Photo by: Augusta National Golf Club/MillerBrown Hole 6 - Juniper

It’s unfair to overlook Nos. 4, 5 and 6 at Augusta National. Maybe even a bit insulting, given that they rank as the fourth, fifth and 13th most difficult holes in Masters history.

But they are an unsung stretch without a name; they occupy that other corner of the property, on the first nine, that has yet to inspire a moniker. Two of the holes are par 3s. The Tournament begins to build, not dramatically unfold, at the juncture of Flowering Crab Apple, Magnolia and Juniper. “Those holes are, I don't know if I call them underrated, but I feel like everybody likes to talk about the second nine a lot more,” said Russell Henley, who played the stretch in 1-under-par, with a birdie at No. 5, during his first-round 68.

No. 4, at 230 or so yards, the longest by far of Augusta National’s par 3s, inspires fear even before the Masters begins. Caddies study the hole during practice rounds and its yardage is among the first checked each day of the Tournament. "They can make that hole a distance where some of us don't have a club for it,” said Jim “Bones” Mackay, who carries Phil Mickelson’s bag. “You wear out 4-iron, 5-iron, and next thing you know you have to hit a hybrid in there."

The tee was pushed back 35 yards to 240 during the lengthening of the course in 2006. That added yardage was significantly more than at any other hole and emblematic of golf’s power surge. The hole’s lengthening put even more stress on players looking to gain traction or keep their round from skidding into a ditch before it really begins. Matt Kuchar’s bid for a Masters title was derailed with a double bogey at No. 4 during last year’s final round. In 2012, Phil Mickelson’s flare toward the left viewing stands revealed something most Masters fans did not know: Augusta National has a tall bamboo thicket left of the fourth green. (The only palm tree on the course is here, too, located back and right of the green.)

Playing in the final group that Sunday, Mickelson hit a grandstand railing with his tee shot and found the bamboo. He couldn’t slash the ball out, took triple bogey and finished tied for third.

Through two rounds, No. 4 was the second hardest hole — only mighty No. 11 played tougher — and had allowed the fewest birdies (seven). No. 5 was tied for 10th and No. 6 was ninth in difficulty. “It’s just a tough stretch,” said Bubba Watson, who made par, birdie, bogey in his first-round 71 on Thursday. “Four is a real golf hole, no matter what the yardage is. Five is tough because of the green complex. I three-putted six from about 60 feet up a big slope.

“So, yeah, I played them even par. So that's what you have to tell yourself, when you do something like that, it’s that you played them even par and you can't get down on yourself.” There has been only one hole-in-one at No. 4 in Masters history. Jeff Sluman, in 1992, hit a 4-iron into the cup from 213 yards. Six players have aced No. 6, the last being Jamie Donaldson in 2013 (7-iron, 177 yards). By contrast, there have been three aces at the 12th hole and 15 at the 16th. Combined, these three holes might have the most undulating, challenging stretch of greens at Augusta National. No. 5, a sweeping 455-yard dogleg left, has two large, deep fairway bunkers that usually mean bogey or worse. Players consider its putting surface the most devilish on the course.

Augusta National

The par-3 6th hole - Juniper