Quote:
Originally Posted by Everlastrr
What you are over looking are the dynamics of each individual hole at Augusta. Almost every par 4 and 5 rewards length to a higher degree than standard by way of dogleg, downhill or flat sections that lead to more optimal approach positions. 13 and 15 are the most clear examples of this but if you look closely almost every hole has a subtle length advantage somewhere. It's part of the genius of the course.
For example Jack and Arnie didn't finesse their way to 10 victories at Augusta. They were the dominant drivers of their time.
With the exception of Sandy Lyle, all of the long hitters who won at the old setup had top notch short games or were solid putters. Palmer was probably the best chipper/putter of his era, and Nicklaus putted fast greens extremely well.