Augusta National Golf Club is praised by anyone and everyone who’s been fortunate enough to step foot on the grounds. The golfers who get to play it are no exception.
With that said, we couldn’t help but wonder: Does Augusta National have any flaws? Sure, pros often perk up when talking about the golf course — it’s a spiritual setting that warms the heart and the singular tournament that stirs the senses. But if they could make one design change to the iconic track, what would it be? As part of Golfweek’s 2026 Masters Surveys, we posed that question to several players. Here’s what they had to say:
Keegan Bradley of the United States hits out of the bunker on the fifth hole during the second round of the 2014 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 11, 2014 in Augusta, Georgia.
Harris English
Blow up the fifth green and start over.
Advertisement
Craig Stadler
To toughen it up a bit, I would put two bunkers just before it bends at the par-5 13th on the edge of the pine straw. That would be a pretty good defense. They don’t have to turn the ball there anymore. They hit it down the left with a little cut and carry it 310 and they’re getting another 20 yards of roll. So they are hitting 8-irons in there. Something like the bunkers they added on the left side of 5, those two deep bunkers, something that you’d absolutely not get to the green if you hit it in there. They moved the tee back 40 yards there and they’re still hitting 6-, 7-, 8-irons so it didn’t do much for them.
Keegan Bradley
I would make 13 a little shorter.
Advertisement
Larry Mize
I would take the first cut out and let the ball run. I liked it when it would run into the pine straw.
Rickie Fowler
I’d replace Ike’s Tree. I just think about how prominent it was visually and not that it was intimidating, but there was a presence there. It’d be nice if 17 was able to get back to kind of what that was. It made the tee shot visually a lot easier.
Sahith Theegala
I know distance is becoming an issue but the new tee boxes at 11, 13 and 15 seem unnecessary. I know they don’t want 20 under winning the Masters, but at 13, for instance, they have taken away some of the intended design of the hole and the risk-reward.
Advertisement
Jason Day
The new tee on 13 makes it way harder. I don’t think it’s needed.
Zach Johnson
I don’t have a problem with it but I just wish I could’ve played Augusta National when there was no intermediate rough (also known as the first cut). I don’t know if it would be easier or harder.
Wyndham Clark
I’d fix the fifth hole. The green was designed to have a wedge or 9-iron in and now we’re hitting 5-irons to a green that slopes away from you and you can’t hold.
Gary Player
Nothing.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Golfweek Masters Survey: What’s one design change you’d make to Augusta?
Read the full article here