Bubba Watson cannot help itself if he is in a driving range. In mid-January we had set up a Baantman in the Pipe of Dutchman in South Florida, and he gave me tips on how to work the ball left and right. But not just the ball, to steer The ball. Send it and bend it as much as possible. Nobody really does that the way he does, and he is not humble to admit it.
It didn’t take long, watching me that balls gets on him enough that he has to take a club and also take a few swings. The first is a roping hook, just like that shot from the Pinestraw in Augusta National, where in 2012 he triumphed in a play -off about Louis Oosthuizen and Bubba Golf became iconic. On the range with me he moves his ball with an absurd 129 feet from left to right curve, helped by a strong wind. It is the perfect segment to finally ask him about that ridiculous shot on Augusta, what just to add one to talk about all the crazy shots he has played with the Masters over the years.
During the next 10 minutes, Bubba ranked his Mount Rushmore of Magic Moments at the Masters, which we have put together in an InsideGolf member-exclusive video below.
First, that winning moment in 2012, the hook at 10 in the play -off. But the next one was a 2022 approach of the 18th that nobody remembers. From the trees that separate 18 and 10, he launched a ball under a leaf Up in the air. He was never able to see it landing, given all the trees in his way, but he told me it was one of the best photos of his life.
Then came his old Caddy Ted Scott’s favorite, a different rope hook from the Pinestraw, this time to the right of 11. Only this shot really had difficulty with it, because he would have to play it over the pond and put it back to the green. Scott tried to talk Watson out, but that is not the Bubba Golf Way. He took it out and described it so casually that I had to ask: Are these 1-in-100 or 1-in-1,000 shots?
“No, they may be 1-on-10?” he said. “Because I did this before when I’m at home. Now you have to do them in the masters.”
Uh, yes!
Watch the video below – exclusively for InsideGolf – members – for Watson’s breakdown of those three shots and also a final muddy, ridiculous wedge he played during his march to victory in 2012.
