Augusta National hole-by-hole guide

Golf correspondent Philip Reid gives the lowdown on the only Major venue that's played every year

1st - Tea Olive - Par 4, 445 Yards
Historical Difficulty: 6th most difficult, averaging 4.23.
Notable fact: Retief Goosen found the perfect way to play the approach into a notoriously difficult green when he holed out for an eagle two in 2011.

2nd -  Pink Dogwood - Par 5, 575 Yards
Historical Difficulty:
16th most difficult, averaging 4.79
Notable fact: It may be one of the more birdieable holes but in 2006 David Duval ran up a 10 here.

3rd - Flowering Peach - Par 4, 350 Yards
Historical Difficulty:
14th most difficult, averaging 4.08
Notable fact: Sometimes tempting for players to attempt to drive the green, such as Justin Rose who managed an eagle two last year.

4th - Flowering Crab Apple - Par 3, 240 Yards
Historical Difficulty:
4th most difficult, averaging 3.28
Notable fact: Don't remind Brant Snedeker of the tricky front pin placement. He five-putted in last year's third round.

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5th - Magnolia - Par 4, 455 Yards
Historical Difficulty:
5th most difficult, averaging 4.26.
Notable fact: Only one player has managed to eagle this hole twice . . . Jack Nicklaus, both times in 1995.

6th - Juniper - Par 3, 180 Yards
Historical Difficulty:
13th most difficult, averaging 3.13.
Notable fact: There have been five holes-in-one in tournament history, the last by Jamie Donaldson in 2013.

7th - Pampas - Par 4, 450 Yards
Historical Difficulty:
11th most difficult, averaging 4.15
Notable fact: Watch the second shots . . . there have been 13 hole-outs for eagle twos, most recently by amateur Patrick Cantlay in 2012.

8th - Yellow Jasmine - Par 5, 570 Yards
Historical Difficulty:
15th most difficult, averaging 4.83.
Notable fact: The unfortunate Jack Walsh ran up a horrible 12 on this back in 1934 . . . 10 shots worse than Bruce Devlin's albatross two in 1967.

9th - Carolina Cherry - Par 4, 460 Yards
Historical Difficulty:
12th most difficult, averaging 4.14
Notable fact: Not Luke Donald's favourite hole . . . the Englishman ran up a quadruple-bogey eight last year.

10th - Camellia  - Par 4, 495 Yards
Historical Difficulty:
1st most difficult, averaging 4.31
Notable fact: The scene of the crime as far as Rory McIlroy's quest for the green jacket in 2011 is concerned: he hooked his tee-shot which finished beside cabins down the left. He ran up a triple-bogey seven.

11th - White Dogwood - Par 4, 505 Yards
Historical Difficulty:
2nd most difficult, averaging 4.29
Notable fact: This hole introduces players to Amen Corner, but it is not all singing and dancing: Augusta native Charles Howell III ran up a quintuple-bogey nine here in 2006.

12th - Golden Bell - Par 3, 155 Yards
Historical Difficulty:
3rd most difficult, averaging 3.28
Notable fact: Fred Couples proved he could defy gravity when his tee shot here in the final round in 1992 somehow clung on to avoid a watery grave. He saved par and won.

13th - Azalea - Par 5, 510 Yards
Historical Difficulty:
17th most difficult, averaging 4.79.
Notable fact: In one of the boldest plays in Masters history, Phil Mickelson hit a 219 yards approach off pine straw – between a narrow gap in the trees – to find the green to set up a birdie in his 2010 victory.

14th - Chinese Fir - Par 4, 440 Yards
Historical Difficulty:
8th most difficult, averaging 4.17
Notable fact: This hole has recorded no fewer than 13 eagle twos, most recently by Thomas Bjorn in 2013.

15th - Firethorn - Par 5, 530 Yards
Historical Difficulty:
18th most difficult, averaging 4.78
Notable fact: Scene of one of the greatest shots in the game, where Gene Sarazen's albatross two in 1935 became known as the shot heard around the world.

16th - Redbud - Par 3, 170 Yards
Historical Difficulty:
9th most difficult, averaging 3.15.
Notable fact: There have been 15 holes-in-one here, starting with Ross Somerville in 1934. Bo Van Pelt and Adam Scott aced the hole in 2012.

17th - Nandina - Par 4, 440 Yards
Historical Difficulty:
10th most difficult, averaging 4.15.
Notable fact: It took an ice storm two winters ago to bring down Eisenhower's Tree, which had stood proudly in the middle of the fairway. Fred Couples and Ted Potter Jnr each took triple bogey sevens here in 2013.

18th - Holly - Par 4, 465 Yards
Historical Difficulty:
7th most difficult, averaging 4.22.
Notable fact: There have been seven quadruple bogeys on the finishing hole which requires a drive through a tunnel of trees before an uphill approach to the green: Henrik Stenson suffered such a fate in 2012.

Philip Reid

Philip Reid

Philip Reid is Golf Correspondent of The Irish Times