Every Hole at Augusta National - No. 11, White Dogwood
History, Masters strategy, and expert commentary on the par-4 11th hole
The Basics
This second consecutive difficult, downhill par 4 completes Augusta National’s descent to Amen Corner and Rae’s Creek. The hole calls for a long, preferably left-to-right tee shot out of a tunnel of trees. Drives that reach the crest of the hill about 300 yards from the tee earn a kick forward and a more favorable lie. The green is fiercely protected, perched up from the surrounding grade and tilted toward the pond on the left. The hole's only bunker guards the back-right corner, and Rae's Creek looms back-left. The approach shot is a test of nerve: those who refuse to challenge the water on their second shots end up with a scary chip from below the green on the right. No. 11’s most interesting feature, however, is the collection of large mounds short right of the putting surface. From the left side of the fairway, these can be used to feed the ball onto the green. Used less cleverly, they tend to propel approaches into the water. In modern Masters tournaments, though, players typically bypass this feature by flying the ball onto the green.
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History
The 11th has been one of the most frequently tinkered-with holes at Augusta National. In 1934, the tee was near the original 10th green, making No. 11 a sharp dogleg right. After the first Masters, Bobby Jones installed a bunker in the middle of the wide fairway, but it didn’t last long. The green, substantially larger than today's version, was nestled into a natural bend in Rae's Creek. When the 10th green was relocated, the 11th tee was moved to its current angle, straightening the hole. In the early 1950s, the club dammed up a portion of the creek to form today’s pond. Since then, the par 4 has gone through a gradual program of lengthening and narrowing. After Tiger Woods shocked the green jackets in 1997 by blasting his drive up the right side and earning a wedge in, Augusta National began closing down that angle with tree plantings. In 2022, the club removed most of these trees, leaving a cluster near the landing zone to guard against the Tiger play.
Strategy Notes for the Masters
No. 11 is simply a brute, often playing as the most difficult hole to par at Augusta National. Strategically, however, it is not overly complex. Players aim driver toward the left-center of the fairway. Misses off the tee force players to decide how aggressive they want to be in pushing a second shot up and around the green. Shots that run up the neck of the fairway just short of the green will follow the slope left towards the water, making aggressive recovery shots risky.
No. 11 is a prime example of why players with elite short games excel at Augusta National. The optimal approach target favors the right side of the green, which frequently leaves players chipping from short right. In other words, playing the hole intelligently often results in a delicate chip from a tightly-mown lie in the short grass — and it pays to have a tidy short game in that situation. –Joseph LaMagna
Our Take
The current 11th is beautiful, dramatic, and testing, but because of how high and far modern players hit the ball, it has struggled to retain its strategic character. The mounds short of the green are rarely in play at the Masters, and the repeated reshaping of the short-grass surrounds has made running the ball onto the putting surface an even less feasible option. Few holes at Augusta National would benefit more from an effective equipment rollback.
Expert Commentary
Alister MacKenzie (1932): “The green is situated in the bend of a stream. The approach has a marked tilt upwards from left to right, so that the further and more accurately a drive is placed to the left the easier the second shot becomes. This should always be a most fascinating hole. I don’t know another quite like it.”
Bobby Jones (1959): “The tee shot to this hole is blind in that the fairway upon which the ball is to land is not visible from the tee. Nevertheless, the limits of the fairway are sufficiently well defined by the trees on either side. A drive down the left side of the fairway provides better visibility of the green, but slightly to right of center is better should the pin be located on the promontory of the green extending into the water hazard on the left. The pin location on this projection of the green is often reserved for the final round. A second shot played into the water here must be dropped on the near bank, with water still intervening between the player and the hole. With the pin located at any place on the green other than the left-hand projection, the hole appears simple. Yet it has a puzzling difficulty. Should the pin be at the back of the green, the player tends to let up on his second shot for fear of the severe penalty involved in overplaying. Often he leaves himself an approach putt of more length than he would like. With the pin on the forward area of the green, a shot underplayed may bound to the left and come dangerously close to the water. A great many players play this hole safely to the right, replying on getting a long putt or chip dead for par.”
Geoff Ogilvy (2019): “[The chip from right of the green] is a really scary shot because of the thin grass and water past. The safe play is to bump it along the ground to get it rolling, but the fringe catches really fast. If you force it just a little bit and you want three bounces but it only takes two, well then it’s going straight in the pond…. It’s a little un-talked about: you can’t just hit it short of the green because anything short of the green hits the mounds short of the green. Anything that hits those mounds—it doesn’t always but it can—it hits those mounds and goes left into the pond.”
Memorable Shots
Course Routing
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Augusta National
Ever since it opened, Augusta National has been in a constant state of evolution (for better or for worse), but it remains one of the greatest championship venues in the world
Hole 1 - Tea Olive
Augusta National's property is defined by a single broad downslope that ends at Rae’s Creek, and this par-4 opener is the only hole on the course that sits completely on top of it. Strategically, No. 1 at Augusta National is one of the most compelling opening holes in professional golf.
Hole 2 - Pink Dogwood
The second hole at Augusta National produces more off-the-tee variety than most par 5s in professional golf.
Hole 3 - Flowering Peach
Players face three basic options off the tee: hit a long iron or hybrid near the bunkers at the top of the first ridge, leaving a full wedge in; bash it left, past the bunkers and into the valley short left of the green; or go straight for the green in hopes of at least holding the narrow shelf short right. The most strategically complex hole on the golf course, “Flowering Peach” has stood the test of time, less affected by distance gains than most holes at Augusta National.
Hole 4 - Flowering Crab Apple
The first — and longest — par 3 at Augusta National has historically required a strong strike with at least a long iron, though club selections in the Masters have shifted as distance gains have spiraled out of control. Can you execute a towering shot with a long iron, hybrid, or fairway wood?
Hole 5 - Magnolia
“Magnolia” is like Paul Thomas Anderson’s film of the same name: brilliant, probably underrated, but a tad bloated. Nonetheless, the hole presents an honest challenge, and the green is one of the most artfully shaped at Augusta National (or anywhere else).
Hole 6 - Juniper
“Juniper” is, in our opinion, Augusta National’s second-best par 3. Each pin position presents a different range of challenges and exciting possible outcomes.
Hole 7 - Pampas
Yes, the green contours are fun, but “Pampas” has morphed into something that Alister MacKenzie likely would not endorse: a hole that merely defends itself through length and narrowness rather than asking complex strategic questions.
Hole 8 - Yellow Jasmine
This uphill three-shotter consistently produces the highest scoring average of Augusta National’s four par 5s, but it still presents a welcome birdie opportunity after the tough stretch of Nos. 4-7. “Yellow Jasmine” is the most underrated hole at Augusta National.
Hole 9 - Carolina Cherry
The ninth hole plays from a high point near the first and eighth greens, down through a valley frequently used by galleries, and up the hill where the clubhouse sits. From a risk-reward perspective, “Carolina Cherry” is a bit of a muddle.
Hole 10 - Camellia
The 10th hole kicks off the back half of the round in hair-raising fashion, plunging 100 feet into a valley shrouded by tall pines. Perry Maxwell’s 1938 transformation of “Camellia” is one of the rare cases in which a change to MacKenzie and Jones’s design represented a substantial improvement.
Hole 11 - White Dogwood
No. 11 is simply a brute, often playing as the most difficult hole to par at Augusta National. It’s also been one of the most frequently tinkered-with holes at Augusta National.
Hole 12 - Golden Bell
The focal point of Amen Corner and the center of gravity in any final round of the Masters, the 12th hole at Augusta National is as terrifying as it is beautiful.
Hole 13 - Azalea
This iconic risk-reward par 5 offers the first of a series of birdie opportunities on Augusta National’s home stretch.
Hole 14 - Chinese Fir
Although some nuances of MacKenzie and Jones’s original strategic concept for the hole have been lost, “Chinese Fir” is still a compelling par 4, rewarding precise and well-shaped shots both off the tee and into the green.
Hole 15 - Firethorn
No. 15 consistently presents one of the toughest decisions players have to make during their rounds: go for the green in two or lay up to one of the most demanding wedge shots in golf.
Hole 16 - Redbud
Set at the base of the ridge that the fifth green and sixth tee occupy, the par-3 16th hole provides a ready stage for championship-defining shots. Over the past several decades, the 16th has shown an undeniable knack for spectacle.
Hole 17 - Nandina
From tee to green, No. 17 is one of the simplest holes at Augusta National and is likely the least-loved hole on the second nine.
Hole 18 - Holly
“Holly” is a little funky, but its design is smart and elegant: bend it around the trees on the right and bypass some of the natural difficulty of the next shot.
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Every Hole at Augusta National - No. 12, Golden Bell
Every Hole at Augusta National - No. 10, Camellia
Every Hole at Augusta National - No. 9, Carolina Cherry
Every Hole at Augusta National - No. 8, Yellow Jasmine
Every Hole at Augusta National - No. 7, Pampas
Every Hole at Augusta National - No. 6, Juniper
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