A parcel of land from neighboring Augusta (Ga.) Country Club could allow the storied property to lengthen its iconic 13th hole and provide better access to the left side of the 11th and 12th holes, which border the property line. In 2001, Augusta National bought a small parcel of land from the club to position a new back tee for the 13th hole.
Augusta National Golf Club is in discussions to buy another parcel of land from neighboring Augusta Country Club, potentially allowing Augusta National to lengthen its iconic 13th hole, Golfweek reported.
The anticipated purchase price of the parcel is believed to be $27 million, Golfweek reported.
Augusta Country Club’s par-5 eighth and par-4 ninth holes would be involved in the changes. Tom Fazio, the current presumptive in-house architect at Augusta National, and Brian Silva, the in-house architect for Augusta Country Club, are working together on changes, Golfweek reported.
As the Masters grows in popularity, Augusta National desires better access to the left side of the 11th and 12th holes, which border the property line of Augusta Country Club to the south, Golfweek reported.
After Tiger Woods won his second green jacket, completing the “Tiger Slam” in 2001, Augusta National set out to “Tiger proof” the 1932 Bobby Jones-Alistair MacKenzie masterpiece (No. 5, Golfweek’s Best Classic Courses). In its first major expansion, the course was lengthened by 285 yards, to 7,270 yards. (The course since has been stretched to 7,445 yards.) Fazio oversaw the addition of yardage to half of Augusta National’s holes in time for the 2002 Masters, Golfweek reported.
The course lengthening was facilitated by an acquisition of land from Augusta Country Club. In 2001, Augusta National bought a small parcel of land from Augusta Country Club to position a new back tee for the 13th, Golfweek reported.
According to a source with knowledge of the negotiations, Augusta National has approached ACC with an interest in acquiring land that includes the fairway and right side of the 388-yard, par-4 ninth hole. Enough room exists left of the ninth hole to slide the entire par-4 over without disturbing the routing and flow of the Donald Ross-designed Augusta CC, Golfweek reported.
A source indicated that getting to the price of $27 million was not easy, with a low initial offer of just $1 million from ANGC and a counteroffer of $50 million from ACC. The eventual back and forth of offer and counteroffer left some residual bad feelings around town, the source told Golfweek.
“They want to move the (13th) tee back. They also want to build a service road behind it so they can get service vehicles around 13, down to the right, all the way around to the 12th green and up around 11,” the source said. “So they want a ton of room, and they want to put up this massive, thick trees out there to completely sort of obscure the view, which I understand that.”
Representatives of Augusta National Golf Club and Augusta Country Club would not comment when asked about the proposed purchase, with both clubs citing their respective policies of not commenting on club business, Golfweek reported.
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