Why is Augusta's par-3 12th so difficult? Here's the science behind it
AUGUSTA, Ga. – During Thursday's press conference at the Masters, Tom Watson was asked what change he would make on the hole at Augusta National.
“I was filling the creek in front of No. 12,” he joked.
The par-3 12th hole — along with Rae's Creek, which overlooks it — has long been one of the most important holes in the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club. Tournaments have been won or lost there for decades. There are countless examples, although some of the most famous recent ones are from 2019 (when Tiger Woods won as the entire tournament received a streak) and 2016 (when Danny Willett won after Jordan Spieth washed his tournament in 12).
But what makes the hole especially difficult is the complex answer. It's the feelings that come with it that late in the round, it's the closeness of the shot, the nature of the green and the wind.
The wind blowing down Amen Corner can fool even the smartest players and caddies. Some look to the flag at 12 to check the wind. Some go to the flag at 11, or over the trees at 12, or down to the flag at 13.
During a recent visit with veteran Ted Scott, who has won four Masters (two with Bubba Watson and now two with Scottie Scheffler), he described the “Eddy Effect” that makes the 12th so difficult. Scott didn't even know about it until the Sunday before the 2012 Masters, when he watched the end of the LPGA's Kraft Nabisco Championship (now Chevron) on television. When the broadcast ended, the next program was a scientific look at the 12th hole at Augusta National and why it's so hard to get wind.
“There's an effect called the 'Eddy Effect,' which is a term you often see in rivers where the water goes around in a circle, creating a little whirlpool,” Scott said, relaying what he learned while watching. “Well, here's what happens. In a 5 mph wind at Augusta, the Eddy Effect happens. It will triple the speed of the wind and create a whirlwind, so you don't know which way it's going. That's why you look across the 11 and the flag goes this way. Then you throw a straw up here and it's facing up and the 12 is going that way and it's going across the flag. They go this way. It's called the Eddy Effect, it's actually a scientific effect.
“So where are you looking for the wind?” he concluded. “I don't know, but here's the funny thing. When that was over, I told Bubba, I said, 'Listen, this week when we get to 12, don't blame Teddy, blame Eddy.'
Scott also said the tee shot on the 3rd 12th is too difficult for a right-handed golfer.
“The way the green is shaped, if you pull you go farther, if you push you are shorter in the water,” said Scott. “A lefty like Bubba, if you pull it or push it green because of the angle of the hole. But if the wind doesn't cooperate, it's a very difficult hole – you can hit it anywhere, and that can really change the tournament.”
Scott doesn't remember exactly how Watson played the 12th back in 2012 when he first learned about the Eddy Effect, but he does remember how he finished.
“He won,” Scott said. “That's all I have to say.”
