Golf: Bernhard Langer's hole-by-hole guide to Augusta National

1 Tea Olive 400yds, par 4

I generally try to hit a little fade with a driver, starting the ball far enough out so that I don't catch the bunker. I've hit three-irons into this green and I've hit wedges - it depends on the wind. You must avoid going long or left and ideally you want an uphill putt.

2 Pink Dogwood 555yds, par 5

The line is left of the bunker on the right, but not too far because you can find the trees and creek. As it's downhill, the green is within reach, but because it's so severe and narrow, it's no bad thing to be in a front bunker or to leave yourself with a full pitch.

3 Flowering Peach 360yds, par 4

A very short par four, but the putting surface is one of the hardest to hit. It's only about 11 yards deep on the left and you can either spin back down the slope in front or just as easily go through.

4 Flowering Crab Apple 205yds, par 3

Usually a three- or four-iron and you're looking to hit it high with a touch of fade so that the ball stops quickly. There is sand in front of the green and a ridge across it. Again it's sometimes better to be in the bunker than past the flag.

5 Magnolia 435yds, par 4

A draw gives you some extra distance and that's useful since the green is really tricky. It goes up, then runs away, especially on the left, and you can hit a nearly perfect shot and find yourself 50 feet away.

6 Juniper 180yds, par 3

A great par three, but maybe a bit too severe when they put the pin in the top right corner. You're hitting a six- or seven-iron to an area that is roughly 10 yards deep and eight yards wide.

7 Pampas 360yds, par 4

Same length as the third and while you are hoping for birdie the slightest mistake can bring a bogey or worse. A narrow tee shot through the trees, then a pitch to a small, elevated green. Real precision is needed.

8 Yellow Jasmine 535yds, par 5

It's 260 yards to clear the bunker down the right so I don't usually try. There's a big landing area for the uphill second shot, but you have to pick the spot which gives you the best angle into the flag, knowing there's a severe slope in the middle.

9 Carolina Cherry 435yds, par 4

Unless you draw the ball, you can run out of fairway. But even the perfect shot leaves a difficult shot from a downhill lie to an uphill green. Come up short and it's quite possible for the ball to run back down the fairway 60 or 70 yards.

10 Camelia 485yds, par 4

An even bigger draw or hook is needed now. The fairway falls away down the left side, and catching the slope can mean the difference between a six- or seven-iron in to the green and a wood. From the left, though, you have to be careful not to catch an overhanging branch.

11 White Dogwood 455yds, par 4

A huge fairway, but you have to decide whether to go left and then play over the water in front of the green or go right and hit towards it. There's lots of room on the right to 'bale out', but then there's no guarantee of a par four. 12 Golden Bell 155yds, par 3

One of the greatest and most dangerous holes in golf. It looks nothing, but the wind swirls around and the green, set at an angle, is such a tiny landing area.

13 Azalea 485yds, par 5

My drive and three-iron last year were as good as I can hit them - and so, of course, was the 20-foot putt for eagle. While you're looking to hook around the dog-leg off the tee you can't overdo it because of the creek. The second shot's not easy, either, because you're playing over water off a hanging lie.

14 Chinese Fir 405yds, par 4

With the fairway sloping from left to right, another hook helps here as long as you set it off on the right line. Then it's anything from a five-iron to wedge, depending on the wind and the pin placing. No bunkers to worry about, but the green is one of the hardest on the course.

15 Firethorn 500yds, par 5

You're hoping to get on in two shots, but unless you're John Daly, it's two big hits to carry the water. Even then, your problems aren't over as the green is usually very firm and you can easily skip through it. I had to lay up here last year, but it surprised me when Chip Beck did the same, and when I birdied and he didn't, I was four shots clear.

16 Redbud 170yds, par 3

The water on the left tempts you to aim for the right half of the green, but that can leave you with a wicked, curling putt. Sometimes you can have your back to the hole when you're putting - it's that bad.

17 Nandina 400yds, par 4

This is a straightforward par four - straightforward, that is, once you've driven over the Eisenhower tree, which is about 150 yards in front of you - but the green can get very slick, especially on the right.

18 Holly 405yds, par 4

A tough finishing hole. The drive is very tight through the trees and because it's a steep climb up you don't get any run on the ball. I usually try to place my ball short of the bunkers with a three-wood, but with a four-shot lead last year, I said 'What the heck' and smashed a driver. It just rolled into the trap and my second shot found another by the green - but by then I wasn't worried.

TODAY'S TEE-OFF TIMES

(BST, US unless stated)

1.15pm G Sarazen, B Nelson, S Snead; 1.30 T Aaron, G Brewer; 1.38 B Casper, D Ford; 1.46 D Hart, F Funk; 1.54 G Morgan, J McGovern; 2.02 H Irwin, J Miller; 2.10 J Inman, B Estes; 2.18 N Henke, B Mayfair; 2.26 C Coody, *J Thomas; 2.34 B Glasson, M Calcavecchia; 2.42 H Twitty, J Adams; 2.50 M O'Meara, B McCallister; 2.58 R Fehr, M Standly; 3.06 C Strange, J Haas; 3.14 A Palmer, *I Pyman (GB); 3.22 D Frost (SA), A Magee; 3.30 I Baker-Finch (Aus), C Pavin; 3.46 B Crenshaw, S Elkington (Aus); 3.54 R Cochran, E Els (SA); 4.02 G Player (SA), *D Ellis; 4.10 J Gallagher Jnr, F Allem (SA); 4.18 S Lyle (GB), S Hoch; 4.26 L Wadkins, B Ogle (Aus); 4.34 J Maggert, G Waite (NZ); 4.42 J Huston, T Lehman; 4.50 S Simpson, B Lane (GB); 4.58 R Floyd, S Ballesteros (Sp); 5.06 I Woosnam (GB), J Daly; 5.22 L Janzen, C Parry (Aus); 5.30 J Nicklaus, W Grady (Aus); 5.38 B Faxon, V Singh (Fiji); 5.46 N Faldo (GB), D Forsman; 5.54 N Price (Zim), C Beck; 6.02 B Langer (Ger), *J Harris; 6.10 P Baker (GB), D Love; 6.18 T Watson, M Ozaki (Japan); 6.26 L Mize, J-M Olazabal (Sp); 6.34 T Kite, S Torrance (GB); 6.42 F Zoeller, H Meshiai (Japan); 6.50 G Norman (Aus), P Stewart; 7.06 J Cook, A Forsbrand (Swe); 7.14 J Sluman, C Montgomerie (GB); 7.22 C Stadler, C Rocca (It); 7.30 D Edwards, L Roberts.

* denotes amateur