Please, Mr. Payne, for...

[Iwastherein1969]

heaven's sake do not change #13 in any way. This is THE signature hole of the most famous golf course in the world and to make it more difficult would be defeating the beauty of the hole. The hole is set up where two great shots get you an eagle and two bad shots and a three putt down that treacherous green can net you an 8 for the hole.

As I write this Mr. Payne is fielding questions about #13 and his response is that they are strongly looking at making some changes. Why ? The shorter holes on tour seem to give these long bombing freaks more problems than do the 499 yd par fours. Good God almighty, if they change #13 by merely making it longer it will ruin the charm of the hole. Sometimes, people try to improve a great thing and only outsmart themselves. Here's to leaving #13 as is, Mr. William Payne. Amen corner will never be the same if you screw the pooch on that glorious #13

[Jackrabbit Hog]

Relax.  All they are going to do is dig up all the azaleas and replace them with poison ivy.  Now THAT would be a hazard the players would want to avoid.

[EastexHawg]

I've of course never played Augusta, but when I found out I was going to play Tour 18 that was the hole I looked forward to playing more than any other.

When we followed Mickelson last Saturday he kept hitting cut shots off the tee.  He later said he was practicing for Augusta, especially #13.

I agree, leave it the way it is.

[GoHogs1091]

The 13th hole is really a Par 4.5 hole, even though on the Scorecard it is a Par 5 hole.  Ever since they lengthened the hole several years ago, the play on the hole hasn't really changed.  The Scoring Average on the hole has had a very small decrease since 2007, but except for the way Bubba Watson and Dustin Johnson plays the hole, the way the rest of the players play the hole is still the same.

If they are wanting to increase the difficulty of the hole, one way would be to shorten the hole around 10 to 15 yards, and make the Par on the hole as a Par 4.  That would make the course a Par 71 instead of a Par 72, but in reality the Par on a stern Major Championship course should not be above 71.  It would actually be a better test for the Par to be 71.

Even if they do get the land purchased from the adjacent Augusta Country Club, and lengthen the 13th hole, the amount they are going to lengthen it is not going to really matter, and not have much of an affect.

The tee shot on the 13th hole is really 1 of only 2 tee shots on a Par 4/Par 5 hole on the course that really tests the Pros, the other being the tee shot on the 7th hole (because of how much they narrowed the 7th hole in the early 2000's).  Other than those 2 tee shots, the course is basically just a second shot golf course.  For the Pros, the course overall is not as demanding off the tee as some other Major Championship venues, ie., Southern Hills, Merion (East Course), Oakmont, and Winged Foot (West Course).

In the grand scheme of things, what occurs during the 4 rounds on the 13th hole doesn't have as big of an impact on the outcome of the tournament as much as the National Golf Media portrays it does.  Over the 4 rounds what occurs on the green on the 6th hole, what occurs on the green on the 7th hole, what occurs on the green on the 9th hole, and what occurs on the green on the 10th hole is usually a main determinant of the outcome of the tournament.  There has been many tournament winning hopes undone on those 4 greens, and over the 4 rounds usually the winner of the tournament and those who finish just behind the winner gain at least a few birdies on those 4 greens, or at the minimum keep any damage from occurring to their scorecard on those 4 greens over the 4 rounds.

[Iwastherein1969]

Even if they do get the land purchased from the adjacent Augusta Country Club, and lengthen the 13th hole, the amount they are going to lengthen it is not going to really matter, and not have much of an affect.

Okay, well what's the point of changing the hole ?  They'd find it difficult to move the tee so far back that McIlroy, Day, Watson, Mickelson, and a host of other extremely long hitters wouldn't be able to bend it around the corner with their best effort. And in golf, BEST EFFORTS should be rewarded. Not punished. At least that's the way I see the game after playing it for over 40 years.

[clutch]

Okay, well what's the point of changing the hole ?  They'd find it difficult to move the tee so far back that McIlroy, Day, Watson, Mickelson, and a host of other extremely long hitters wouldn't be able to bend it around the corner with their best effort. And in golf, BEST EFFORTS should be rewarded. Not punished. At least that's the way I see the game after playing it for over 40 years.

GoHogs has a problem with birdies and eagles.

[Jackrabbit Hog]

GoHogs has a problem with birdies and eagles.

and brevity.

[PonderinHog]

and brevity.

and reality.

[GoHogs1091]

Okay, well what's the point of changing the hole ?  They'd find it difficult to move the tee so far back that McIlroy, Day, Watson, Mickelson, and a host of other extremely long hitters wouldn't be able to bend it around the corner with their best effort. And in golf, BEST EFFORTS should be rewarded. Not punished. At least that's the way I see the game after playing it for over 40 years.

There really isn't a point to add anymore length to the hole.  With the land they are trying to purchase from the Augusta Country Club, I wouldn't be surprised if the ANGC would be only able to add at most around 20 more yards to the hole.  It won't really matter to the Pros if the hole is around 530 yards instead of 510 yards.

[Jackrabbit Hog]

There really isn't a point to add anymore length to the hole.  With the land they are trying to purchase from the Augusta Country Club, I wouldn't be surprised if the ANGC would be only able to add at most around 20 more yards to the hole.  It won't really matter to the Pros if the hole is around 530 yards instead of 510 yards.

If the argument for changing the hole is that it's too easy for the pros, just make it a par 4.  It plays to about a 4.5 every year anyway.  And besides, it's balanced out two holes earlier by 11, which IS a par 4 but plays to a 4.5 every year too.