Every year Davis Love III comes to the Masters, he notices something different about Augusta National Golf Club.

The green is a little flatter, allowing for a different pin placement. The tee box has been shifted slightly to the left. The bunker is a little wider, or a little smaller.

"They have changed it every year since the tournament started," Love said. "There is not a hole on the golf course that hasn't changed somehow."

Only this year, the changes aren't so subtle.

Never has grass only as deep as a golf ball caused such a stir.

On a 365-acre tract loaded with towering Georgia pines, why should 20 additional pine trees suddenly stick out so much?

Imagine fans who have been coming to the Masters for years walking away from the first green and trying to find the second tee.

Augusta National may evolve from year to year, but it's not the same course where Mark O'Meara won the Masters last year, and it's not the same course where Tiger Woods set the scoring record of 270 the year before.

It's tougher.

It's rougher.

And it's a little bit longer.

With an emphasis on more accuracy off the tee, the men in green coats have given Augusta its biggest facelift since the putting surface was switched from Bermuda to bentgrass in 1981.

Perhaps the most surprising change is the grass itself -- it's longer.

"They can call it second cut if they want to," Tom Lehman said. "But any time it's not the fairway, it's the rough."

Whatever the description, the grass will be 1 3-8 inches deep, about twice as much as previous years but still only the depth of a ball. How much that will matter depends on the players.

"I think the second cut could play a big, big role in the tournament," said David Duval, who played two rounds at Augusta during his three-week break in March.

The rough won't bury the ball, which is what tends to happen in a U.S. Open, but just enough grass between the ball and the blade of the club could make it difficult to control the spin. That's an important factor when trying to put the ball on the right side of the hole.

"If you've got a little wedge in on No. 7, it's hard enough from the fairway," Lehman said. "Imagine a little grass between the ball. It's impossible. You're going to have to hit it straighter this year, no question."

That's what Augusta had in mind, and not just with the rough.

Those extra 20 pine trees can be found down the right side of the 15th fairway, the 500-yard par-5 where Woods used a pitching wedge for his second shot when he won in 1997. The mounds down the right side have been flattened, which could reduce any springboard effect the ball received.

Now, it could get gobbled up by pines that already are about 30 feet high.

"Pretty large-size trees for new ones," O'Meara said, although he's been around long enough not to be surprised by anything Augusta National can pull off.

Duval found them to be so dense that any shot in the trees could leave a player no choice but to hit a wedge -- either over them or back out to the fairway.

"They're nasty," he said.

The new pines could also come into play on the adjacent 17th, a par-4 where the teeing area has been moved back about 25 yards. Of course, another pine tree will figure more into the equation, and this one isn't new.

The Eisenhower tree, named after the former president who campaigned for years to have it cut down because he hit into it so much, appears to block the left side of the fairway. Players who hit it high and with a draw -- not many do -- won't worry about it.

"Most players are going to have to try to play the ball just to the right of the Eisenhower tree and move it around the tree, and it's going to be longer," O'Meara said. "If you miss your drive to the right, you've got all those trees.

"With the pressure on, it's going to be interesting."

The green on No. 11 has been elevated two feet to help with flood control from Rae's Creek, so Larry Mize can probably forget about trying to duplicate his winning chip-in because of the raised green. Also, two bunkers have been replaced by one at the back of the green, and any approach shot that's too bold could roll through the back and into the water.

The second tee used to be right behind the first green. Now, it has been moved 25 yards back and opens up a new strategy for the 575-yard hole. Because the bunker down the right side is in range for even the long hitters, some may have to think twice about trying to get home in two.

"The longer hitters might be able to get there in two," O'Meara said. "But it's not going to be easy."

All of which seems to make Woods' record score one for the ages -- depending on what changes Augusta has in store next.