Augusta National planned a 19th hole. What happened?

AUGUSTA, Ga. — If you’re a big-time golf fan, you may be able to tell me a thing or two about all 18 holes at Augusta National.

But what about No. 19?

An extra hole was, as it turns out, originally part of the plan.

Back in the early 1930s, before the course existed, Augusta National’s governors had legendary course architect Alister MacKenzie sketch up a little something extra: a short par-3 “19th hole” where members could settle their bets in dramatic fashion.

MacKenzie described it as a playoff hole of sorts, where a golfer who lost a match could win their money back in a game of “double or quits” — the British version of double or nothing.

Nineteenth holes existed at the time, but they were relatively rare; MacKenzie himself said he knew of just two in the U.S., one at Knollwood in New York and the other at Tam-O-Shanter in Detroit. But in his “Plans For The Ideal Golf Course,” published in March 1932, Mackenzie included a vision for No. 19 as an integral part of his “ideal inland course.”

Just because the 19th would be short — just 90 yards or so — didn’t mean it would be simple. Mackenzie wanted a putting surface so intriguing it would turn it into a risk-reward hole, modeled partly after No. 6 at Lakeside in Los Angeles.

Here’s how Mackenzie described the green, throwing some not-so-subtle shade at lesser players in the process:

“This 19th hole will be an attractive plateau green, narrow at one end, where the flag will usually be placed, but wide at the other end so as to give a safety route to the player who has not the courage or skill to pitch to the narrow end of the green.”

(You can find the entire letter at AlisterMackenzie.org here.)

So what happened to Augusta’s 19th?

Well, it made it as far as MacKenzie’s blueprints. And in his letters. There’s even a watercolor rendering of it on the Masters website. That shows just how tight the footprint of the course’s postscript would be; players would tee off beside the 18th green and thread their shots between the ninth and 18th greens toward a tucked-away target behind the 10th tee.

Sounds fun, right? But it also sounds chaotic. You can imagine the complexities, from tournament spectators unsure where to stand to a shank taking out the group behind you on No. 18. Sticking the extra hole between No. 18 green and the ANGC clubhouse was a potential complicating factor, too.

Perhaps even more important: Augusta National was broke. In those early days, they had big dreams but couldn’t even recruit a full membership. Eighteen holes was more than enough.

Whatever the reason, somewhere along the way, No. 19 got scrapped.

Well … sort of.

Here’s the fun thing: Augusta did end up building the tee box. They just pointed it in the opposite direction and turned it into their first driving range.

And they built the green, too! You’ve actually seen it — it’s the practice green where players hit their final putts before heading to the first tee.

So, in a way, Hole No. 19 still exists, broken down into its component parts. It’s just probably more accurate to call it Hole Zero.

Stay tuned for a few more Masters Mysteries as we count down to this week’s action at Augusta National.