Jordan Spieth Hopes The 13th At Augusta Gets Lengthened

The 2015 Masters champion wants the par-5 13th at Augusta made longer to benefit the shorter hitters

Jordan Spieth Hopes The 13th At Augusta Gets Lengthened

Augusta National has gone through numerous changes over the years, mostly in the form of lengthening the course.

Tiger Woods and his long hitting two decades ago meant golf courses at Tour level had to be "Tiger Proofed" and Augusta followed suit.

The Masters course measured 6,985 off the backs in 2000 and 18 years later is some 500 yards longer at 7,435.

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There has been talk of the 510 yard par-5 13th being increased in length, partly down to Bubba Watson after he took it over the corner in 2014 and hit a pitching wedge into the green.

Augusta National bought land behind the 12th green and 13th tee off of neighbouring Augusta Country Club last year for a price rumoured to be around the $27m mark, and 2015 Masters champion Jordan Spieth wants the hole to be lengthened.

"I would hope it would be lengthened. Personally," he said on Tuesday in his pre-tournament press conference.

In a time where driving distance on Tour has come under huge scrutiny, it seems odd for a player who isn't considered one of the longest to be so open for a classic golf course to be lengthened.

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However, the three-time major winner clearly feels that lengthening the hole will actually help out the shorter hitters.

"To take away certain players being able to cut off a lot of the hole and require pretty much everyone to hit it around the same line. 

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"That's advantageous to me because I don't fly it 310 yards up in the air with the right‑to‑left turn like Bubba does, Rory does, some of the guys can do. So that hole would be better for me if it were lengthened, I think.

"But the way it is, if you hit a great drive you have an opportunity to reach in two, and just like any other hole, when a guy hits it further than you, if you're two clubs behind, you got to make up for that."

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Spieth was asked if he'd be up for the hole to play a further 30 yards longer, which he seemed more than happy about.

"Yeah, definitely.  I mean, I hit 3‑wood, I'll probably hit 3‑wood all four days this year.  So it will just force you to hit driver into a location where you would hit 3‑wood.

"Same with the hole ‑‑ if No. 5 was changed.  It's forcing you to hit driver in the same place that guys are thing 3‑woods.  So it just makes a little bit harder."

Here's what former Augusta National Chairman Billy Payne said about the 13th hole prior to the 2016 Masters:

"We create plans looking into the future, when we believe that the shot value of certain shots, principally, has been impacted by how far the ball is now traveling.

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"As a consequence, 13 is one of those holes we are studying. We have made no decision whatsoever. Plans are underway to be considered, and I said, that is one of the many holes that we now have under consideration.''

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