost certainly affect how the 2023 Masters plays out (for better or worse).
"I disagree that it's less exciting," said Spieth. "Like, I think you've heard mixed reviews. Some people say more, some people say less. I mean, I think if you are stuck in between you and get more mayhem because you're going to get more water balls than guys hitting 7-iron to the middle of the green, how is that not more exciting? It's not very exciting if someone hits 7-, 8-iron into the middle of the green and 2-putts. You want to see someone hit it from further away or a harder shot.
"I don't know if it's a better or worse hole; it's a different hole, and I think you have to be determined if it's more or less exciting. If it's warmer, it's more exciting; but when it's this cool, it may just be a lot of lay-ups. But we'll see."
