Augusta's 13th Lengthened Ahead Of 2023 Masters

It's a bizarre new quirk of the modern game that we have to wait eight and a half months for the major season to swing back into action but a small crumb of comfort comes with any course changes to Augusta National to slowly whet our appetites for The Masters.

The biggest talking point in recent years has been the 13th hole, Azalea, and when it will be finally lengthened. Augusta National purchased the land from the adjacent Augusta Country Club in 2017 but then there were just rumours rather than any building work taking place.

Then in June work was shown to be taking place – the course shuts down in the summer months – and Eureka Earth showed us that a new tee was being put in place some 40 yards back. The hole generally ranks as the easiest hole on the property with players hitting to the corner of the dogleg to leave themselves a mid-iron in or just taking it over the corner to leave themselves with a very short iron in.

Now it will be hoped that the option to bang a driver over the corner will no longer be there and players will have to get out a long iron or even some timber to make it to the sloping green which is protected by Rae's Creek.

Eureka Earth showed us an image in September showing the work at completion point and the latest image, dated November 19, looks like the hole is ready to be played.

Needless to say there's been no word from the club on the changes but a recent visitor has reported that it is now 545 yards.

In 2022 the 11th and 15th were both lengthened which actually made the par-5 15th a far less exciting prospect with more and more players laying up and there wasn't one single eagle over the four days. The 13th though really should tempt more of the field to take on a green that is less treacherous than the 15th.