"You try to lag them, and if they go in, they go in," 2007 Masters winner Zach Johnson says of putts at Augusta National. (Photo: Michael Madrid, USA TODAY Sports) Zach Johnson says you don't try to make putts at Augusta National. "You try to lag them, and if they go in, they go in," the 2007 Masters winner said. "I mean, those greens are just extremely difficult. Even when they are wet, they're still fast, and everything breaks to No. 11 green. You just have to be on your toes on every single putt you ever have in the Masters." Phil Mickelson, winner of the Masters in 2004, 2006 and 2010 and one of the best putters the game has ever seen, says you "float" the ball toward the hole in hopes of making a putt on the undulating greens. MEMORABLE SHOTS: Finally, Phil, in 2004 Brandt Snedeker, one of the best putters in professional golf at the moment, equates putting during the Masters to putting in a bathtub. TIGER: Why did his dominance fade? And Ben Crenshaw, a winner in 1984 and 1995 who used the flat stick as well as anyone in history, says you need a lifetime — and then even more time — to figure out the greens at Augusta. "You just can't spend enough time on the greens," Crenshaw says. "There is always, always something to learn about those greens. As much ink and as much consideration as the long game gets at Augusta National, the little shots around and on the greens are absolutely a game changer." The 18 greens get their pitch and movement from the rolling terrain. Adding to the puzzlement is a SubAir system, which uses heating coils, blowers and pipes underneath every green to allow the green temperature and moisture levels to be monitored. If Masters officials determine the greens are too slow, they can pump out moisture to ensure they arrive at the beloved speed tournament officials want. And the elevation change of the course, the drop from the highest point (the back right of the green on the first hole) to the lowest point (Rae's Creek guarding the 11th, 12th and 13th holes) is 175 feet and has a major impact on the movement of putts. So much so that a board in the caddie's hut has drawings of every single green and a large dot signaling where Rae's Creek is in relation to the green. Further, every yardage book features arrows on each of the drawings of the putting surfaces, indicating which direction the green breaks toward Rae's Creek. Yet players are still puzzled. "You can have all the information you need, and you'll look at a putt, know where Rae's Creek is, think you know how it will break, and it will go the exact opposite," Jason Day says. "The greens aren't tricked up. They're just plain hard. In good weather they run 14 on the Stimpmeter, and that's pretty scary. You try to keep yourself below the hole at all times. If you happen to do that, that's great. If not, then you're kind of screwed." GALLERY: SCENES FROM AUGUSTA NATIONAL Bubba Watson, who defeated Louis Oosthuizen in a playoff to win last year's Masters, had four three-putts during the tournament, including one on the first hole in the final round. He has played in four Masters and still, for the most part, can't figure out the 18 greens. "They are the most difficult we play every year," Watson says. "What's so crazy is that we see this course every year, we study the greens every year, we learn something new every year, and they are still difficult. You've read putts, you've watched putts, and you still don't understand it. "It is pretty remarkable if you go around there 72 holes without a three-putt." Only three players since 1995 — when Augusta started keeping track of three-putts — have won the tournament without a single three-putt: Crenshaw in 1995, Tiger Woods in 1997 and Jose Maria Olazabal in 1999. Crenshaw won by one and Olazabal by two. Woods could have had 11 three-putts and still won by one. "The greens were terminally fast when I played there in 1992, as far as I was concerned," golf analyst David Feherty says. "And they still are. To play on putting surfaces that you can actually see your reflection at times is very intimidating. No question those greens make you sweat." Ask players which putt scares them the most at Augusta, which putt is so fast that they're afraid to even pull the putter back, and you'll get an assortment of answers: above the hole on No. 2; from the wrong tier on Nos. 6, 9, 14, 16 and 17; and any putt on No.5. Every other hole also got a mention. But not all of the putts are fast. "You'll never have putts that are as fast and as slow as you do at Augusta National," Snedeker says. "Normally, your greens are pretty consistent, but you'll have putts that are uphill, into the grain, that are extremely slow, and downhill putts that are the fastest putts on the planet. So there's just such a hard mix of how hard you have to hit the golf ball every time. "It's just crazy. There's no place like it. There are just putts where you have 10-footers for birdies and you have to just try and two-putt and get out." Mike Weir, who won the Masters in 2003, says aggression stays in the golf bag when you get to the greens. "You just play it a lot more break than you would imagine, and I guess the defensive mode you putt with there is more than any other course that I have ever played," Weir says. "You're just in that mind-set because you can have what looks like a nice run at a birdie putt and if you're just really not paying attention you can have the same length putt coming back, whether that be 10 feet, 15 feet, no matter what. "I don't know how to put it in a couple words; you just feel defensive on the greens all the time, no matter where you are." And no matter how many times you've played the Masters. "It's all about getting the speed of the greens and understanding there's a lot to learn there, too," Steve Stricker says. "You learn pretty quickly where not to be. You still learn there every year. They're so fast, and sometimes even when you have fairly straight putts, they're subtle enough so they're very difficult to make. It's just a tough place to putt." Mickelson learned over the years to rely on his memory more than his yardage book — and even his eyes. "You have to float the ball to the hole," Mickelson says. "The ball floats down to the low spots. It could break 4 feet or 15 feet and end up in the same spot. It's hard to know that until you've played there. I rely more on my memory than I do reading the greens when I get there." Trevor Immelman held off Woods to win in 2008 and had one three-putt that year. It was his sixth of 10 starts in the Masters, and that experience, coupled with his numerous discussions with fellow South Africans Gary Player (a three-time Masters winner) and Ernie Els, makes Immelman feel as comfortable as one can feel on the Augusta greens. "They are really tough greens to putt," Immelman says. "But there is definitely a secret to them." Care to share that secret? "No chance," Immelman says with a smile. "No chance." GALLERY: CARING FOR AUGUSTA'S GREENS Story Highlights
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