Bernhard Langer Augusta National Course Guide: Hole 9

published 1 April 2021

A guide to the ninth hole at Augusta National, including tips from two-time Masters champion and 37-time Masters competitor Bernhard Langer

Bernhard Langer Augusta National Course Guide: Hole 9

Augusta National Hole 9 Par 4 460 yards

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18

Thanks to modern technology, an elevated tee and the downhill fairway camber, the 9th has been reduced to a driver and a short iron or wedge for most of the field. The difficulty comes with the approach, however.

Three distinct tiers make distance control paramount, and it’s not uncommon to see balls trundling off the front of the putting surface. When the pin is back left it's nigh on impossible to get close, and when it's positioned next to the bunker on the middle level, you'll often see players starting their ball at right angles to the cup if their approach goes past pin high.

Langer: “Drives must be drawn from right to left or tee shots will find the trees. Even the perfect shot leaves a difficult shot from a downhill lie to an uphill green. If the second shot is short the ball could run back down the fairway for 60 or 70 yards.”

Best ever score: 2 Worst ever score: 8

Memorable moment: After twice having to back away as both Tom Kite and Seve Ballesteros holed eagle chips on the 8th hole in 1986, Jack Nicklaus, 46 at the time, turned to the gallery and said: "Let's see if we can make that same kind of noise here." He holed his 12-foot birdie putt and donned the Green Jacket two hours later after completing his 18th major victory.

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Worst moment: As misses go, Lanny Wadkins has the unenviable claim to one of the worst at Augusta. After missing a par putt on Carolina Cherry, Wadkins was left with a tap-in. For reasons only he will know, he tried to make the shot by backhanding it towards the hole. He somehow missed and left with a double-bogey six.

In his current role, Neil is responsible for testing drivers and golf balls. Having been a part of the Golf Monthly team for over 15 years and playing off a handicap of 3, he has the experience to compare performance between models, brands and generations. For 2022 he thinks the main trend in drivers is: "In a word, consistency. Whilst all the brands are talking about ball speed (and the new drivers are certainly long), my biggest finding has been how much more consistent the ball flights are. Mishits don't seem to be causing the same level of drop-off or increase in the spin numbers. This means that more shots seem to be flying the way you want them to!" As far as golf balls are concerned the biggest development is in the, "three piece, non-Tour, urethane-covered section. For regular golfers, these models offer superb performance at both ends of the bag without denting your wallet quite as much as the premium Tour-played options."

Originally working with the best coaches in the UK to produce instruction content, he is now the brand's Digital Editor and covers everything from Tour player interviews to gear reviews. In his time at Golf Monthly, he has covered equipment launches that date back well over a decade. He clearly remembers the launch of the Callaway and Nike square drivers as well as the white TaylorMade driver families, such as the RocketBallz! If you take a look at the Golf Monthly YouTube channel, you'll see his equipment videos dating back over a decade! He has also conducted 'What's In The Bag' interviews with many of the game's best players like Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson and Jon Rahm. Over the years, Neil has tested a vast array of products in each category and at drastically different price-points.

Neil is currently playing: Driver: TaylorMade Stealth Plus Fairway Wood: Titleist TSR2 Hybrid: Titleist TS3 Irons (4-9): Mizuno JPX 919 Forged Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM7 46˚, 50˚, 54˚, 60˚ Putter: Odyssey Triple Track Ten Ball: Titleist Pro V1X