If you're ever watched the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club, you've no doubt seen and heard about Rae's Creek.
Rae’s Creek begins underground amid subterranean rock northwest of Augusta and flows under Berckmans Road, through a forest and into Augusta National Golf Club property. The creek flows west to east, going some 10 miles in total before ending at Lake Olmstead.
It is named after John Rae, an Irish settler who settled Augusta, Georgia, in 1734. He was a cattle farmer who had a trading post and a ferry service on the Savannah River. Rae became a politician and came to own some 8,000 acres of land.
Rae's Creek most famously comes into play on the tee shot into the par-3 12th hole -- the heart of Amen Corner. Players must hit over the creek -- which is 60 feet wide and 4 feet deep at that point -- in order to complete the hole, and many a player has seen their Masters chances fade away as their tee shot -- or even addtional shots -- find the water. Over the years, Augusta National was thought to have dyed the water in Rae's Creek to make it look particuarly blue, though the modern look is natural.
Near the 11th green, Rae's Creek also comes into play, where a dammed pond area is filled with water from the creek. The dam is covered by a wooden structure behind the green.
Then on the par-5 13th hole, Rae's Creek is visible from the tee box, though it almost never comes into play during the Masters Tournament. It's often mistaken that the stream running up the left side of the 13th fairway and in front of the green is Rae's Creek, though it's acutally from one of the creek's 74 tributaries.
The players cross over Rae's Creek twice each round, first over the Ben Hogan Bridge from the 12th tee to the 12th green, then again over the Byron Nelson Bridge from the 13th tee to the 13th fairway.
There are other water features in play during a round. There is a stream on the 2nd hole, and there are ponds in play on the 15th and 16th holes.
It's said that all putts break toward Rae's Creek and the lowest point on property, which is behind the 11th green.
