For years, Augusta National has made subtle but significant changes to its course in an effort to keep pace with the modern game. As players have gotten longer off the tee and equipment has improved, the club has responded by adjusting yardage, reshaping holes and adding length where necessary. The result is a course that still rewards creativity and precision, but now demands more distance than ever before.

Created by designer Alister MacKenzie with fabled amateur Bobby Jones, the course was designed to be played like an inland links, with firm surfaces where creativity was key. While that creativity is still important at Augusta, today it is a course where every element is controlled, from the Subair system under the greens to maintain firmness and speed, through to incredible conditions maintained for the tournament by a team of superintendents.

Over the years, Augusta National has added length and made adjustments to several holes to keep the course challenging for the world’s best players. This year the main alteration is to the 17th, a tricky driving hole with a difficult green. The tee has been moved, and the hole, that previously played 440 yards is now 450 yards. Ten yards isn’t a massive change in the era of balls that carry more than 300 yards in the air, but the hole was already one of the hardest at Augusta, a par 4 that averaged 4.23 strokes last year.

While the course doesn’t have significant alterations, there is a new Player Services Building that will open this year. The three-story building is located behind the practice range and is for players, coaches, caddies and trainers and includes an underground parking, a fitness area and dining for golfers and their family. You won’t likely see it though, it isn’t open to the public or media.

While the course changes are minimal, the storylines this year will come from the field itself. The field is once again dominated by PGA Tour players, but also includes 10 LIV Golf players, including Bryson DeChambeau, Cam Smith, and past champions Dustin Johnson and Sergio Garcia. If you’re looking for a dark horse, well not very dark, but without a win, consider Collin Morikawa, who had a win and two Top 10 finishes heading into the Players Championship. He finished tied for third in 2024 and fifth in 2022.