What would an 18-handicapper shoot at Augusta? It’s the cliched Masters week question and it’s usually followed by an array of pros declaring they wouldn’t be able to break three figures.
What’s the truth behind it? And if we were ever lucky enough to tee it up at the Georgia course, how many shots would we receive?
Handicapping experts at England Golf have had a go at working out the answer.
Augusta National is a beast, measuring a massive 7,555 yards off the tournament tees during last year’s battle for the green jacket. The incredibly contoured greens can reach speeds of up to 15 on the stimpmeter. It’s difficult enough for the best players in the world to hold those surfaces, never mind the average hacker.
Much about Augusta National, though, is a mystery. You won’t, for example, find any mention of a Course Rating or Slope Rating on the USGA’s otherwise extensive worldwide database.
That’s because the club doesn’t publish its data.
But chiefs at England Golf have been crunching the numbers. Handicapping chiefs at Woodhall Spa have analysed the course, looked at reports, and produced what they’ve called an “educated benchmark”.
So what would an average golfer shoot at Augusta under tournament conditions?
How many shots would you get at Augusta?
They’ve given Augusta National, which has a Par of 72, a Course Rating of 78.1 and a Slope Rating of 141.
In comparison, the hardest course in England, Rockliffe Hall in County Durham, has a Course Rating of 79.3 from its eyewatering 7,877 yard back tees.
So what does this mean? Augusta National’s estimated Course Rating would mean a scratch golfer (a player whose WHS Index is 0.0) could expect to shoot six over par (a gross 78) if they played from the Masters tees.
We imagine there are a few out there simultaneously delighted by that prospect and shaking their heads over whether they can achieve that.
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When it comes to handicap golfers, however, get your calculators out – because the likelihood is you’re going to be in receipt of an awful lot of shots.
England Golf have produced a table showing the various handicap index range and the estimated Course Handicap at Augusta National. Check it out below.
My current index is 13.3 so I could expect my Course Handicap in Masters conditions to be 23. I still don’t think it’s enough.
The average man, who holds a handicap of 17.1 in England, would get 27. A 54-handicapper, meanwhile, would receive a massive 73 shots if they ever put themselves through the punishing test.
England Golf also used data from 2,000 rounds tracked by iGolfers and consulted AI to see how their subscribers – who average a 19-handicap – might get on.
They reckoned they would finish with a gross score of 113, consisting of nine double bogeys, seven triples and two bogeys. That’s right. Not a single par, never mind a birdie.
Players would go through Amen Corner in +8, the computer reckons – tripling the 11th and 12th and doubling the 13th. That’s a lot of balls in the water and an idea of just how difficult this glorious golf course could be for those of us not used to finding the middle of the golf club all that often.
Would you still want to give it a go?
Now have your say
What do you think you could score at Augusta National? What do you think of your Course Handicap there? Is it too many shots? Is it too few? Let us know by leaving a comment on X.
