The Masters Facts: 15 Unique And Special Things You Didn't Know About The Masters

How well do you know The Masters?

Get to know the annual Augusta National showpiece a little better in this video and article...

The Masters facts: 15 things you might not have known...

1. Hole yardages

All of the hole yardages at on the Augusta National scorecard either end in 0 or 5. The famous par-3 12th measures 155 yards, the 13th is 545 yards after its recent lengthening, the 18th is 465 yards and so on…

2. The tournament's name

Did you know that The Masters started out as the Augusta National Invitational Tournament? It only got its current name in 1939, five years after that first Invitational event. The 1939 tournament was won by Ralph Guldahl by one stroke over Sam Snead.

3. Before Augusta National GC

The course used to be a plant nursery. The club purchased the land from a hotel chain that bought the old plant nursery but ran out of money.

4. The inaugural invitational

The inaugural Invitational tournament was held in 1934, with Augusta city council stumping up $10,000. Horton Smith won $1,500, more than both the US Open and PGA Championship first prizes at the time.

5. Asia-Pacific Amateur

The winner of the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship earns an invite to play in the Masters. Hideki Matsuyama won the inaugural Asia-Pacific Amateur (originally known as the Asian Amateur Championship) in 2010 and went on to win the low amateur honors at the 2011 Masters before - of course - winning the Green Jacket in 2021. 

The club also co-founded the Latin America Amateur Championship, which is how Joaquin Niemann played his first Masters in 2018 as an amateur.

6. Phone policy

The fans, or patrons as they are known at the Masters, aren’t allowed to bring their phones onto the course. So when you watch the big moment at this year’s tournament, you’ll notice the fans watching without holding their phones out in front of them. 

Not even the reporters and press are allowed to take their phones out of the media center. The Masters cell phone policy is certainly a unique one in sports.

7. Fred Ridley

The current Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley won the 1975 US Amateur Championship. He also represented the USA at the Walker Cup and played in three Masters Tournaments as an amateur - he is the only Augusta National chairman to have also played in the tournament.

8. TV coverage

The first and second round Masters TV coverage only began in 1982. Previously, armchair fans had no way of watching the first two days’ play. And, not only that, 18-hole coverage on Sunday only started in 2002 and the Par 3 Contest only started being televised in 2008.

9. Caddies

Players were only given the option of using their own caddies during the Masters in 1983. Before that they were allocated one of the club’s own caddies to use during tournament week. Famously, all Augusta National caddies wear white boiler suits and green caps, and the caddies wear numbers too denoting the order of their player's registration during tournament week.

The defending champion's caddie always wears the number 1.

10. The nines

The front nine actually used to be the back nine. The nines were reversed in 1935, a year after the inaugural Augusta National Invitation Tournament. We think it’s fair to say that was a good idea.

11. Hardest and easiest holes

The hardest hole in the history of The Masters is the 520 yard par 4 11th, which doglegs right and plays to a green guarded by water left.

It has played an average of 0.303 over par through the years, with the 10th just behind at +0.299.

The 'easiest' hole historically is the par 5 13th, which has an average score of 4.775 (-0.225) through the years.

12. Small field

The Masters is the hardest men’s Major to qualify for as it has by far the smallest field of the four Majors. In 2018 it had just 87 players - the lowest in history and just 89 in 2024. The other Majors have around 150 competitors.

13. The trophy

The Masters Trophy, a model of the Augusta National Clubhouse, was introduced in 1961. It was made in England and features over 900 separate pieces of silver.

14. The 'curse'

The now famous Wednesday Par 3 Contest started in 1960 and since then, nobody has won that and the Green Jacket in the same week. The par 3 course measures 1,060 yards with holes ranging from 70 to 140 yards.

15. Amateurs

The amateurs get to stay in the clubhouse during Masters week in the Crow's Nest dorm room at the top of the building.

They also have an amateur dinner and play with past champions during the first two rounds.

Amateurs are deeply respected at Augusta National, with the club founded by the greatest amateur of all time - Bobby Jones.