It is Masters 2023 week.
The pageantry and traditions are part of why this is one of the most celebrated golf tournaments in the world.
In Monday’s practice round, Tiger Woods participated in a time-honored Masters tradition on the par 3 16th hole.
The Water Skipping Golf Shot
Along with Tom Kim, Rory McIlroy, and Fred Couples, Woods hit the 16th hole water skipping shot.
One of many Masters traditions: skipping shots across the water on the par-3 16th.
Here's Tom Kim, Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Fred Couples on Monday:pic.twitter.com/4ROwFoFqHq
— Golf Central (@GolfCentral) April 3, 2023
Some amateur golfers do this shot by accident, but the professionals have been doing this on the 16th at Augusta National for over 30 years.
How The Tradition Began
The 16th hole water skipping shot tradition dates back to 1987 when golfers Mark Calcavecchia and Ken Green did it for the first time.
Then-Masters chairman Hord Hardin sent Green a letter after the fact telling him that was not done at Augusta National.
Hardin’s letter had the opposite effect.
It became an annual event.
Though it is not confirmed, it is believed that golfers practice the shot.
They want to land it on the green, and that normally happens in five or six skips.
If the ball lands in the water, many ask their caddies for another ball to try it again.
Has The Ball Ever Landed In The Hole?
It has miraculously landed in the hole for an ace a few times.
Vijay Singh famously did it in 2009.
German golfer Martin Kaymer also did it in 2012.
Most recently, Jon Rahm’s ball water skipped its way to a hole-in-one in the COVID-delayed Masters tournament held in November 2020.
Rahm skips in an ace! pic.twitter.com/8hH9wBl0fw
— GOLF.com (@GOLF_com) November 10, 2020
Why Everyone Loves The Masters
People who are not traditionally fans of watching golf the rest of the year tune in during Masters’ week.
It is iconic and legendary, and it is the only major golf tournament that happens at the same time (the first week in April) on the same course every year.
In a chaotic world full of change, it is gratifying and soul-satisfying to know that The Masters does not change.
Later in the week, another beloved tradition, the nine-hole Par 3 tournament, will take place.
It also produces legendary memories like this one in 2018 when Jack Nicklaus’s grandson showed the world that the apple did not fall far from the tree with his hole in one.
Jack Nicklaus' grandson strokes a hole-in-one on the Masters' Par 3 course. pic.twitter.com/tBo2FIABwT
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) April 5, 2018
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