9th Hole at Augusta National: Carolina Cherry

• Par: Par 4
  
• Length: 460 yards
  
• Name: Carolina Cherry

The ninth hole at Augusta National Golf Club brings the front nine to a close. Aiming one's drive down the right-hand side of the fairway is considered the play off the tee. If your drive stays to that right-hand portion, the approach shot isn't menaced by the two bunkers on the left side of the green. The green itself slopes from the back to the front and has a false front; approach shots that don't carry deep enough onto the green are likely to roll back into the fairway.

Carolina cherry (scientific name prunus caroliniana) is a flowering evergreen tree whose native range is from North Carolina through Texas. Every April the trees produce profilic blooms of small, white flowers.

Here is an animated flyover of the ninth hole produced for Golfweek:

Scoring Stats on Augusta National Hole 9

The No. 9 hole at Augusta National has, historically, played to an all-time average of 4.14 strokes. That ranks it as the 12th-toughest hole on the course during tournament play.

The easiest the ninth hole has ever played for a single tournament is 3.967 strokes during the 2020 Masters. The highest stroke average it has had is 4.401 during the 1955 Masters.

All-Time Best and Worst Scores on Augusta's 9th Hole

Highest score ever on No. 9: The worst scoring during Masters play on the 9th hole is 8, a score recorded four times. Those four golfers are:

• Jack Selby, 1948
• Richard Davies, 1963
• Clay Ogden, 2006
• Luke Donald, 2014

Lowest score ever on No. 9: An eagle score of 2 is the all-time best score on Carolina Cherry. Six golfers so far have recorded that score:

• Earl Stewart, 1954
• Curtis Strange, 1980
• Steve Jones, 1991
• Danny Green, 2000
• Bill Haas, 2013
• Joaquin Niemann, 2022

Best tournament score ever on No. 9: What about cumulative score on No. 9 during a single Masters? Only one golfer in Masters history has birdied No. 9 all four rounds of the tournament: amateur Billy Joe Patton in the 1954 Masters. Patton recorded scores of 3, 3, 3 and 3 in Rounds 1-4, playing the ninth hole in 4-under 12 for the tournament.

Worst tournament score on No. 9: The highest cumulative score on No. 9 during a singles Masters is 7-over-par 23. One golfer, already mentioned above, holds that record. In the 1948 Masters, Jack Selby played the ninth hole in Rounds 1-4 in 5, 5, 8 and 5 strokes, for a 23 total.

See more: Augusta National scorecard and hole names