Edoardo Molinari’s Guide to Mastering the Masters

The moment you walk through the gates at Augusta National, something shifts. The air feels different. Fresher. Sweeter. Like it’s been bottled straight from springtime. The scent of magnolias and azaleas floats on a breeze that seems choreographed. You spot a $1.50 pimento cheese sandwich, wrapped in green paper, and it’s as if time rewinds.

Everything is immaculate. Not perfect. Intentional. The grass is cut with precision, the scoreboards still hand-operated. You don’t just watch The Masters, you step into it. Like a painting you can walk through, where the colours are richer and the silence is full of sound.

It’s magical in the way only a place untouched by time can be. And yet, beneath the beauty, lies one of the most demanding tests in golf.

To truly understand Augusta, you need more than memory or mystique. You need insight. So we turned to someone who knows the course not just with his eyes, but through data, strategy, and lived experience. Edoardo Molinari, Ryder Cup Vice Captain, DP World Tour Player and Arccos’ Chief Data Strategist. 

Here’s what he had to say when we asked him to pull back the curtain on Augusta’s secrets.

Given your extensive analysis of Augusta National, are there any “hidden” challenges or nuances that most players overlook when preparing for the Masters?

• “I think people talk a lot about the greens at the Masters, but good players will separate themselves from the field mostly with good tee shots, approach play and course management.”

Augusta’s greens are legendary for their speed and undulation. What advice would you give to amateur players to manage these greens effectively?

• “All golfers, even pros, tend to underestimate the slope and the break on putts, even more so when the greens are quick and undulated. You’ll notice during the Masters that players will miss a lot more putts below the hole than above the hole, and you will also notice some uphill putts where they all leave it short and vice versa on downhill putts. Amateurs can improve their scores just by always adding something to the read on each putt.”

You’ve mentioned the importance of keeping the ball below the hole. Are there any specific holes where that strategy is more crucial than others?

• “There are a lot of holes around Augusta National where strategy is important. The approach shot on 2, the tee shot on 3, the approach shot on 9 and so on.”

How much does weather play a factor in strategy at Augusta, and are there specific holes that become notably harder when conditions change?

• “Twelve can be a nightmare if it’s windy, as the wind often swirls a lot in that area. When the wind picks up, you will see a lot of players bailing out long left, and even a 4 is not a bad score in certain conditions.”

From a data perspective, are there any misconceptions or myths about playing Augusta that you think should be debunked?

• “I think the fact that it’s a wide and easy course off the tee is completely false. It may have been that way years ago, but in recent years it’s a proper test off the tee.”

If you could give one piece of advice to a first-time Masters competitor, what would it be?

• “Make sure to know where to miss it with every pin. If you don’t play well but you miss it in the right spots, it is a reasonably easy course. But if you start missing in the wrong spots around the greens, you are in big trouble.”

And maybe that’s the magic of Augusta. It looks like a dream, but it plays like a chess match. The grass is soft, the air is still, the flowers are blooming, and yet every shot asks a question. Every hole has its history. Every decision could swing your Sunday round.

It’s a place where a ball landing three feet too long might roll twenty feet too far. Where a poor read on a slick green could turn two into four. And where those who listen, truly listen, to what the course is telling them, might just find their name etched in gold come Sunday evening.

Edoardo Molinari has studied the numbers, played the shots, and walked the walk. And if there’s one thing he’s made clear, it’s this. Augusta doesn’t need to shout to make you feel small. It just needs you to show up unprepared.

Because tradition never changes. But how you handle it is up to you. 

Play Smart.