ESPN.com - Golf Online - Masters 2000 - Changes make Augusta a little rougher

ESPN Golf Online news services
Thursday, April 6

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- The Masters is the only one of golf's four major championships played on the same course every year, but there is always something new for players to discover when they arrive at Augusta National Golf Club every spring.


	The beauty remains, but Augusta National has become much tighter.

This year is no different.

Augusta's generous fairways are a little narrower and the rough -- nonexistent until last year -- is a little longer.

There also will be new pin positions available on several holes during the tournament -- most notably on Nos. 10, 12 and 16, where the greens were resurfaced after last year's tournament.

And more large pine trees have materialised in some strategic spots, especially on the 14th and 17th holes, which will put a premium on accurate driving -- something The Masters was not known for in the past.

Tom Lehman hit what he thought was a good drive on the first hole of a Monday practice round, only to find it seven yards into the peach fuzz.

"That was a huge eye-opener," he said. "There is a premium on driving the ball now."

Players used to see nothing but fairway off the tee. Now, they have to squint their eyes in search of the short grass.

"It's very narrow," said two-time Masters champion Bernhard Langer. "It used to be from tree to tree. Now, it's definitely less than half of what it used to be on some holes."

Augusta National is still a bomber's course, but it's nothing like what Langer remembers from the first time he won in 1985, or even his second Masters victory in 1993. Or even last year.

The rough is only 1 3/8 inches, not to be confused with the shaggy grass in a U.S. Open. Still, it can be just as penalizing considering the slopes on the firm greens.

"The changes are fine," three-time champion Nick Faldo said after a practice round with Australian amateur sensation Aaron Baddeley, who will be playing in his first Masters come Thursday. "The rough is fine, if you hit your drive in the middle of the fairway."

Faldo, who won here in 1989, 1990 and 1996, said he noticed several greens with possible new hole locations during his round with Baddeley.

"When they set the pins for the tournament, it's a different story," Faldo said he told the 19-year-old Baddeley. "There are going to be more 'mega-type' pins out there."

Lee Westwood is pleased with the narrower fairways.

"The changes are good, especially (demanding) accuracy off the tee," said Westwood, who tied for sixth place in last year on just his third Masters.

Westwood said the rough, while not punishing, was long enough to make approach shots much more difficult because there is just enough grass to get between the clubface and the ball.

"You need as much control as you can get with these greens, they're so hard to hold," he said. "But it's tough for everybody."

Raymond Floyd -- the 1976 winner who shared The Masters scoring record with Jack Nicklaus for 20 years until Tiger Woods bettered it by one in 1997 -- said he noticed the longer rough and narrower fairways.

"The rough is subtly prepared and they tightened it up," he said of the less-generous fairways, which are a distinct departure from past Masters.

"I prefer the old style -- the way the architect intended it," said Floyd, who will be playing in his 36th Masters. "But change happens everywhere. As a player you just have to adjust."

Augusta is always tweaking the course. Some of the most significant changes came last year, when the tee boxes on the par-5 second and par-4 17th holes were pushed back some 25 yards and the rough was introduced.

The biggest alteration this year appears to be the fairways, or what little is left of them. Not everyone likes it.

"I always thought of this as a very special event because there was no rough," Langer said. "Obviously, I see why they're doing it, I can understand it. It just now looks like the golf courses we play week after week."

Lehman was more diplomatic.

"I'm not saying I don't like it," he said. "It just different ... un-Augusta."


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