Very few golf tournaments test a player’s equipment as does Augusta National each year during the Masters. Golfers must be able to hit the ball high to help it stop quickly on the lightning-fast greens, but swirling winds – especially around Amen Corner – can wreak havoc on club selection.
The sand in bunkers tends to be fluffy, and if the ground is also soft in a given year, high-bounce wedges can be helpful. But in years in which the course plays firm and fast, high-bounce wedges are not ideal for pitching and chipping the ball off tight fairway lies.
Pros tend to travel to tournaments with 16 to 18 clubs, typically their standard 14 clubs plus a backup driver, a backup putter and possibly a 2-iron or a hybrid that can be swapped into play based on course conditions that week. When they go to the Masters, they often take more just to be sure they have everything they could possibly need. Wedges with different sole configurations usually find their way into travel bags, too.
A pro’s work with equipment company representatives and technicians is different at the Masters than most weeks on the PGA Tour. Equipment vans usually are parked close to the driving range at PGA Tour events, but during Masters week they do not park on property at Augusta National.
Instead, the vans are across Washington Road. Almost no one has permission to use a mobile phone on the range or course, so people have to walk back and forth all day. After lunchtime Wednesday, as the Par 3 Contest takes place, the trucks leave and start driving to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, and Harbour Town Golf Links, the site of the RBC Heritage.
Below is a list of all the clubs that Masters champions since 2010 have used to win their green jacket.