AUGUSTA, GEORGIA | Change is inevitable at Augusta National, and though there are more physical changes coming to the property before the 2025 Masters, chairman Fred Ridley made it clear in his annual media session Wednesday morning that there are a few things he doesn’t want to see down the road.
One is an 8,000-yard golf course, even as Augusta National could play at more than 7,600 yards for one round this week (it’s listed at 7,550).
Another is moving the tee back on the famous par-3 12th, which measures 155 yards from the tee plate in the middle of Amen Corner and, for at least as long as Ridley remains chairman, will remain there though the question has been raised about adding 10 yards.
Ridley reiterated his support of the ball rollback scheduled to go into effect in 2028 for professionals and 2030 for amateurs. Since last year, the club added 10 yards when it shifted the tee on the par-5 second hole back and slightly to the left to make the second shot more difficult.
“Adding distance to the Augusta National golf course has become standard operation over the past two decades. For almost 70 years, the Masters was played at just over 6,900 yards. Today the course measures 7,550 yards from the markers, and we may well play one of the tournament rounds this year at more than 7,600 yards,” Ridley said.
“I’ve said in the past that I hope we will not play the Masters at 8,000 yards. But that is likely to happen in the not-too-distant future under current standards. Accordingly, we support the decisions that have been made by the R&A and the USGA as they have addressed the impact of distance at all levels of the game.”
The idea of lengthening the 12th hole was raised by Vijay Singh, the 2000 Masters champion, but Ridley doesn’t see that happening.
“I would say with a hundred-percent certainty that it would not be lengthened during my tenure. That’s almost like asking can we touch up the Mona Lisa a little bit,” Ridley said.
“I mean, I think that the 12th hole at Augusta is the most iconic par-3 in the world. It has been, and I won’t say it always will be, but I think it always will be.”
Though an ominous weather forecast threatens to disrupt the first round – thunderstorms and wind gusts over 40 mph are predicted through early afternoon Thursday – the Masters is the first event this year to bring together the best players from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf.
Ridley announced that a new, two-level underground parking deck will be constructed, reportedly under the expansive practice area, and be open next April. Beyond that, there will be a three-level facility for players, their families and their support teams.
This year, the club opened Map & Flag, a new high-end hospitality venue across Washington Road from the club. After this year’s tournament, construction will begin on a tunnel to ease access for patrons from the Map & Flag to the course.
Ridley pointed out that the Drive, Chip and Putt turned 10 years old this year and the Augusta National Women’s Amateur celebrated five years last week, major club initiatives that have continued to grow.
Lottie Woad won the women’s amateur with three birdies over the final four holes with thousands watching on site. Meanwhile, Nelly Korda won her fourth consecutive LPGA event last weekend yet didn’t draw nearly the attention directed to Iowa’s Caitlin Clark and the NCAA women’s basketball championship, which shattered ratings records.
Does that concern Ridley, who said he watched Clark in multiple games?
“We hope that more people will come along like that, and certainly we hope that people will come along in golf. I do think that it illustrates, though, one very interesting thing is that, for the time being anyway, Caitlin Clark is an amateur. She’s a collegiate player. And so we think that the young women who play here in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur have that same capability,” Ridley said. “There’s something about, even with all the change in rules and NIL and transfer portal, but amateur athletes just have an appealing characteristic to me. And particularly the young ones.
“So, we hope that we’ll continue to have compelling individuals come through here to play in our tournament. We’ve had some in the past… We have to keep trying. There’s more things we need to do. We’re going to continue to think about that, to explore ways. But I just think it’s sort of a kind of a unicorn, really. We need more unicorns in that regard.”
Though an ominous weather forecast threatens to disrupt the first round – thunderstorms and wind gusts over 40 mph are predicted through early afternoon Thursday – the Masters is the first event this year to bring together the best players from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf.
The game’s fractured state has been cited as a key reason why TV ratings are down significantly for PGA Tour events this year. The Masters, annually the most watched tournament of the year, is seen by many as a key indicator of viewership.
While recognizing that streaming options have changed the number of viewers who watch traditional television, Ridley is aware of the declining numbers.
“I will acknowledge that, if you look at the data this year, golf viewers are down on linear television while other sports, some other sports, are up. So, you can draw your own conclusions,” Ridley said.
“Certainly, the fact that the best players in the world are not convening very often is not helpful. Whether or not there’s a direct causal effect, I don’t know. But I think that it would be a lot better if they were together more often.”
Asked about how the Masters might assure that more of the top players are together, Ridley said the tournament still relies on the Official World Golf Ranking while maintaining the option to extend special exemptions, as it did this year to LIV golfer Joaquín Niemann.
“Historically, and as stated in our qualification criteria, we consider international players for special invitations. But we do look at those every year. If we felt that there were a player or players, whether they played on the LIV tour or any other tour, who were deserving of an invitation to the Masters, that we would exercise that discretion with regard to special invitations,” Ridley said.
As LIV is presently structured, Ridley indicated the Masters won’t change its qualification criteria to accommodate the 3-year-old league.
“I think it will be difficult to establish any type of point system that has any connection to the rest of the world of golf because they’re basically – not totally, but for the most part – a closed shop. There is some relegation, but not very much. It all really depends on what new player they sign,” Ridley said.
“So, and those concerns were expressed by the OWGR, but I don’t think that prevents us from giving subjective consideration based on talent, based on performance to those players.
“Our goal is to have, to the greatest extent possible, the best field in golf, the best players in the world. Having said that, we never have had all the best players in the world because of the structure of our tournament. It’s an invitational. It’s limited field; it’s a small field.”