If you're watching the Masters Tournament on TV, you'll no doubt see graphics indicating the names of the holes at Augusta National Golf Club. Golf fans might be confused as they'll keep seeing familiar plant and tree names.
As it turns out, each of the holes at Augusta National Golf Club is named after a plant.
On its surface, it might seem like the club is playing up its aura, but it's actually paying tribute to what the club property was before Bobby Jones and Clifford Roberts founded the club in 1933.
Before Augusta National became the golf club it is now, it was a nursery called Fruitland Nurseries. So, each of the holes is named after a plant that was grown at the nursery. Some of the holes actually have those plants or trees on them. For instance, No. 18 features holly bushes all up the left side, although they are largely hidden by the taller trees.
Interestingly enough, the par-3 fourth hole is the lone hole on the course to feature a palm tree, but that's not part of the hole and its name, Flowering Crab Apple.
The holes have names in the tradition of many courses overseas in Scotland and England, which themselves sported names for different reasons. For example, every hole at the Old Course at St. Andrews has a name, like the famous Road Hole, No. 17. While the hole names aren't mentioned all the time on the broadcast along with the hole numbers, their names have a big significance to the tournament and the membership.
The names of the holes haven't changed over the years, even when Augusta National flipped the nines early in its existence.
Augusta National Golf Club hole names
| HOLE | NAME |
|---|---|
| 1 | Tea Olive |
| 2 | Pink Dogwood |
| 3 | Flowering Peach |
| 4 | Flowering Crab Apple |
| 5 | Magnolia |
| 6 | Juniper |
| 7 | Pampas |
| 8 | Yellow Jasmine |
|
| |
| 9 | Carolina Cherry |
| 10 | Camellia |
| 11 | White Dogwood |
| 12 | Golden Bell |
| 13 | Azalea |
| 14 | Chinese Fir |
| 15 | Firethorn |
| 16 | Redbud |
|
| |
| 17 | Nandina |
| 18 | Holly |
