GOLF’s Top 100 course panelists are among the most respected and well-traveled course evaluators in the game. They’re also keen to share their opinions. In this GOLF.com series, we’ll unlock their unvarnished views on all questions course-related. Check out GOLF’s latest Top 100 Courses in the U.S., Top 100 Courses in the World, Top 100 Courses You Can Play, Best Municipal Courses in the U.S., and 100 Best Short Courses. Meet all of our Top 100 panelists here.
What’s the best 3-hole stretch (not named Amen Corner) at Augusta?
Jeff Lewis (has played 96 of GOLF’s Top 100 Courses in the World): I would suggest Nos. 1-3. I agree with a number of the others about the outstanding quality of the 3rd. The 1st is a hole that most of us never saw until recent decades when the TV coverage extended. Playing the course, the green comes as kind of a shock. It’s a very challenging tee shot followed by an approach shot where placement is absolutely critical because of the green’s severity. Historically, the 1st has ranked in the top-third in difficulty, while the 2nd and 3rd give players a good chance to recover their footing, as they are usually ranked in the bottom-third. The 2nd almost feels like a must-birdie. A bogey-par start puts every player on the defensive. Then, if you try to make up for it by being overly aggressive to the tiny target at 3, the troubles can accelerate. The 4th is the most difficult of the par-3s and 5 is a very tough hole as well. So you really need to get through the first three in good shape.
Masters 2024: What’s the best (and least best!) hole at Augusta National?
Thomas Brown (has played 95 of GOLF’s Top 100 Courses in the World): Nos. 16-18. The Masters has emblazoned so many moments in our memory. When playing the finishing stretch, Augusta has an advantage over every other course in the world because it can compare each drive, approach and putt against the history we’ve enjoyed over the years. I like to think I’m up for any challenge on the golf course, but I don’t know how anyone finds the fairway on the 18th hole. In any Top 100 discussion, the finish at Augusta National has to be recognized among the best for Alister MacKenzie’s design merits.
Pete Phipps (has played 71 of GOLF’s Top 100 Courses in the World): I’ll go with 14, 15 and 16. As with many other parts of the course, TV doesn’t do the 14th green justice. The false front is massive, so approach shots have to be more precise than the viewer might realize. If you’re going for 15 in two, the approach is nerve-racking, due to the severely sloped front portion of the green. Anything that lands on the front of the green has a high likelihood of rolling back into the water. The 16th is obviously home to some of our favorite Masters memories, no matter the decade, and ANGC has essentially perfected the hole locations, which has led to so many of those memories.
Christian Faergemann (has played 72 of GOLF’s Top 100 Courses in the World): I have to cheat a bit. I think there are so many good back-to-back holes if you look beyond Amen Corner. I few personal favorites I look forward to and where I avoid leaving the action: the 2nd and 3rd, the 10th and 11th, the 15th and 16th. The 2nd and 3rd due to their ability to kick-start a round. The 10th and 11th are the hard holes that offer a test to the beginning of the final nine, and the 15th and 16th, which bring opportunities to score on the final stretch.