JUPITER, Fla. -- Jack Nicklaus understands why Augusta
National keeps lengthening its golf course. His fear is that it
keeps eliminating the number of players with a realistic chance of
winning the Masters.
Twice in the last five years, Augusta National has significantly
strengthened the golf course with hopes of keeping it current,
making today's player use the same clubs as players in years past.
Nicklaus won his sixth green jacket 20 years ago, hitting 1-iron
into the par-5 15th for an eagle, shooting 31 on the back nine and
closing with a 65 for a one-shot victory over Greg Norman and Tom
Kite. On Tuesday, he discussed the last of his 18 professional
majors, and he was asked whether a back-nine charge was still
possible.
"I know what Augusta is trying to do," Nicklaus said.
"Whether they've gone overboard, I'm not sure. But they've
eliminated a lot of guys who are able to do that. Could Tiger
[Woods] do that? Or Ernie Els? Or Vijay [Singh]? Yes. Could Mike
Weir or Jose Maria [Olazabal] -- one of those guys of moderate
length -- could they do that? Probably not. That's the change at
Augusta I have a hard time with."
Augusta National first revamped the course for the 2002 Masters,
adding nearly 300 yards. Tiger Woods won his third Masters that
year by three shots over Retief Goosen. This time, the club
strengthened six holes. Among the biggest changes were the par-3
fourth, lengthened by 40 yards to 245 yards; and the par-4 seventh,
which was lengthened by 40 yards and now is 450 yards.
Nicklaus didn't mind the change at No. 4, saying it was always a
2-, 3- or 4-iron shot, and that's likely the club that will be used
at this year's Masters.
"But No. 7? Wow," Nicklaus said. "I had dinner with Ernie the
other night, and he played 4-iron and 7-iron. A 4-iron into that
green? Ernie Els? What is Mike Weir playing, a 4-wood? That's the
issues I've got."
Nicklaus was the premier power player of his time, and Woods
already has won four green jackets. But sprinkled among the list of
champions are moderate hitters such as Nick Faldo, Ben Crenshaw,
Bernhard Langer and Hogan.
"I love Augusta. Don't get me wrong," Nicklaus said. "All I
want is for Augusta to be Augusta, because it's such a great
tournament. But when you take a golf course and limit the number of
people that have the ability to win ... Their intention is not to
do that. But they're doing that."