It's More than Length that Makes Augusta Tough

In recent years Augusta National has undergone numerous changes, all in an effort to prevent another "Tiger Woods in 1997" from taking place. Ten years ago, Woods, not even a full year on Tour, won his first major by an astonishing 12 shots, and 18-under-par four-day total. At the time, Augusta measured just under 7,000 yards. After some major overhauling -- most before the 2006 tournament -- the course has been stretched to more than 7,400 yards.

Former Chairman Hootie Johnson says keeping scores around par wasn't the impetus for change:

"We have never been worried about scores," Johnson said. "Our greatest concern has always been that the course be kept current with the times. Change has been a constant at Augusta National, starting in the earliest years of the tournament. Bobby Jones made innumerable modifications to the layout, and that philosophy continues to this day."

I can buy that. There are any number of courses -- many where tournaments were won by Byron Nelson, Sam Snead, Ben Hogan, and even Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus -- that are now considered obsolete because of technology. But other than actually lengthening the course, there are other things a course superintendent can do to make the it "play longer."

One subtle and sly feature of Augusta National can be found in the mowing patterns - or lack thereof. While most of the talk is about how difficult the greens are, especially in warm conditions, the way the fairway is mowed is a significant factor because it's mowed in one direction - toward the tee box.

That's right. If having lightning-fast greens isn't enough, the committee also thought fairways with no roll would be a good idea. You know, because there can never be too many 200-yard second shots into greens designed for short irons. Or, if you're Jeff Sluman, hitting driver-driver on a 490-yard Par-4. Yep, good times.