As Phil Mickelson said recently, it’s impossible to choose the most pivotal holes at Augusta. They all inspire greatness and, at the same time, threaten disaster — each offering the chance of a birdie for the judicious golfer but guaranteeing calamity for the careless. Here are Augusta’s five hardest holes in order, not one of which has ever played under its par.

Historically the hardest hole at Augusta, averaging 4.32 since 1942 when the club began keeping records, the 10th can be reached with as little as a seven or eight iron provided the competitor draws the ball off the tee and gets it running down the hill to the left side of the fairway. From there, players will leave themselves roughly 175 yards to the hole and be able to hit their approach from a relatively flat stance. Block it right off the tee, however, and they’ll face a long iron from a nasty hanging lie. The hole was originally the 1st but became the back nine opener in 1935. Two years later, the green was relocated from its position to the right of the large fairway bunker to the top of a slight rise 60 yards beyond it. Surrounded by tall and typically noble pines, the green is often striped with shadows further complicating an already tilted green. Last year, the hole played third toughest at an average of 4.27.

How can so short a hole, one that can require as little as a nine iron, cause such fear and apprehension among the best players in the world? Easy, mix an impossibly fast, diagonally slanted green with the blue waters of Rae’s Creek, three bunkers – one short and two long from where the golfer faces a treacherous sand shot back toward the water — trees left and long, and churning winds that never seem to make up their mind in which direction, and at what speed, they want to blow. When players talk of the mental challenge of Augusta National they are thinking primarily of the short 12th, a seemingly tame poke with a short iron, but one that has thrown up more really high numbers than a hole of this length ever should. Tom Weiskopf holds the record with a 13 in 1980’s first round, and Rocco Mediate posted a 10 in the final round last year to fall out of contention.

Even at 205 yards, which the hole measured until last year’s tournament, the 4th was a tough proposition. When 35 yards were added, however, most players were concerned the hybrids and lofted woods they would need to carry the front right bunker would never hold the green. In fact, the hole played slightly easier in 2006 (3.21 average and seventh toughest) than it did between 1934 and 2005 (3.29) and wasn’t the beast everyone suspected it might be, partly because the tees were pushed forward 60 yards on Friday when most players hit a six or seven iron, and partly because it played downwind for much of the week. As is the case with most of the holes, however, the wind’s random swirls can greatly affect the challenge, so don’t expect a lot of birdies. Jeff Sluman remains the only player to have aced the hole, which he did with a four iron during the first round in 1992.

Another hole extended for last year’s tournament, the 11th was the longest par 4 on the course at 505 yards and the toughest hole of all, with a 4.47 average — 0.18 of a stroke higher than its cumulative average. With the addition of several pines to the right of the fairway, the strategy and line of play off the tee has changed at the 11th more than at any other hole in recent years. Players used to be able to smash it down the right side thus leaving a shorter direct route to the green, but now they need to start the ball left and fade it back to the center from where they will probably need a six or seven iron to reach the green. The hole has seen a couple of twos in the last three years — KJ Choi during 2004’s exciting final round and Rory Sabbatini in the second round last year — but it’s far more likely to bite, as Sergio Garcia found out last year after playing it the first three rounds in six over par.

One of Augusta’s least recognizable holes, the 5th was inspired by the Road Hole on the Old Course at St. Andrews. It plays slightly uphill and doglegs to the left around two deep bunkers. A 315-yard carry is needed to clear them so the vast majority of the field will be happy to play out to the right and leave a six or seven iron to the green. The putting surface slopes wickedly every which way but generally falls from back to front. Jack Nicklaus holed his second shot here during the first and third rounds in 1995, seven years before course consultant Tom Fazio made significant changes to the hole, extending the fairway bunkers and moving the fairway to the right to accentuate the dogleg. Only 17 birdies were made here last year, when the scoring average for the field was 4.22.