Tempest in a Tee Box

Almost every year, Augusta National makes changes to its golf course. And almost every year, these changes seem to become more extravagant from an agronomic standpoint. The alterations for 2023 included adding 35 yards to the 13th hole, the latest of the club’s many attempts to combat the famous par 5’s vulnerability to distance gains.

To accomplish this, Augusta National purchased five acres of neighboring Augusta Country Club’s land for $25 million. As part of the deal, ANGC paid the costs for ACC to reroute and redesign its eighth and ninth holes. After sitting on the land for several years, the Masters host began work on lengthening No. 13 in 2022. Eureka Earth’s aerial images of the site show the large amount of time, money, and resources likely invested in the project.

Number Three in our #BestOf2022 countdown needs no other description than:

No. 13 Tee 🌺💚⛳️#TheMasters #Masters2023

( 📸 ©David Dobbins/EurekaEarth)#EurekaEarth #NotDrone #LoveAugusta pic.twitter.com/IX3Hyv1KVf

— Eureka Earth® (@EurekaEarthPlus) December 31, 2022

The apparent construction and maintenance methods used here are extremely expensive. Several large trees have been transplanted to frame the back and sides of the tee box, which can cost upwards of $100,000 per tree at this scale. These trees require extensive root pruning and special care, and there’s a high risk that they’ll die in the coming years.

To maintain the turf in this narrow, shadowy corridor, miles of hydronic irrigation piping have evidently been added underneath the turf to heat and supply moisture to the grass. The process of constructing roughly 8,000 square feet of additional turf probably required tearing out the existing hydronics, irrigation, and drainage; reshaping the land; and reinstalling hydronics, irrigation, and drainage. These measures are necessary to make the agronomy work in this location. If the tee were built and maintained with normal methods and an average level of resources, it would be straight dirt. To cap it all off, the club has added a stone retaining wall around the tee box, no doubt made of pricey Augusta National-grade rock.

Our #BestOf2022

No. 8 Hydronics

‘SHCC in Tulsa installed a similar system underneath its putting surfaces, but as far as we can tell, this is one of the first examples of the system being used to regulate the temperature of a tee.’

(📸©14AUG2022 David Dobbins #EurekaEarth) pic.twitter.com/ujjHijKK8q

— Eureka Earth® (@EurekaEarthPlus) December 24, 2022

It’s worth questioning the cost and sustainability of these changes because Augusta National sets an example for other golf courses and shapes the image of the game. Projects like the construction of the new championship 13th tee box are hugely expensive and therefore unrealistic for almost any other course to emulate. They also contribute to the narrative that golf courses should be maintained to perfection, even in densely treed environments.

5 DAYS!!! 🌺💚⛳️#TheMasters #Masters2023

No. 13 – Azalea – Par: 5

1934 yardage: 480
2022 yardage: 510 (L)
2023 yardage: 545 (R) 😎

(📸©15MAR2022 EurekaEarth)

(📸©19NOV2022 EurekaEarth)#EurekaEarth #NotDrone #FirstLook 🙄 #LoveAugusta pic.twitter.com/kItLoPPwVz

— Eureka Earth® (@EurekaEarthPlus) April 1, 2023

In the end, though, I’m a golf fan, too. Despite my agronomic gripes, I look forward to seeing the tee box in action. Let’s hope it enhances the variety of shots played into the 13th green. If it doesn’t, that’s a lot of money spent for not much in return.