Augusta National Golf Club has quietly made a notable course change ahead of the 90th edition of the Masters Tournament in April.
They have announced that the par‑4 17th hole, Nandina, has been lengthened by 10 yards.
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A photo on the 17th green during the final round of Masters Tournament at Augusta NationalCredit: Getty
The tee box has been reduced and repositioned meaning the length of the hole has been extended.
The hole’s yardage is now up from 440 yards to 450 yards and lifts the total course yardage at Augusta to 7,565 yards for the upcoming championship.
It keeps the tradition of Augusta yardages always ending in a 0 or a 5.
The subtle tweak to 17 is part of a broader evolution at Augusta National aimed at maintaining its position among golf’s most exacting tests.
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Nandina is perhaps not the most famous hole at Augusta but giving its place in the round, always provides drama.
During the final round of the 2025 Masters, Rory McIlroy pulled off a stunning approach and birdied the hole on his way to securing the green jacket and completing the career Grand Slam.
Lengthening 17 by 10 yards may seem modest, but it’s the sort of targeted tweak that can alter strategy for the world’s best players.
Nandina already ranked among the toughest on the course in recent years so adjusting the tee box position and adding more length will only increase the difficulty.
Augusta National’s decision for the 2026 edition is the latest tweak.
Over the past decade, the club has periodically shifted tee markers, adjusted hole lengths, and repositioned features to account for advances in equipment and player distance.
The famous track is now 130 yards longer than it was when Danny Willett won ten years ago.
The last major shift to No. 17’s yardage was in 2006, and more extensive alterations to the course have been made elsewhere, such as additions to holes like the second and 13th.
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Rory McIlroy celebrating his historic Masters winCredit: Getty
McIlroy’s victory last year was one of the most talked-about triumphs in recent golf history.
It wasn’t just the dramatic win itself but the sequence of horror errors and clutch shots that finally brought him the green jacket after years of near misses.
He said: “It feels incredible.
“This is my 17th time here, and I started to wonder if it would ever be my time. I think the last 10 years coming here with the burden of the Grand Slam on my shoulders and trying to achieve.
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Rory McIlroy walking at Augusta NationalCredit: GEtty
Recent Masters champions
2025: Rory McIlroy -11
2024: Scottie Scheffler -11
2023: Jon Rahn −12
2022: Scottie Scheffler −10
2021: Hideki Matsuyama −10
2020: Dustin Johnson -20
2019: Tiger Woods −13
2018: Patrick Reed −15
2017: Sergio Garcia −9
2016: Danny Willett −5
“I’m sort of wondering what we’re all going to talk about going into next year’s Masters.
“But I’m just absolutely honoured and thrilled and just so proud to be able to call myself a Masters champion.
“I would say it was 14 years in the making, from going out with a four-shot lead in 2011, feeling like I could have done it got there.
“There was a lot of pent-up emotion that just came out on that 18th green.
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“A moment like that makes all the years and all the close calls worth it.”
The 2026 Masters Tournament will run from April 9 to April 12 as McIlroy defends his title in Georgia.