Yet Woods made a spectacular birdie from the trees in the final round last year. Players try to hit a sweeping draw off the tee, leaving them with a short-iron uphill approach. Most approaches that don't get to the back tier spin off the front of the green and roll 40 or 50 yards back down the fairway. Because it tumbles steeply downhill from tee to green and plays much shorter than 485. The most demanding short hole in major championship golf.
Players agonize over club selection here because there is no margin for error.
Many Masters have been won and lost on No. 12. Pull it off, and eagle is a possibility. First-round leader John Huston made a 10 here in the second round last year. The infamous undulations have been imitated on many courses around the world, but they don't play the Masters on those courses. With water short and long, players who go for the green in two must hit an approach long enough to clear the first pond but high enough to hold the green.