Jack Nicklaus, of North Palm Beach, Fla., reacts on the 11th green after bogeying the hole during the third round of the 1998 U.S. Open Championship at the Lake Course of the Olympic Club in San Francisco, Calif., Saturday, June 20, 1998. ASSOCIATED PRESS

National plans get Bear growls

Web posted June 21, 1998

By Rick Dorsey
Staff Writer

SAN FRANCISCO -- He is the Golden Olden Bear, and you'd think his opinions on course design would matter.

They matter everywhere, except with the brass running the Augusta National Golf Club.

Prior to new Augusta National Chairman W.W. (Hootie) Johnson announcing two weeks ago the most extensive course cosmetic surgery ever performed in one swoop -- holes No. 2, 11, 15 and 17 will be altered this summer -- Nicklaus and his design team surveyed the property and submitted their own redesign recommendations.

``And they probably said `Thank you very much' and dropped it all in a file cabinet somewhere,'' Nicklaus said prior to beginning this year's U.S. Open.

Augusta National changes

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•15th hole •2nd hole •11th hole •17th hole

AUGUSTAGOLF.COM

•The Masters Tournament Multimedia: •Past changes

Augusta National honored Nicklaus with his own day and his own plaque, and after 40 years and six green jackets, he's probably the most authoritative voice on the National's layout.

``My resume probably means little to them when they're deciding about lengthening holes,'' he said.

THE CHANGES WITH NO. 2, which has played the second easiest during Masters weeks through the years, have created the most buzz with players here competing for golf's second major.

An additional 25 yards will be added to the course's longest hole as a grove of trees behind the first green are removed. What this does to the 555-yard par-5 is bring back the right-side bunker back into play, along with the landing area as the fairways doglegs left.

``I wouldn't mind it at all if they just blew that hole up,'' Nicklaus said. ``It's a hole that plays illogical to me. It requires a duck-hook second shot from an uneven lie to a green that only accepts fades. How much sense does that make?''

Nicklaus proposed flattening the fairway and shifting the fairway bunker to the left side, taking the big hitters' hard draw away and creating much more of a three-shot hole.

When Johnson trumpeted these alterations, he admitted that Tiger Woods' record-breaking mark of 18-under par in 1997 helped prove that today's players may be getting a bit overpowering for the fabled grand dame.

The sweeping changes will come to two of the vulnerable par-5s, holes made vulnerable by today's bigger boppers.

``It's funny to me that we're in the age of talking about our equipment and balls traveling too far, and here's Augusta National adding length,'' David Duval said. ``Few players can get it to No. 2 in two to begin with. Not many people can reach that second green from a downhill, sidehill lie with a 3-iron.''

OTHER COURSE CHANGES include raising the 11th green by two feet, helping to avoid flooding that caused Amen's Corner to be underwater in 1990; flattening the mounds on the 15th fairway by 85 percent, reducing the extra 40 yards of carom players would receive, and in their place adding clusters of pine trees between the 15th and 17th fairways; an adding an extra 15 yards from the tee on 17.

``It sounds to me that they're looking to bring accuracy back into play,'' said Tom Watson, Masters winner in 1977 and '81.

``For older guys like me, 17 could be the real stickler. It's going to force a drive around Ike's tree, but now with pines on the right side, there's no margin for error.''

These changes are not unique; some 75 tweaks have been made to the original course, from adding a bunker here to mounding a green there. And the prevailing sentiment from Tour players is we'll see it when we get there.

``I'm not sure the course needed any changes to it, but that doesn't mean much because they're always fiddling with it,'' current green jacket bearer Mark O'Meara said.

Prior to the Masters this year, officials changed the angle of the 11th tee and added trees near the 13th fairway.

``I think the changes they made before this year's tournament actually worked out quite nicely, so we'll have to see the course next year before we either condemn it or compliment it,'' O'Meara said.