Whenever the Masters comes around, it does not take golf fans long to start to wonder what exactly they would shoot if they got the chance to take on Augusta National.
For the large majority of people who take up the game, the idea of playing Augusta National even just once is nothing more than a pipe dream. The Georgia course is one of the most exclusive clubs in the world, with former Masters champions not even able to play for most of the year unless they are with a member.
But there are few golf courses which capture the imagination of fans quite like Augusta. The Masters marks the official start to the golf season for many. And every blade of grass at the famous course could probably tell the story of both an amazing shot and nightmare hit from its exact spot.
So what could a mid-range handicapper expect to shoot around Augusta?
What a 15 handicap golfer would shoot around Augusta National
It is hard to imagine that Augusta has had many 15 handicappers turn up for tee times. But there is a common theme in some of the answers given to Golf.com when they put the question to some of the tournament’s former champions.
1998 Masters champion Mark O’Meara insisted that it would not be a particularly positive experience – from a golfing perspective – for an intermediate golfer.
“A 15 handicap at Augusta National, playing from where these kids play today, for sure would not even have a chance of breaking 100. That’s how difficult the course is, that’s how much slope there is and speed in the greens. An average player would have a very difficult time getting it round Augusta National in less than 100,” he said.
What Larry Mize thinks a 15 handicapper would shoot at Augusta National in Masters conditions
O’Meara’s view is shared by Larry Mize, with the 1987 champion noting that it would take something special for an average golfer to avoid putting three figures on the scorecard.
“They’d have a hard time breaking 100, they really would. Playing there for the first time, you’re just going to be so excited, it’s going to be hard to focus in on your game. It’s just the nerves of playing there for the first time, and then, manoeuvring those greens,” he said.
“The average amateur does not play greens like that. They may get some contours similar to that, the speed is pretty unusual, they’re pretty quick, and the contours too. I think a 15 handicap, because they’re normally shooting mid-80s, they would have to play really, really, really well to break 100.”
In truth, there will be plenty of 15 handicappers who feel a little relieved to hear the likes of O’Meara and Mize talk about breaking 100 – even if they are not at all confident about being on the right side of that number.
Augusta has a way of making the world’s best players look foolish just as it appears that they have figured it out.
Nevertheless, it is hard to imagine the challenges of Augusta ruining the feeling for any mid-range handicapper who actually gets to play golf on the hallowed turf.
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