2008 is a good year for anniversaries at the Masters. It’s 10 years since the second-cut was introduced; 20 since Sandy Lyle played the brilliant fairway bunker shot that set up a closing birdie to beat Mark Calcavecchia by a stroke, and 40 since Roberto De Vicenzo’s infamous scorecard gaffe. Arnold Palmer won his first green jacket half a century ago, and, also in 1958, Herbert Warren Wind referred to the 11th, 12th, and 13th holes as “Amen Corner” for the first time.

Birdies are always on offer on this crucial stretch of holes, but most players are happy if they arrive at the 14th tee unscathed.

11
Par 4
Yards 505

11TH WHITE DOGWOOD

Having just played the Masters’ all-time toughest hole, competitors now face another lengthy par 4 that actually ranked the most difficult of all last year, playing .510 over par for the four rounds. Champion Zach Johnson bogeyed the 11th on Friday and Saturday, finishing the week two over par for the hole. The drive became frighteningly narrow following Chairman Hootie Johnson’s tree-planting program in August 2003, when 36 pines were positioned to the right of the fairway; but some were removed for last year’s tournament and more have gone this year giving players, and spectators, a little more room for comfort. The pond on the left should really only be an issue for those who hit a poor drive and attempt to force their second shot onto the putting surface, and the green itself is not one of Augusta’s trickiest, but the 11th remains a severe test nevertheless.

MEMORABLE MOMENT

1987: Local boy Larry Mize holes a 140-foot chip shot in a play-off with Greg Norman. After Seve Ballesteros had been eliminated at the first extra hole, Norman looked like the favorite to win after his approach to the 11th landed safely on the putting surface and Mize’s sailed way right. Mize’s chip took an eternity to reach the cup, but when it eventually dropped, and Norman failed to hole his putt, Mize was the champion.

12
Par 3
Yards 155

12TH GOLDEN BELL

How can so short a hole as this wreak such havoc? Most of the time, players are hitting as little as an 8- or 9-iron and the green is a good 30 yards wide. But in 2008 it played .401 over its par and three more double bogeys (30) were recorded than birdies. The danger is really threefold. The first problem players must take into consideration is the ever swirling wind which seems to blow in, out, and around this corner of the course. Secondly, while the green may be wide, it’s precariously shallow, meaning the approach shot must come in high and land soft to have any chance of holding the green. Then there’s menacing Rae’s Creek, which insidiously awaits anything coming up a hair short. It’s the trickiest short-iron in the game and causes fits among world-class performers.

MEMORABLE MOMENT

1992: Fred Couples’s ball defies gravity and stays dry. With Raymond Floyd and Corey Pavin lurking ominously, Couples arrived on the tee with a three-shot lead and seven holes to play. Swinging as serenely as ever, the title was surely his to lose. At the 12th he did his best to throw it away when he aimed his tee shot at the pin rather than the fat of the green. His ball hit into the bank short and started the inevitable slide back toward the creek. Unbelievably, it stopped a few inches short of the water, and Couples was able to chip and putt for a par. He went on to win by two.

13
Par 5
Yards 510

13TH AZALEA

Augusta’s most beautiful hole is really there for the taking. But anyone who fails to hit the shots it demands without sufficient thought and precision will likely succumb to her seductive powers and wind up with a big number. It is not a hole where power is a prerequisite for success. That’s not to say a huge, booming draw around the corner of the dogleg and a high, soft-landing approach shot don’t facilitate the making of an eagle, but the shorter hitter who sensibly favors the right side of the fairway off the tee, lays up shrewdly short of the creek with his second shot, and hits a great pitch below the hole can avoid any trouble and still pick up a short against par. The field averaged 4.85 here last year, making it the third easiest hole, which probably sounds ironic to the three players who made triple bogey or worse.

MEMORABLE MOMENT

1958: Palmer eagles the hole to set up a one-shot victory, his first, over Doug Ford. One hole after an unsavory rules incident (Palmer and playing partner Ken Venturi had disagreed over the procedure Palmer should take after finding his ball embedded over the green), Palmer hit what Bobby Jones later called the best shot he’d seen since Gene Sarazen holed his second at the 15th in the 1935 tournament. Palmer’s soaring 3-wood approach landed 18 feet from the hole and the eagle putt gave him a lead he wouldn’t lose despite a bogey at the last hole.