Golf: The Masters - Hole-by-hole guide to Augusta National: Where The Masters can be won and lost

How each hole played in last year's Masters (Rank 1 hardest, Rank 18 easiest) and how champion Mark O'Meara played them:

1st (Tea Olive), 410yds, par 4: A slight dog-leg right with a huge bunker on the right which is a 257-yard carry. The plateau green is treacherous. Hence its ranking as the toughest hole last year.

1998: 4.41 average (Rank 1). O'Meara: 3-4-3-4

2nd (Pink Dogwood), 575yds, par 5: Lengthened since last year, bringing the bunker on the right into play. Only big-hitters will try for the green in two. Two bunkers guard the slender green where Nick Faldo once holed a 100-foot eagle putt.

1998: 4.77 average (Rank 17). O'Meara: 5-5-5-4

3rd (Flowering Peach), 350yds, par 4: Often an iron off the tee to leave a full shot to a pear-shaped green. Anything short can spin off down a steep bank.

1998: 4.19 average (Rank 5). O'Meara: 5-4-4-3

4th (Flowering Crab Apple), 205yds, par 3: A long iron is needed to a tiered green which claims more than its fair share of victims. Par is always a good score, even when the tee is moved forward for a pin position just over the front bunkers.

1998: 3.26 average (Rank 3). O'Meara: 2-3-3-2

5th (Magnolia), 435yds, par 4: Jack Nicklaus holed his approach here twice in three days in 1995, but the growing of rough around the course could have a big effect here, making it harder to control shots to the viciously sloping green.

1998: 4.14 average (Rank 10). O'Meara: 4-4-4-4

6th (Juniper), 180yds, par 3: Jose Maria Olazabal lost by one in 1991 after taking seven here in the second round. There is a huge tier in the green and only a precise shot can get close to the flag when it is on the ledge back right.

1998: 3.24 average (Rank 4). O'Meara: 3-3-3-3

7th (Pampas), 365yds, par 4: A real birdie opportunity. An iron off the tee leaves a pitch to a narrow green surrounded by five bunkers. The green slopes back to front and, like the third, control of spin is essential to finish close.

1998: 4.01 average (Rank 15). O'Meara: 4-5-4-4

8th (Yellow Jasmine), 550yds, par 5: Reachable in two for only the long hitters as there is a steep climb from fairway to green. There is trouble left of the green, but Bruce Devlin did not see that in 1967 - he achieved an albatross two.

1998: 4.87 average (Rank 16). O'Meara: 5-4-5-5

9th (Carolina Cherry), 430yds, par 4: Not a very testing drive, but then comes the difficult part. The green tilts from back to front again, and it is possible to roll back off the green and 50 yards or more down the slope in front.

1998: 4.03 average (Rank 14). O'Meara: 4-5-3-4

10th (Camellia), 485yds, par 4: A dramatic hole which plays sharply downhill. Players try to find the left-hand side of the fairway, which kicks the ball down. Over all the years of the Masters this has been the hardest hole.

1998: 4.16 average (Rank 8). O'Meara: 5-4-4-5

11th (White Dogwood), 455yds, par 4: The start of Amen Corner, where Nick Faldo won his two play-offs, and Larry Mize chipped in to beat Greg Norman in 1987. The green has been raised since last year.

1998: 4.16 average (Rank 9). O'Meara: 4-3-4-4

12th (Golden Bell), 155yds, par 3: The best-known par three in golf. It is the shortest of the four short holes, but the wind swirls, and club selection is all-important. Anything on the slender green brings a sigh of relief. Tom Weiskopf took 13 in 1980.

1998: 3.32 average (Rank 2). O'Meara: 4-2-2-3

13th (Azalea), 485yds, par 5: A sharp dog-leg left which can produce anything from an albatross - Jeff Maggert five years ago - to Tommy Nakajima's 13 in 1978. Rae's Creek runs down the left-hand side and then in front of the green.

1998: 4.74 average (Rank 18). O'Meara: 4-5-4-5

14th (Chinese Fir), 405yds, par 4: No bunkers but joint course record holder Nick Price managed to run up an eight six years ago. The green is one of the most undulating, and attacking the flag can be dangerous.

1998: 4.18 average (Rank 6). O'Meara: 5-4-4-4

15th (Firethorn), 500yds, par 5: A very different hole to last year. No mounds on the right, instead a group of tall trees will penalise any pushed drive. Most players will still try to cross the water and make the green in two.

1998: 5.09 average (Rank 13). O'Meara: 5-4-5-4

16th (Redbud), 170yds, par 3: The tee shot is over water and the green slants significantly from right to left, making a pin on the right the toughest. Semi-circular putts are a common occurrence.

1998: 3.18 average (Rank 7). O'Meara: 4-3-3-3

17th (Nandina), 425yds, par 4: Former President Eisenhower, a club member, hit the huge pine tree down the left so often he wanted it removed. Instead, it was named after him. A new back tee brings it more into play and there are trees on the right now as well.

1998: 4.10 average (Rank 12). O'Meara: 4-4-4-3

18th (Holly), 405yds, par 4: The drive down an avenue of trees favours a left-to-right shot to avoid the two bunkers. From the back one, Sandy Lyle hit a seven-iron to 10 feet and sank the putt to win in 1988.

1998: 4.13 average (Rank 11). O'Meara: 4-4-4-3