AUGUSTA, Ga. – On paper, the new tee at Augusta National’s 13th hole is 35 yards longer for this year’s Masters, but it may as well stretch all the way to Macon based on how the teeing ground has been scrutinized.
The irony is that this year’s change at the par 5, colloquially known as Azalea, is, in fact, the fifth time the venerable club has tinkered with that tee box since 1967. That year, the Masters tee was extended forward 5 yards before officials moved it 5 yards back seven years later.
And on it went – in ’75, the club extended the tee 7 yards, and in ’02, during the “Tiger-proofing” of the course, the tee was moved back 20 to 25 yards.