Amen Corner is perhaps the most famous and most daunting stretch of golf holes in the world.
Ghosts lie around every corner, as holes 11 to 13 at Augusta National have stolen the dreams of legends hunting a green jacket. Rae’s Creek sits expectantly, luring players into devastating errors.
Augusta National has cautiously made changes to Amen Corner to keep up with the development of the game. They have been careful not to change the identity of the holes, but they want to keep players honest as they hit further and further down the fairways.
And one change in particular has been hailed by Jason Day as “fantastic” ahead of his 15th Masters.
The change to Amen Corner that Jason Day thinks is ‘fantastic’
Ahead of the 2026 Masters, Day was asked to break down the challenges Amen Corner presents players, and he went in-depth about the iconic stretch of holes.
The 2015 PGA Championship winner said, “I’ve seen changes over the years. We used to hit anywhere from gap wedge sometimes to pitching wedge, 9-irons into 11. Now I’ve hit upwards of 3-iron into that hole. And outside of that tee location that we have, we got nothing else.
“So whatever the wind brings us is we just — they have to tee us up there. And sometimes that can be a little aggressive, because is it a 3-iron hole? Probably not, but that’s just what’s so unique about Augusta is that they have their own traditions and the way that they like to set up a golf course.
“And no matter what you do, they’re going to do it their way, which is fine. So once you get past and beyond that, where you think things are a little unfair, you learn to work your way around it. So 11 is a tough hole to kind of start the back side.
“12 is always awesome. Regardless of where you have the wind, it’s always so tough. And I literally played a practice round with Johnny Keefer, and he was asking me about Amen Corner, and I said, ‘Get your wind on 10 at the top so you kind of know where things are, because obviously we’re at the highest point here.
“‘Get your wind on 11, and that way you can go and at least trust something, because if you don’t, you could sit there and try and trust the gust or the swirl of what you get, and you could hit one long or hit one short, and that’s not where you need to be. You need to be able to stand up on that hole and trust and commit to it.’”
Day then credited the change to the 13th hole, as Augusta National moved the tee box on the par five back to make laying up a real option for players.
He continued, “I think 13 is a change where it’s fantastic. Obviously, pushing that tee box back, guys are hitting driver now, and it brings in these left trees. So if you hit driver and you’re in the middle of the fairway, you have to work something around, but it’s doable.
“You either got 5-iron or 6-iron, if you poke it up the left far enough. If you don’t feel comfortable with it, then you gotta lay up and hit a wedge shot close. So 11, 12 and 13 is just such a risk-reward kind of golf holes. Tough 11th. Obviously unique 12 and birdie 13.”
As golf courses, such as St. Andrews, struggle to keep up with the modern technology of the game, Augusta National has done a phenomenal job with the tweaks they have made.
Jason Day says why Augusta National is harder now than it was 30 years ago
When Tiger Woods dominated Augusta National in 1997, the club had to make a series of sweeping changes to make the course more difficult for long hitters.
They lengthened some holes, grew out the rough, and moved back the bunkers so Woods could no longer carry them. That’s why Day thinks the course record of 63 set in 1986 by Nick Price will stand for a number of years.
He said, “I didn’t play back in the 90s, and I heard Phil Mickelson say that, like you said, 40s, 80s and 90s. Back then the golf course was shorter. But the defense of the golf course were the greens.
“So they had to play the greens a lot faster and obviously quicker because the golf course was shorter. Now that they’ve lengthened the holes out, it’s definitely a lot harder to birdie some of the holes.
“You come in with longer clubs, the greens are still firm and fast, you know what I mean. So it very rarely do you – unless it’s like perfect conditions where there’s just been some downpour and they’re very receptive. But you’ll get your 64, 65 once a tournament here, but I don’t think you’ll see a course record broken anytime soon.”
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