Masters gallery: Augusta National Par 3 Course

We take a look at Augusta National's Par 3 Course. Pictures by Robin Barwick, courtesy of Mercedes-Benz, Global Sponsor of the 2014 Masters

We take a look at Augusta National's Par 3 Course ahead of the start of the Masters Par 3 Contest. Pictures by Robin Barwick, courtesy of Mercedes-Benz, Global Sponsor of the 2014 Masters

The famous Masters Par 3 Championship takes place later today, with Masters legends - both past and present - descending on Augusta National's Par 3 Course.

The likes of Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Phil Mickelson and Rory McIlroy will be taking part in the traditional pre-Masters competition that was inaugurated in 1960.

Ted Potter Jnr. won the title in a play-off over Mickelson and Matt Kuchar last year, but he's not exempt for the tournament proper this time around.

Players will secretly be hoping they don't win the Par 3 Contest, though. No one has triumphed in the warm-up event and gone on to win the Masters Tournament.

he Par 3 course at Augusta National was designed by George Cobb and Clifford Roberts, the autocratic founding chairman of Augusta National.

The current holes eight and nine, which both play over Ike's Pond, were added in 1987. The par-27 course runs to 1,060 yards, and holes 4 and 6 bring the DeSoto Springs Pond into play. The shortest hole on the course is the 70-yard second, while the longest is the 140-yard sixth.

The course record of 20 is shared by Art Wall (1965) and Gay Brewer (1973).

Nick Bonfield
Features Editor

Nick Bonfield joined Golf Monthly in 2012 after graduating from Exeter University and earning an NCTJ-accredited journalism diploma from News Associates in Wimbledon. He is responsible for managing production of the magazine, sub-editing, writing, commissioning and coordinating all features across print and online. Most of his online work is opinion-based and typically centres around the Majors and significant events in the global golfing calendar. Nick has been an avid golf fan since the age of ten and became obsessed with the professional game after watching Mike Weir and Shaun Micheel win The Masters and PGA Championship respectively in 2003. In his time with Golf Monthly, he's interviewed the likes of Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, Jose Maria Olazabal, Henrik Stenson, Padraig Harrington, Lee Westwood and Billy Horschel and has ghost-written columns for Westwood, Wayne Riley, Matthew Southgate, Chris Wood and Eddie Pepperell. Nick is a 12-handicap golfer and his favourite courses include Old Head, Sunningdale New, Penha Longha, Valderrama and Bearwood Lakes. If you have a feature pitch for Nick, please email nick.bonfield@futurenet.com with 'Pitch' in the subject line. Nick is currently playing: Driver: TaylorMade M1 Fairway wood: TaylorMade RBZ Stage 2 Hybrid: Ping Crossover Irons (4-9): Nike Vapor Speed Wedges: Cleveland CBX Full Face, 56˚, Titleist Vokey SM4, 60˚ Putter: testing in progress! Ball: TaylorMade TP5x