Phil Mickelson isn’t competing in the Masters this week, but he’s getting in on the comments. While the second round of the tournament took place on Friday at Augusta National Golf Clubthe three-time Masters champion took to the X to weigh in on the action.
Phil Thrill was not thrilled at all.
The source of his discontent? The par-5 13th and 15th holes, which Mickelson said have been stretched to the point where they’ve lost their drama.
“Watching @TheMasters and seeing so few players enough to go for 13 and 15 has taken so much excitement and intrigue out of the back nine,” wrote Mickelson, who is out of the tournament due to a family issue. “Another example of how longer isn’t always better.”
One of his points is indisputable. Both holes are longer than they used to be, part of an evolution of a course that began at 6,800 yards in 1933 and now stretches more than 7,500 yards from the championship tee. Some of the most striking changes have occurred during Mickelson’s career, fueled in part by his rival’s runaway victory. Tiger Woodsat the 1997 Masters – a dominant performance in which Woods reduced 13 and 15 to little more than a driver-wedge. The era of tiger protection had begun.
Lately, as the power play has only gained in importance, Augusta National’s primary defense has been to tighten up and extend. In 2023, to name one of several 21st-century changes, a new back tee stretched the 13 from 510 yards to 545 yards. A year ago, the 15 was pulled 30 yards back and 20 yards to the left, requiring a longer, more accurate drive to reach the drive zone.
These are facts.
Whether holes are less exciting now is a matter of opinion. Those advocating the changes would argue that watching the world’s best players hit high irons on par-5s isn’t exactly glamorous, and that the length addition was essential to restoring the kind of do-or-die decisions that have long injected drama into the back nine.
Mickelson himself has authored some of that drama, including a 6-iron from pine straw into the trees on the 13th in 2010 that ranks among the most spectacular shots in Masters history.
Mickelson is also right that the Eagles haven’t exactly come down in droves this week. On Thursday, four were made on 13 and one on 15. On Friday, those numbers dropped to just one on each hole. But distance is only one of the factors that shape a player’s decision-making. Weather and course conditions are also deciding factors. So far this week, swirling winds and strong conditions have made the 13th and 15th of the two particularly brave. The location of the holes also matters. Traditionally at the Masters, par-5 weekend pins are often intended to be temptations. If historical patterns hold, the eagle noise should increase on Saturday and Sunday.
Whatever happens, continued change is inevitable in the coming years at a tournament whose organizers aim to protect the course. In his annual address before the Masters, Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley spoke of the urgent need to restore the golf ball. This will happen. In his past comments, Mickelson has not expressed satisfaction with this prospect either.
