Billy Payne, Chairman of Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters Tournament, announced today changes that have been made to the grounds and golf course for the 2009 Masters.

“We are very excited about the progress made this summer with the construction of additional parking and other Tournament support facilities, which are part of our long range plans,” Payne said. “For 2009, there will be approximately 4,500 more parking spaces located west of Berckmans Road, and significant progress has also been made toward the completion of our new state of the art practice facility, which will be ready for the 2010 Masters. We also completed construction on our new tournament first aid and security facilities.”

Payne also said, “As we’ve done nearly every year since the inception of the Masters, we evaluate the golf course and make refinements we think are necessary. This year, only minor changes were implemented and all were made in order to provide greater flexibility in the event of adverse weather conditions, which we have experienced the last couple of years.”

Those changes for the 2009 Masters are:

Hole No. 1: Back of tee reduced 7 yards to improve patron circulation between the tee and the practice putting green. Tee marker relocated and Masters scorecard changed from 455 yards to 445 yards. Green rebuilt for agronomic reasons and a heating and cooling system installed.

Hole Nos. 5 and 6: Greens rebuilt for agronomic reasons and heating and cooling systems installed.

Hole No. 7: Significant landscaping completed on the rear of the tee to reforest a large area which was left open due to the removal of a tournament storage building in 2005. An additional 10 yards added to the front of the tee without necessitating a change in length to the hole.

Hole No. 15: 8-9 yards added to the front of the tee, and a couple of trees removed on the right side of the fairway. Scorecard yardage remained 530 yards.