Augusta 12th a classic test of golf

It is the shortest par-three at Augusta National but, with its capricious winds, it provides one of the toughest tee shots in golf.

'Nervousness' and 'adrenaline' are what three-times U.S. Masters champion Tiger Woods experiences when he stands on the tee at the 155-yard 12th hole.

For fellow American and twice winner Ben Crenshaw, the intimidating hole named Golden Bell eventually makes every player at Augusta "look like a fool".

Tom Weiskopf, a runner-up at four Masters, will never forget his torture there during the 1980 tournament when he ran up a soul-destroying 13.

Deceptively simple though it might appear from the tee box, Golden Bell is all about correct club selection and the ability to predict accurately what the winds are doing above the tree line.

Whatever breezes or gusts you feel standing on the tee will, more often than not, bear no relation to what is happening above the shallow green across the inviting water of Rae's Creek.

Club selection on one of the most famous holes in golf can range from a six to a nine-iron.

The green, which is set at an awkward angle to the tee, has two bunkers at the back and one in front.

While Rae's Creek lies in wait for any tee shot hit too short, golden bell blossoms and azaleas lining the bank on the far side will swallow up anything over-clubbed.

Hardly surprising, then, that most Masters competitors experience a cold sweat, a churn of the stomach and shaking knees when they consider Golden Bell's challenge.

"It doesn't matter what the conditions are, every year the toughest shot at Augusta is number 12," said Woods, who became the youngest Masters champion at the age of 21 in 1997.

"There's just no bailout there and it's all about swirling winds, adrenaline and nervousness. It's about trying to get committed to that wind, because it can switch on you in a heartbeat.

"I remember playing there in '98 with Davis (Love III), and we both hit six-irons on 12. His six-iron carried over the back bunker and my six-iron barely got into the front bunker because the wind switched. It was two totally different winds.

"That's the hard part, trying to determine where the wind is coming from and hitting the proper golf shot -- and hopefully getting a little lucky, too."

Crenshaw, winner of the Masters in 1984 and 1995, agreed that luck was often a factor at the 12th.

"The hole eventually makes you look like a fool," he said. "Because of the wind, there are times when you just hit and hope.

"A few years ago, I was playing the hole on a windy day and I didn't know what to do. After a lot of deliberating, I finally hit the shot and it went straight left and up and landed considerably short and in the water."

Britain's Nick Faldo, like Woods a three-times champion at Augusta, regards Golden Bell as one of the subtlest holes in the game.

"Standing on the tee, you have to make a decision on exactly where you want to land the ball," he wrote in his autobiography "Life Swings".

"You cannot afford to pick a club and then change your mind or you will have to start the thought process all over again.

"Given the brutish angle of the 12th green, if you intend to go for the heart of the target area then suddenly think: 'No, I'll go left', you will have too much club.

"But if you decide to go right, you will come up short. It is one of the subtlest holes in world golf."