“I think that the weather and the temperature could make a difference. I think the golf course will probably be a little bit more damp and play a little bit longer and require more carry.”
Fred Couples is basically the tournament mayor; here’s what he said:
“I feel like there’s only two things that can happen: the weather can be okay, or it can be cold and wet and play really long,” he said.
These are the Augusta experts, at least among Tour pros, so we took their word as gospel. Plus, the idea of this tournament feeling distinctly different is part of the fun of it all!
But here’s the thing: The forecast is out now, and what it shows it…warm weather. Just six days from the tournament’s beginning, Augusta, Ga. is projected to have temperatures in the high 70s and low 80s over the four days of the tournament.
I’m hardly a weatherman, but I do have an internet connection, so I’ll conduct a quick Q&A with myself to break down what to expect.
Will it be cold?
Not really. According to Weather Underground, my go-to for this forecast, the temperature shouldn’t dip below 60 degrees Fahrenheit all week long, with the possible exception of Sunday, which is forecasted to have a low of 59. This is hardly the frosty fall tournament we were expecting.
Will it be hot?
Yeah, kind of! It depends on your perspective, I guess. I just moved to Seattle, which has settled into a drizzly fall of temperatures in the 40s and 50s, so the current Augusta forecast — the weather is expected to get to 76 every day, touching 80 on Wednesday and Thursday — sounds fully tropical.
Will it be rainy?
We could be in for some rain. I’m packing an umbrella. Practice-round days of Tuesday and Wednesday are projected for about an inch of rain, combined, while Thursday’s opening round is projected to come with some three-quarters of an inch of rain, too. The good news is that things are expected to get slightly brighter for the weekend; Friday has a chance of showers but Saturday and Sunday are described as merely “partly cloudy.”
Will it be soggy?
Let’s think of this as a math equation, where the total rainfall is one factor and Augusta’s supernatural ability to dry out its golf course via Subair system is the other factor. Don’t underestimate the ability of the course to suck moisture out of the ground, but still — rain is rain and grass is grass, even at Augusta.
What does this mean for Tiger Woods?
He is the defending champion, after all, and he’s the golfer we always refer to when we’re talking about the weather. Basically, it means good things for Woods, who has made it clear he prefers warmer temperatures. But he’d probably prefer a drier week where the course is playing firmer and faster. A particularly soft setup could favor the tournament’s bombers, a group that Woods is no longer a part of.
Dylan Dethier is a senior writer for GOLF Magazine/GOLF.com. The Williamstown, Mass. native joined GOLF in 2017 after two years scuffling on the mini-tours. Dethier is a graduate of Williams College, where he majored in English, and he’s the author of 18 in America, which details the year he spent as an 18-year-old living from his car and playing a round of golf in every state.
