Preparing for Golf's First Major

Let's start with the obvious: Augusta National Golf Club is such a special place and the Masters is such a special championship. No matter whether you are a proverbial golf junkie or a casual player, the thought of early spring in Augusta, Georgia, summons up feelings of awe and excitement. Indeed, those same emotions are also present for the players who are talented (and fortunate) enough to participate in the season's first major.

Typically, preparing for the Masters starts a few weeks ahead of the tournament; although a good argument can be made that unofficial preparation starts the moment a player realizes they have qualified for the championship - such is the allure of the tournament. But in order to have your performance peak under such a spectacular and intense pressure, you need to have a plan to optimize your game. That's critical for every level of golfer, but it's career defining when it comes to the highest level of golf.

Physical preparation for the Masters is, in large part, no different from any other tournament. By that I mean that you want to schedule and prioritize your work and practice to ensure that all aspects of your game are firing by the time Jack and Arnie start the tournament Thursday morning with their honorary tee shots. That being said, Augusta National and, more specifically, the Masters course setup, does present a few tests and challenges that are different from other courses and the competitors certainly will pay special attention to those in the days leading up to the tournament. I try to focus on five specific areas as a way to best set up my clients

Playing from uneven lies

You've probably heard and read about it, but unless you've seen it in person, it's hard to have an appreciation for the dramatic elevation changes and steep hills of Augusta National. In fact, it's fair to say that the competitors this week will likely only find level lies in the fairways on about five or six holes—and some of those are only if they hit it far enough to get to a particular area of the fairway. Thus, hitting from uphill, downhill and sidehill lies is a critical part of the preparation for the tournament. Specifically, I recommend spending time focusing on retaining proper posture and ball position to allow good balance, and in turn crisp ball striking.

 

A 'second-shot' golf course

Augusta National's beauty, her greens and now her length get a great deal of air-time and conversation among the players, fans and media. Hence, conventional wisdom will focus on driving the ball a long distance and putting it well. Not to discount those to two factors as Augusta National does pose the complete test of the player's game, but I believe that it is more of a "Second-Shot" or Approach-Shot golf course. The reason I believe that is because the greens can get so severe that incorrect positioning of the approach shot can result in a situation where it is nearly impossible to chip or putt the ball anywhere close to the hole. With that in mind, I emphasize long, medium and short iron play for success at Augusta, that clean ball-striking that results in good distance control is paramount to good scoring at Augusta National.

 

Chipping from Tight Lies

It goes without saying that that maintenance, conditioning and manicuring of the course at Augusta National is second to none. The beauty of the venue aside, the underfoot conditions are sublime and the surfaces are mown tightly and perfectly. The results of this are ideal, but at times very tight, lies. These conditions do prompt me to focus on chipping and pitching with a view to a consistent bottom of the swing arc where the leading edge of the club is able to perform as it should, in turn allowing clean strikes that put the maximum purchase on the ball.

 

Putting

This one is a No-Brainer! I can comfortably say that none of the locker-owners in The Champions Locker Room putted poorly during the week (or weeks) of their triumph. Putting at The Augusta National is tantamount to success. Not that I have to, but I do recommend to my golfers playing in the Masters that they spend a lot of time lag-putting, focusing on speed control, and holing out from five feet. Further, I like to have the player focus implicitly on starting the ball on a chosen line and to trust their judgment, because even if a putt ultimately breaks off the charts, every putt is—in the final analysis—a straight putt, and you have to commit to that line and let the results come. By this I mean that you may have to aim away from the hole on a six-footer but it order to make it you have to start the ball on line. Remember, Commit to your line. Once you've done so, do not be distracted by putting towards the hole and where the hole appears in your field of vision.

 

Acceptance of All Results and Playing Each Shot on Its Merit

The first four areas are physical aspects of the game, tangible movements and swings that players will face during this grueling but very enjoyable and memorable week in Augusta. This final area is more of an emotional/mental preparation but it is very important in competitive golf—and especially golf at the Masters. In fact, it was none other than Augusta National founder and golf icon Bobby Jones who stated that golf was played on a "Five-and-a-half inch course - the space between your ears."

 

Playing in the Masters and certainly doing so successfully requires the acute ability to accept the good and the bad, the highs and the lows. At Augusta National you may hit a good shot that catches the wrong side of the slope on a green and what may have been a fifteen foot putt turns into a forty footer that is impossible to get close. Conversely, you can hit a poor shot that becomes the recipient of some good gravitational fortune. And also possible, you might hit a sensational approach chip or putt that still ends five or six feet away from the hole; where on a different course it may end two feet away. So keeping your emotions in check, focusing on the next shot and accepting the results as they come are all crucial to success.

I also like to remind players of an anecdote I always keep front and center in my mind. That anecdote is as follows: "Each shot is only as good as the one that follows it." In other words, you may hit a super shot to five feet away from the cup but if you miss the ensuing putt, you might as well have hit it to forty feet and two-putted. On the flip-side, you may hit a poor shot that gets covered up by a superb recovery.

With regard to competition at Augusta National, you may hit a super putt or chip that just trundles on another five feet or so once it reached the hole and all of a sudden what would normally be a two-footer turns into an eight-footer. A competitor cannot allow this type of result to effect his psyche at all if he wants to be successful at "Golf's Most Hallowed Ground." In fact I am convinced that this advice was included in Bob Jones's blueprint to success at Augusta National when he stated, "It is nothing new or original to say that golf is played one stroke at a time. But it took me many years to realize that."

Mark Immelman is a South African national based at the Columbus State University Golf Studio at the Bull Creek Golf Course in Columbus, GA. He is an accredited PGA TOUR, Champions Tour, Nationwide Tour, European Tour and South African Tour Golf Instructor, and also the Head Men's Golf Coach at Columbus State University in Columbus, GA. Immelman has worked with several players who will compete in the 2010 Masters, including former champions Larry Mize and Immelman's brother, 2008 Masters champion Trevor Immelman.

By PGATOUR.COM Staff