It doesn’t take more than a quick walk around the property to see that Augusta National has a different look. But it is highly unlikely that the trees felled and vistas cleared by Hurricane Helene will have an impact on how the course is played and affect this week’s Masters.
The club has not said how many trees were lost when Helene devastated the Augusta area in September — and probably won’t. The number is believed to be as many as 1,000, most of them pine trees. While the natural thinning process has changed the cosmetics of the course, it should not affect the winning score.
“I don’t think the course plays and differently,” said world No. 2 Rory McIlroy, who visited the course two weeks ago.
Many of the patrons walking the grounds Monday were unaware that anything had happened. Some of the veteran badge holders stopped and tried to point out the differences to the first-timers. One of the friendly crossing guards had a running conversation with a stream of visitors about the changes.
There are a few areas where the loss of trees is the most noticeable.
Trees are gone and have been thinned out to the left of the 10th fairway, but if any alternative shot was created, it is quite risky.
“I’m not going to say who, but somebody did tell me you can hit a high cut over the cabins on 10,” 2023 champion Jon Rahm said with a laugh. “I don’t believe it. I don’t see where that’s a possibility and, after I said this, I’m pretty sure there might be a new tree right there next to the tee tomorrow morning.”
Xander Schauffele played a practice round Sunday and said, “Off 10, for example, if you are feeling extremely dangerous, there’s a little gap on the left side of the trees where you can kind of hit it through. I think it’s a little risky but in the past your ball would hit a tree there and fall 90 feet from the tee box.”
That is unlikely to be a strategy for Sunday’s final round — if any round.
An area between the 10th green and 11th tee is opened and cleared out. That created more sunlight to reach the secluded area. Some speculate it could create a spot of swirling wind for the 10th green.
Another noticeable area is around the 15th hole. Many of the branches of the existing tall pines have been thinned. The new trees brought in and transplanted by the club are all about the same height, much shorter than the surviving pine trees who are noticeable by their lack of upper branches. A couple of trees between the 15th and 16th holes were lost. And trees lost on the fifth hole will reward visitors with a view formerly unseen from above.
“I don’t think it changes the golf course, but it just visually changes some holes,” Shane Lowry said. “The tall trees are what they lost, and you can see some stuff that you were never able to see, but I don’t think it changes the golf course one bit.”
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