Amen Corner is the stuff nightmares are made of, as the golfing elite prepare to strive for Green Jacket glory at the 89th edition of the Masters.
This three-hole stretch is capable of crushing the Augusta hopes of even the most skilled players, as illustrated by the challenges faced by golfing legends Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth in recent years – but, it is also the area in which the tournament can be won if challengers enter the arena on top form. Mirror Sport takes you through the history of the dreaded section, and how it got its name.
Amen Corner consists of the 11th, 12th, and 13th holes of the course. The 11th hole, known as ‘White Dogwood,’ is a daunting 505-yard, par four that has been extended from its initial length of 455 yards to its current distance over the years, with recent adjustments in 2006 and 2017.
The 12th hole, nicknamed the Golden Bell, is the shortest in Amen Corner, spanning only 155 yards. However, it’s infamous for catching out some of golf’s biggest names, earning it the endearing yet ominous description from Phil Mickelson as “that lovely little devil of a hole.”
The iconic 13th hole, affectionately dubbed ‘Azalea’, stretches a significant 545 yards and is played as a par 5. Notably, from 1930 through 2023, the distance was just 510 yards, but recent alterations have lengthened the hole to challenge modern players’ ever-improving driving capabilities.
The term for the famed Augusta stretch was first uttered by esteemed sports journalist Herbert Warren Wind in Sports Illustrated after the 1958 Masters tournament.
It was inspired by the jazz tune ‘Shouting at Amen Corner,’ and coined following the nail-biting showdown between Arnold Palmer and Ken Venturi.
Wind eloquently observed that competitors would whisper a prayer entering the corner and breathe a sigh of relief if they navigated the treacherous threesome without incident.
He described: “At the farthest reach of the Augusta National course-down in the Amen Corner where Rae’s Creek intersects the 13th fairway near the tee, then parallels the front edge of the green on the short 12th and finally swirls alongside the 11th green.”
There’s an old saying in Augusta that this particular area has wrecked more lives than even marriage and moonshine – a testament to its formidable reputation and its ability to make or break a golfer’s quest for the Green Jacket.
Perhaps none felt the brunt of its challenge quite like an on-form and heavily-fancied Jordan Spieth during the infamous 2016 renewal of the Masters.
After losing a shot on the 11th hole while in a commanding position, Spieth had a calamitous experience at the Golden Bell, dropping a quadruple bogey, which effectively dashed his hopes of retaining the Masters. McIlroy can relate to Spieth’s plight, having suffered his own horror show at Amen Corner.
Entering the section, McIlroy was four shots ahead in 2011 and seemed to be in a solid position. His Masters campaign ended with him not just giving up the lead, but plummeting all the way down to 15th.
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