The 2025 Masters Tournament: Changes to Augusta National Golf Club post-Hurricane Helene

For golf enthusiasts around the globe, Augusta National Golf Club is the Mecca of courses. The club is nestled in eastern Georgia, right on the boarder of South Carolina. It features a beautiful landscape, sweeping greens, eye-popping plants, and lots of trees.

For stormwater professionals, the course features angular runoffs, creeks, ponds and well managed vegetation.

The two industries (golf and stormwater) converged in a surprising matter last fall when Hurricane Helene hit the Augusta area. The Category 4 hurricane struck the area with intense winds and rainfall, where it was nearly 165 miles from the Atlantic Ocean.

According to a PGA Tour article, it took two days of recovery efforts before Augusta National Golf Club Chairman Fred Ridley could get on the property to assess the damage. The article states that roughly 1500 trees are believed to have been lost.

Notable impacts of Hurricane Helene on Augusta

Players started arriving at the course in the first full week of April for the 2025 Masters Tournament where they began noting changes made to the course following recovery from Hurricane Helene.

Notable impacts include:

• 16^th hole: The green on the par-three 16^th hole was reported to be destroyed due to fallen trees and debris.
• 10^th hole: The par-four 10^th hole experienced changes in its configuration, with the loss of trees on the left side.

Players noted that trees behind the 11^th and 15^th were lost, altering the depth perception when approaching the greens.

PGA stated that Augusta National rebuilt the 1^st, 8^th, 15^th and 16^th greens, although it is unclear whether any of those were related to damage sustained by the hurricane.

The loss of trees may open opportunities for players to take advantage of wider corridors. Rory Mcllroy stated in a PGA Tour article that there are a couple overhanging trees around the 4^th hole that aren't there anymore, allowing for players to experiment with different shots and approaches.

Earlier this year, Ridley stated that the course undertook extensive restoration efforts and was in “spectacular conditions.” Riley also stated that Augusta National contributed $5 million to the Hurricane Helene Community Crisis Fund to support local relief efforts.

The Masters Tournament will take place between April 10-13.