Pro’s iron explodes at Amen Corner, but he still made par

The beauty of the Masters’ Every Shot, Every Hole coverage is not so much in catching up with the leaders of the tournament, but tuning in for the mundane, the weird, the oddities that happen when 90 players take on one of the toughest golf courses in the world. 

Things like Tommy Fleetwood flipping off the 13th hole three years ago when it didn’t treat him fairly. Or moments like Zach Johnson accidentally hitting his teed up ball on the very same hole.

On Friday, Every Shot, Every Hole delivered another indelible moment. And somehow, again, it happened on Augusta National’s 13th. 

Hudson Swafford found himself in the middle of the fairway on 13, staring down a 224-yard shot with a hook lie. That’s nothing new at 13. It’s a tricky fairway to play from, going for the green in two. It’s even trickier when your golf club disintegrates on contact.

Swafford made his strike, and the head of his long iron — it’s not clear which club — went bounding down the fairway toward Rae’s Creek. It was the kind of shot you have to see for yourself, and you can do that below. 

In a perfect world, we’d have a camera fixed on Swafford the whole time. But alas, this isn’t a perfect world. Instead we get a couple quick seconds of Swafford immediately after impact. No words, just gestures. He raised his hands in the air as if to say, “huh?” We’re all just as confused.

Swafford’s strike was so solid, though, that it flew the full yardage into the green and bounded into the back bunker. How it flew that far is left to the Gods and Ghosts of Augusta National. Swafford splashed out of the sand and lipped out a birdie try, tapping in for par. 

Unfortunately, no microphones were able to capture any reaction from him, nor from his caddie. Tragically, we’re all going to be kept in the dark for a bit longer. Swafford made the cut, and is T23 entering the weekend. But was not asked to speak with the media following his round, so we’ll have to find out his thoughts on all things exploding irons Saturday.

See you then.