There are few things more interesting in the week of the Masters de Augusta than getting into the spectators’ grandstand at the practice range to watch the players hit balls. If the weather holds and you’re even a bit of a golf geek, it can be pure bliss. There you spot many quirks, routines, gadgets more or less sophisticated, more or less rudimentary. A rope under the arm, the mythical towel, launch monitors, many launch monitors, coaches who don’t take their eyes off the flight of their players’ ball, others who don’t take their eyes off their mobile or the ipad, this is generational… In short, it’s like a fair of gadgets and gestures that can be great fun, though dangerous for the fan with an obsessive mindset for trying new things.
Since 2024 the Masters de Augusta introduced a new viewpoint to the huge amount of information it offers during the week. It’s the range. Several cameras capture every shot hit during the day on the practice range and at the end of each day it provides a rather curious summary. It’s more anecdotal and entertaining than revealing. Every time these numbers come out of the oven, José María Olazábal never disappoints. This Monday was no different.
Only four players yesterday hit more than 200 balls on the range. Only long shots are counted, no putts or short game. Remember it was Monday, theoretically a day to arrive slowly, loosen up, get a feel, etc… That said, the Masters can be a long week. Not for Olazábal. The Hondarribia-born golfer was credited with a total of 215 balls hit. Only Aldrich Potgieter (249) and Brian Harman (225) hit more than him. Olazábal turned 60 in February, while Potgieter is 21 and Harman hasn’t yet reached 40. A marked difference. The other player who topped 200 balls was Chris Gotterup (214). It’s worth remembering that Gotterup is living his first experience at the Masters and had never set foot in Augusta in his life, so it’s understandable he wants to squeeze every minute out of this week.
Last year Olazábal was already the second player who hit the most balls during the week, only beaten by Bryson DeChambeau. As said: he never disappoints. It is the way he understands his sport and the way he prepares for tournaments. Many voices over the years have suggested he might cut back the number of hours he spends on the practice range, especially in tournament weeks, but it’s a hoop he’s not going to jump through for the time being as the two-time Masters champion. Nor do we think he will now…
Other curious facts from Monday’s session on the range. In addition to measuring the number of balls each player hits, they calculate the distance and the height of each ball and provide the maximum achieved that day. There, José Mari is the second shortest in distance of all who came through the range, only surpassed by Fred Couples. The Spaniard reached 262 yards versus the 258 of the golfer with the most ‘flow’ on the PGA Tour Champions. Curiously, Couples is the oldest at this Masters, having turned 66 in October last year. The longest shot was, precisely, Potgieter with 326 yards.
Sergio García only hit 42 balls this Monday, while Jon Rahm didn’t even show up, although he did play nine holes, from 1 to 9. The fewest balls hit were by Tommy Fleetwood and Harris English with 21, that is, a light warm-up before going out to play.
By the way, Olazábal played a practice round at Augusta on Sunday. Champions have the privilege of being able to play on Sunday inviting one person to play with them. In this case, the invitee was Beatriz Recari. They shared the round with Fred Couples.
