The Masters is synonymous with everything that’s good about golf, the history, the legendary players and a truly iconic course in Augusta, but how good is it? We asked leading golf architect Clyde Johnson to share his view on the Alister MacKenzie classic.

Few would argue with the suggestion that Augusta National is top of more golfers’ bucket list than any other course in the world. Its annual hosting of the Masters tournament, combined with the mystique of the club and its peerless conditioning, give it an allure not even St Andrews Old can match. But, is it actually a good golf course, or simply hyped up by its exclusive nature, as well as the glamour, glory and drama of the Masters?

Clyde Johnson, an associate of the world’s highest-profile designer Tom Doak and now himself one of course architecture’s rising stars, is well placed to assess its worth. He has seen and played most of the world’s great courses – “St Andrews Old, National Golf Links of America and Royal Melbourne are my top three” – and is working on the first two courses designed by Augusta’s creator Alister MacKenzie, Alwoodley and Moortown.

Firstly, to understand Augusta, you have to understand MacKenzie. “MacKenzie placed more emphasis on visual deception than his contemporaries,” explains Johnson on what made the famous architect’s courses so distinctive. “He was great at finding ways to use interesting features more than once through his routings, which really enabled him to get the most out of the properties he worked on.”

It's a trademark that MacKenzie carried throughout his career, from his early layouts in Leeds to as far afield as Australia, but it was on these foreign projects that the Yorkshireman was given full artistic licence. “No other ‘Golden Age’ architect utilised flashed bunkers behind greens like he did,” continues Johnson. “He was a master of utilising fairway tilt with perfectly placed bunkers - Augusta and Royal Melbourne are great examples of this, on contrasting terrains and soil types. The same can be said at Alwoodley and Moortown, although the Leeds courses don’t have that same awe-inspiring sense of scale; Augusta is much more expansive and grand in its rolling terrain, to the point it is almost disconcerting without the crowds. Most strikingly, MacKenzie’s greens were full of bold, but well-considered contour.”

Opened for play in 1932, Johnson sees MacKensie’s Augusta layout as a triumph of core principles of golf architecture. “Modern courses have perhaps become too wide, while most of the great old courses offer a variety of playing routes which calls for sound decision making and ultimately brings great variety to play,” he says. “Augusta hangs on to that philosophy.

“It has evolved significantly over the years, but it is still vital to place the ball from the tee to reward the best angles into those greens. Along with St Andrews Old, there aren’t many courses the best players regularly play with as much consequence – as to where their ball finishes from the tee, and around the greens – and there’s only so much pure distance and high ball flight can compensate.”

Accuracy from tee to green is non-negotiable for a low score at Augusta, but that’s barely even half the challenge – the real test comes once you’ve made it on the greens. “Bold green complexes have been commonplace among most of the best golf courses built this century, inspired largely by the great greens at places like Augusta National. The Masters does a great job of finding the balance between playability and challenge, for the best players in the world. Quick greens are over-rated - I’d much rather have the variety of shots over and into interesting greens at more moderate speeds.”

For Johnson, another genius of Augusta comes in its relentless nature, epitomised by the famous stretch of golf between the 11th and 13th holes known as Amen Corner. “Augusta’s famous stretch is so celebrated because of the drama it brings to the Masters each year,” he says. “Shot making is a must, complicated by awkward stances into the 11th and 13th green while club selection is skewed by difficult to decipher breeze. Rae’s Creek [the water that flows beneath Nelson Bridge in front of No. 13 tee and No. 12 green, under the Hogan Bridge, and behind No. 11 green] makes for a beautiful setting, but it is the fine line between success and failure that makes viewing so compelling.

“That Amen Corner falls in such a pivotal part of the round or tournament is what makes those holes even more memorable. And then comes the 14th, which is at least as good! It has a great green that rises opulently beyond a false front; the upper, rear section is split between a higher left and lower right. It is a green so good that the hole needs no bunkers.” There’s no shortage of iconic holes here, such as the par three 16th, remodelled by another great architect in Robert Trent Jones Senior, but for Johnson, the 8th is worth of extra praise. “MacKenzie sat the green within artificially created mounds. Placed on an angle, these hummocks obscure the direct route to the green, for those that have driven inside of the sole fairway bunker. Sat over a quieter piece of ground, this relatively minimal amount of earth movement introduces strategy and consequence as far back as the tee. It’s classic MacKenzie.”

With the 88th edition of the Masters Tournament on the horizon, it’s forever home of Augusta has managed to remain one of the most testing challenges for professional golfers. The course has evolved, some would say significantly, from MacKenzie’s original designs, but for Johnson, the course has stayed true to its founding principles. “That said, whenever I see pictures of MacKenzie’s original 9th green, I think ‘that’s cool!’,” he admits. “That green wrapped around a bunker, featuring a low right and upper left lobe. Today’s 9th is certainly demanding, but comparatively one-dimensional to what was initially conceived.” Over 90 years on, Mackenzie’s original design is exciting modern architects to this day.

Chris Bertram

The Masters

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