Beating Tiger Woods is no easy feat! Many of his rivals found that out the hard way as they struggled to win against him. Just ask Vijay Singh or Phil Mickelson, and if you’re lucky, they might give you some amazing stories about how Woods triumphed over them. Even the Masters Tournament officials were also frustrated with what Woods could deliver. Having already taken a beating from Jack Nicklaus on six different occasions, they wanted to limit the damage they received from Woods.

Tiger Woods’s former caddie, Steve Williams, discussed it in the FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA Podcast released on April 9, 2025. There, he was asked how the Augusta National committee tried to ‘Tiger-proof’ the course in 2001-02 to make it more challenging for him. Williams replied, “The committee at Augusta probably has a fair indication of how they’re able to set up the golf course and what sort of score they’re indicating. If you fast-forward now, they’ve got the ability with the underground heating they have on the greens to be able to dictate how soft or how firm the greens are. So they can actually keep a bit of control on the score.”  Williams revealed that Augusta National can regulate how the green will act and control the scoreboard.

But that was not the case back during Tiger Woods’s era. He added, “Back then, they didn’t have that heating system available in the greens. I think it probably played into his hands. You talk about ‘tiger-proofing.’ What was ‘tiger-proofing’? It was ‘make the course longer.’ Whilst they did make it longer, they made the fairways a bit wider and took out some of the intermediate rough, which made it more suitable.” For context, all the tees were pushed about 20-25 yards,  the bunkers on the fairways were reshaped to be placed closer to the greens by extending them 10-15 yards as well, and finally, a large portion of the fairway landing area was regarded to adjust the difficult level for the 82x PGA Tour winner. Woods’s former caddie suggested that the Augusta National committee’s plan backfired as the GOAT got even more comfortable after the changes.

Speaking about the strategy applied by Augusta National officials, Williams added, “I don’t think lengthening the course—although they described it as Tiger-proofing—I don’t think it actually did Tiger-proof it. Because he was obviously, in his peak, as long as anybody. Certainly amongst the top players. He was very, very long. The longer the course, the more difficult it became for players that were shorter hitters.”  The veteran caddie knew that Tiger Woods could hit the ball very long, and with a wider fairway, the length was never an issue for him. Plus, eliminating shorter hitters by increasing the length meant Woods also had less competition on the course.

2001 and 2002 were the years when he won the Masters Tournament twice in a row. That is what probably prompted the Augusta National officials to Tiger-proof the course. In 2003 and 2004, Woods finished T15 and T22 in the tournament. He only had two other finishes of 15 or lower before that. More experienced now after winning the Green Jacket thrice already, Woods went on a rampage at Augusta National for the next few years.

From 2005 to 2011, every appearance on the legendary course saw Tiger Woods finish at T6 or higher. He won only one more Masters Tournament during this period, but was consistently contesting for the title for eight consecutive years. We can say that Augusta National officials may have made the course much easier for Woods than it was before they tried to Tiger-proof it. Dan Rapaport also covered the issue, stating that Woods had nothing but praise for all the changes Augusta National made to challenge him; “Augusta National has been at the forefront of trying to keep it competitive, keep it fair, keep it fun, and they’ve been at the forefront of lengthening the golf course,” Woods said. “Granted, they have the property and they can do virtually whatever they want. They have complete autonomy. It’s kind of nice.”

Interestingly, Tiger Woods took a couple of years to adjust to the changes implemented by Augusta National. But once he got used to it, there was no stopping him.

Tiger Woods conquered Augusta National again, but others paid the price for it

Short hitters or long hitters, the changes made on Augusta National didn’t only Tiger-proof the course. Everyone paid the price for the increased length of the course. By 2011, the course was 7,435 yards long, 500 more yards than it was a decade prior. What was once deemed to be fun and exciting, Augusta National had turned into a hellhole of some of the best. As Jim Furyk shared his experience before the changes, “Tiger-proofing was not the correct term to use. When I first started playing that place … it was just a fun golf course to play. You had short irons in your hand and these crazy greens going everywhere. You would go at a pin and knew the consequences if you missed.” A far less challenging Augusta National was what everyone enjoyed. Legends like Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, and Gary Player would also admit to that. After all, they shared 13 Masters wins between them

However, Furyk also confessed, “Quite honestly, it’s not a fun golf course to play right now. It’s hard. It’s very demanding, both physically and mentally. It has a feel of more of a U.S. Open type of struggle, rather than going out there, blaze of glory, shooting at pins and making a birdie or bogey,” in an interview in 2011. Bubba Watson also admitted, “They call it ‘Tiger-proofing,’ but they’re just making it longer, making it tougher for everybody.” From 2002 to 2010, long hitters dominated the Green Jacket tournament, winning it 6 out of the 9 times. This list included Woods, Mickelson, and Angel Cabrera. Seems like Augusta National’s attempt to Tiger-proof the golf course eliminated the short hitters from contending against him.

What do you think about the tournament officials trying to Tiger-proof Augusta National to tame the Tiger? Let us know in the comments section.