All quiet on the back nine

By Matt Cooper Last updated: 8th April 2009

The back nine on Sunday used to see roaring crowds, charging golfers and unfolding drama. Matt Cooper asks what went wrong.

What is it that makes the Masters special? Is it Magnolia Drive and Amen Corner, or the Green Jacket and the Butler Cabin, or what about the dogwood and azalea?

It is all of that and more. Those unique features combine to create a spectacle with a rhythm we know so well: the frivolous Par-Three Contest, the anticipation of Wednesday night, the nip and tuck on Thursday and Friday, the moves that are made on Saturday and then we wait ...

Because Sunday is different: Sunday takes all of our expectations and ratchets them up to another level. It begins quietly, a nervous repeat of that jockeying for position; the calm before the storm.

And then, when the players hit the back nine, everything explodes into life as the real magic of Augusta emerges.

It is when this unique plot of golfing real estate comes into its own. Every contour offers the opportunity for glory or despair, witnessed by a rapt crowd whose roars echo around the trees.

But something has gone wrong: all of that excitement and noise has gone missing. If the front nine was the calm before the storm, the back nine has become an anti-climax which leaves us wondering what happened to the thunder and lightning.

Trevor Immelman, last year's winner, insists the Masters hasn't intrinsically changed (and, to be fair, from his point of view, 2008 probably was a bit of a rollercoaster ride) but the rest of us have to disagree: it was all just a little bit flat.

The South African uses statistics to argue his case and in theory he has a point: after 54 holes he was 11 under par and on schedule to better the majority of winning scores in the last 20 years.

It might also surprise you to learn that the number of birdies and eagles scored last year compares favourably with years gone by. Take 1989 which witnessed 13 eagles and 374 birdies; 2008 witnessed 15 eagles and 396 birdies. Hmm, perhaps Immelman has a point ...

But those figures just don't tally with anyone's experience. Here's an equation that doesn't use stats: no back nine charge + no crowd noise = a distinct lack of atmosphere.

The brutal facts about Immelman's last round 75 are these: it was the first over-par last round from a winner since Craig Stadler in 1982 and the worst last round winner's total since Arnold Palmer shot the same score in 1962.

In 2007 Zach Johnson won the event with a one-over par total of 283, the first time the winner had failed to break par since Jack Nicklaus was victorious in 1966.

One flat Masters is unfortunate; two on the trot looks a bit clumsy.

Immelman's fellow countryman Ernie Els was in no doubt. "2004 was the last time there was a nice shootout," he said last year. "I think the last couple of years, especially the final rounds, it's been a bit subdued."

Immelman's final round partner, Brandt Snedeker, agreed: "I guess what this place is famous for is roars and, yeah, there was not a whole lot going on today."

"I only heard one roar all day," said even Tiger Woods, "it was really quiet."

Zach Johnson's caddie Damon Green was alive to the changes even as he and his employer plotted their way to victory in 2007.

"I think they've actually ruined it a bit because now you're not going to get those 30s on the back nine, and that was the whole thing," he said last year. "You hardly heard any cheers last year, and we're going to miss that."

After playing in 2007 Geoff Ogilvy, noted for being one of the more intelligent and educated observers on tour, said, "What they've done is borderline tragic to be honest."

Greg Norman made his way to Augusta last month in preparation for his first Masters appearance since 2002 and concurred with both assessments of the course: "I remember if somebody came into the back nine at Augusta probably six or seven or eight shots behind the lead, they felt they could still win it. That was a great feeling. I think it's going to be a lot more difficult now for those low numbers."

So how has this happened? Arron Oberholser was under no illusions: "I think because of the length of the golf course, the excitement has been taken out of it a little bit."

Throughout last year's event the press room echoed to the sound of frustrated golfers. "It's hard to light up the back nine," Adam Scott winced. "Your clubs in [to the greens] are so much longer, and it makes less room for errors."

Jim Furyk was even more strident: "It used to be a lot of fun to play but it's not fun any more. It definitely got a lot harder and a lot more difficult. And it's obviously a decision the [committee] made, it's their event. It's just a different golf course and a different way we approach it now."

In 2007 the players started to mumble in corners about the course playing like the US Open and in 2008 that mumble became (ironically) a roar.

"I'm becoming to believe that this is more like a US Open course every year," Steve Stricker said. "You have rough at the Open and none here. But I think this is just as difficult."

"I don't want to compare it to a US Open," Zach Johnson said ominously. "But it kind of had that feel and that mental challenge. Just think if this place had US Open rough, it would be impossible."

Let's cut the tournament committee a little slack, though. As Chairman Billy Payne pointed out, "In 2007 very difficult conditions made the course extremely hard," and no-one doubts that wind caused havoc in last year's final round. Perhaps without it a back nine charge would have materialised.

"We watch and graph every shot, every day," Payne explained. "We want this to be a fair test of golf. We also want it to be exciting over the weekend; that's the way we set up the golf course."

Let's also consider this: in 1988 Fuzzy Zoeller was asked what he made of the state of the Masters. "You don't hear the roars from the crowds at Augusta any more," he moaned. "It's like a morgue."

Perhaps grumbling about the lack of noise is the real tradition, not making it!

Let's be optimistic and hope that this year the set-up - and the weather conditions - provides what we all crave: unpredictable drama, loud roars ripping through the trees and a glorious finish to a wonderful tournament.

We feel like we need it.

Matt Cooper