Amen Corner: Augusta National's oldest test is all about survival

Augusta, Ga., is home to the PGA Tour's most storied and revered event, the Masters.

It's one of the most challenging courses on the tour. And yet, besides pin placement and length of the greens, there have been very few changes to the course since 1934.

There is one place at Augusta that can break or make a golfer: Amen Corner. Whatever your preference - say your prayers, kiss your lucky marker, bless yourself - it is out to get you.

Spanning holes 11 through 13, Amen Corner has been taking victims yearly. The most challenging stretch of Augusta National and the furthest from the clubhouse can completely undress a golfer. All it does is sit there and taunt its challengers through three holes.

Jack Nicklaus - the man who won the Masters a record six times - tamed the back nine in 1986, shooting a 30 to win his final green jacket. Out of nowhere, the greatest golfer to ever live came storming out on Sunday and shot a 35 on the front nine, surviving Amen Corner towards 18, doing away with the likes of Seve Ballesteros, Greg Norman, and Tom Kite. It was one of the most exciting rounds in Masters history. 

What is it about Amen Corner that destroys the rounds of leaders and just about anyone who tries their hardest? The three holes subject to Amen Corner are just that: a corner.

The man to coin the stretch of Augusta "Amen Corner" was Sports Illustrated's Herbert Warren Wind, who wrote in April 1958:

On the afternoon before the start of the recent Masters golf tournament, a wonderfully evocative ceremony took place at the farthest reaches of the Augusta National Golf Club down in the Amen Corner where Rae's Creek intersects the 13th fairway near the tee, then parallels the front edge of the green on the short 12th and finally swirls alongside the 11th green.

Every hole at Augusta National, a former plant nursery, is named for a plant featured at said hole. Amen Corner is three holes of nervousness and home to large debate between caddie and golfer. And that's at the best of times.

No. 11 White Dogwood

Hole 11 is a par-4, 505-yard straightaway. You can't see the flagstick from the tee block. The landscape shifts down, and up, and down again. Trees line both sides of the fairway and an experienced golfer knows there is one perfect landing spot, otherwise you're in the trees, rolling into the rough, or simply rolling away.

Trees line the green with two ponds and a large bunker surrounding the ideal spot to land your approach. Go for it and miss, and you'll drop a shot. Play it safe and you could roll off the green.

Nicklaus explains how to tame 11: 

The key factor at the start of Amen Corner is obvious - the lake by the green. It threatens the approach shot from just about any angle. The right side of the green is the place to aim for, regardless of where the cup is cut.

Last year, the majority of the field tamed 11 through four rounds, with 24 birdies, 193 pars, 74 bogeys, and 16 double-bogeys.

No. 12 Golden Bell

Make it over Rae's Creek and you might be in good shape, unless you land on the right side of the green, in which case you'll be taking a drop.

The 155-yard par 3 is as wide open as any hole at Augusta National. With swirling winds coming through the middle of the hole and dying down around the green surrounded by trees, you want to land on the left side of the green. Sand traps sandwich the pin (depending on placement) and leave very little room for error.

Nicklaus reflects: 

… it's [the wind] factor that makes it, as I've said many times, one of the most dangerous holes in major championship golf. When you're uncertain about the wind, Rae's Creek in front of the green makes it even more threatening.

Last year, the hole saw 43 birdies, 189 pars, 55 bogeys, and 17 double-bogeys through four rounds.

No. 13 Azalea

Take a deep breath and hope you get out of Amen Corner alive; you're almost there.

The 510-yard, par-5 13 is home to some of the most famous shots in Masters history. One of the most serene and picturesque holes, it hosts breakdowns and arguments each and every year without fail. Teeing off blind, cross your fingers you'll hit the sweet spot around 300 yards down the fairway.

Many prefer, if they're not into taking chances, to take their approach with their third shot, to more accurately place their ball in the middle of the green, avoiding both the water hazard and three bunkers. Hit your approach heavy and you're in the water; hit it long and you're in a steep and awkward sand trap.

Nicklaus offers his advice: 

The closer you play from the creek to the tee, the shorter the club you'll need to get home in two and the more level the lie you'll be hitting from.

Through four rounds last year, two golfers made quick work of 13, sinking eagles, while the rest managed birdies (127) and pars (132). Only 42 bogeyed.

Even the winner struggles

The last two men fitted for the green jacket struggled with consistency through the toughest part of the course. Bubba Watson won his first Masters in 2012 and had five pars, four birdies, and three bogeys on Amen Corner in four rounds.

Adam Scott was the first Australian to win the Masters and is the reigning champion. He couldn't make up any ground through Amen Corner last year, with 10 pars and two bogeys in four rounds.

There are opportunities to make up shots throughout the course, but Amen Corner is all about survival. Worry about moving up the leaderboard elsewhere.