PGA Tour professionals discuss which tee shots at Augusta National don’t get enough respect from fans and commentators.
The Masters at Augusta National is renowned for its dramatic finishing holes and iconic moments, yet some of golf’s most challenging and underappreciated tee shots often go unnoticed by spectators and broadcasters alike. In a recent discussion, PGA Tour players opened up about which holes demand exceptional precision off the tee, even if they don’t capture the spotlight.
The First Hole’s Hidden Difficulty
The opening hole at Augusta National presents a deceptively tricky tee shot that deserves far more recognition. While the hole may not appear tight from the tee box, the fairway gradually narrows as players navigate up the hill, creating what amounts to a bottleneck that demands accuracy.
“One doesn’t look tight, but the farther you go up the hill, the more it bottlenecks,” one player explained. The bunker guarding the hole is particularly punishing—exceptionally deep and difficult to escape from. Missing left into the trees leaves golfers with nothing more than a punch shot to advance the ball onto the green. “Even though I never hit the fairway, you dream about it as a kid. When you step on the tee, people are lined up right next to you. The world in that golf tournament is all in front of you,” the player added, highlighting the mental and physical demands of this opening tee shot.
The hole’s underrated status stems from the fact that while players feel the pressure, audiences rarely appreciate the technical difficulty of the shot itself.
Holes Five and Seven: Precision Under Pressure
The fifth hole presents another challenge that flies under the radar. The bunkers flanking the fairway are particularly menacing. “Those bunkers are just death. Might as well put stakes around them,” one pro stated bluntly. Recovery from these bunkers is exceptionally difficult, with only a small percentage of players managing par after hitting one.
Wind conditions add another layer of complexity to this tee shot. What caddies may call a right-to-left breeze often behaves differently in practice. “You throw grass up and it kind of goes left to right,” explained one player. The large trees positioned at the corner of the fairway can sneak into play surprisingly quickly, making this “a really important tee ball and kind of a tricky one that doesn’t get talked about a lot.”
The seventh hole, meanwhile, demands nothing less than perfection. “I love the 7th tee shot. I think it’s just dead straight in front of you. You’ve got to hit a great golf shot. There’s no miss,” one professional noted. Though relatively short, the hole is deceptively difficult. Players must navigate what feels like hitting out of a chute, with the fairway sloping toward trees on both sides. Catching the right side feeds the ball behind trees, while hugging the left results in the rough or worse. “It’s actually one of my favorite holes, if not the favorite hole,” the player concluded.
The Complete Test of Augusta National
These underrated tee shots represent a broader truth about Augusta National. The course demands excellence from the opening tee shot through the final hole, with no respites or gimmes along the way. “When you come off Augusta, you breathe a big sigh of relief because I don’t feel like there’s any given holes. You are tested to hit great golf shots, and it just kind of continues on from hole one all the way to 18,” one player reflected.
While the back nine’s dramatic holes capture headlines and television coverage, the early holes—particularly one, five, and seven—deserve recognition as equally demanding tests of skill and composure. Their understated difficulty may explain why they’re often overlooked, yet they form an essential part of what makes the Masters the sport’s most complete examination of a golfer’s abilities.
This article was created with the help of AI and editorially reviewed. Report an issue