How I Mastered the Par 5s

By Zach Johnson

with Matthew Rudy

Photos By Getty Images; Stephen Szurlej; Dom Furore

April 2008

The fact that nobody can remember a player winning the Masters without going for a par 5 in two before I did last year is interesting trivia, but for me, it was just the reality of the course conditions. I saw how long and wet it was playing and knew that I didn't hit my long clubs high enough to hold those greens. So I worked out my lay-up spots and relied on my wedge game. It didn't let me down. I played the par 5s in 11 under, without a bogey. Here's how I did it.

15th-Hole Strategy

Everybody talked about how I stuck with my strategy on the 13th hole on Sunday, deciding to lay up from 204 yards out, but on 15 I saved more shots. No. 15 was easily the hardest par 5 on the course, and that Saturday pin was scary: front-left, on a slope that runs hard toward the pond in front of the green. You have to be able to hit it incredibly high to even think about going for it in two, and there are all kinds of bad places to miss -- in the water, in the collection area behind the green, where you have to chip it downhill toward the pond. Laying up pretty much takes the big numbers out of play, but you still have to be really on top of your wedge game, because that front-left pin is so hard to get to. Controlling trajectory and the amount of backspin is critical: You could easily back the ball up into the water or hit it to the back of the green and leave yourself a nasty two-putt. I felt really good coming out of there with a nice birdie on Saturday.

Photo By J.D. Cuban

Tee Shot

I knew I wasn't going to overpower Augusta National, even under optimum conditions. The wet ground actually made my decisions easier. I wasn't tempted to hit hero shots that didn't suit my game. I focused on doing the things that do fit me: Hitting fairways, using my wedges successfully and making solid putts. The light rough they added there takes just enough backspin off your shots that it's hard to control an approach, especially with the longer irons. I didn't try to gear up to hit it longer -- my driving average was 265 yards for the week. Instead, I worked on keeping my tempo smooth on the takeaway. I wanted to be able to approach each green from the correct side of the fairway, even if I was going to be a little farther away.

Photo By J.D. Cuban