Work on Augusta National never stops

The Masters is the only one of golf's four major championships played on the same course every year, but there is always something new for the players to discover when they arrive at Augusta National Golf Club every spring.

This year is no different.

While Masters officials will not say so publicly, Augusta's generous fairways are a little narrower and the rough -- nonexistent until last year -- is a little longer.

There also will be new pin positions available on several holes during the tournament -- most notably on numbers 10, 12 and 16, where the greens were resurfaced after last year's tournament.

And more large pine trees have materialized in some strategic spots, especially on the 14th and 17th holes, which will put a premium on accurate driving -- something the Masters was not noted for in the past.

"The changes are fine," three-time champion Nick Faldo said on Monday after he played a practice round with Australian amateur sensation Aaron Baddeley, who will be playing in his first Masters come Thursday.

"The rough is fine," added Faldo, "if you hit your drive in the middle of the fairway."

Faldo, who won here in 1989, 1990 and 1996, said he noticed several greens with possible new hole locations during his round with Baddeley on a warm, breezy morning.

"When they set the pins for the tournament, it's a different story," Faldo said he told the 19-year-old Baddeley.

"There are going to be more 'mega-type' pins out there," added Faldo.

"The changes are good, especially (demanding) accuracy off the tee," said Lee Westwood, who tied for sixth place in last year's Masters, just his third.

Westwood, who is ranked sixth in the world, said the rough, while not punishing, was long enough to make approach shots much more difficult because there is just enough grass to get between the clubface and the ball.

"You need as much control as you can get with these greens, they're so hard to hold," he said. "But it's tough for everybody."

Raymond Floyd -- the 1976 winner who shared the Masters scoring record with Jack Nicklaus for 20 years until Tiger Woods bettered it by one in 1997 -- said he noticed the longer rough and narrower fairways.

"The rough is subtly prepared and they tightened it up," he said of the less-generous fairways, which are a distinct departure from past Masters.

"I prefer the old style -- the way the architect intended it," said Floyd, who will be playing in his 36th Masters.

"But change happens everywhere," added Floyd. "As a player you just have to adjust."