Q&A With Ben Crenshaw
Thirty years after his 1995 Masters win, the two-time champion discusses what he recently saw at Augusta National, the Champions dinner, Carl Jackson, Jack Stephens and more.
Thirty years later Ben Crenshaw’s 1995 Masters win remains one of the sweetest and most improbable in tournament history. To commemorate his second Green Jacket, The Quadrilateral chatted with Crenshaw about his recent round at Augusta National, the Champions dinner (where he is the host), his otherworldly partnership with caddie Carl Jackson, and more.
GS: You recently played Augusta National. How did it look or play differently given the effects of hurricane Helene?
BC: The turf is incredible. Maybe as good as I’ve seen it. I thought after [post-Helene] that it's opened up and it might make it a little more susceptible to whatever breeze is blowing. I don't know that, but you could conceive that if the wind gets up. Some spots on the course got hit more than others.
GS: It looks like a line from six tee to 1 fairway was particularly hard hit.
BC: It does look like something danced around there and took sections out here and there. Not terrible. But you could tell a difference.
GS: The fifth is now entering year six since it was lengthened and the fairway bunkers were remodeled.
BC: I was thinking about that hole yesterday and how MacKenzie thought it was somewhat of the direct opposite of the Road hole with a different angle to the bend. But the same sort of thoughts. It used to have one bunker on the left that if you carried it, you were in much better position. Of course, it was a lot shorter then, but you had to hit it solidly to get over it for the most part. But it was simpler in look, and you had one bunker that you didn't want to be in. Now you’ve got to play way out to the right. So most of time you’re just playing green from a tough angle.
[Editor’s note: not the angle the original architects intended with their green designed to reward those cutting the corner.]
GS: Have you been thinking about the Champions dinner and your planned remarks?
BC: I have got some great things to say about Scotty, of course. If I'm not mistaken, this is Bernhard Langer’s last year and it could be Freddies [Couples] final one, but we won't know until game time. I’ve certainly got some things to say about those two.
GS: Have you ever seen a great player with footwork like Scottie’s? Particularly someone who hits the ball so consistently well?
BC: No. I tell you the most amazing thing to me: it's different every time. But that is a way for him to get his right side through and he usually finishes over on his left. It fluctuates. It's amazing. He also plays such smart golf. You always look at his approach shots and they’re always on the proper side of the hole, the proper strength, and he just plays smart.
(Scheffler makes a fascinating cameo in the film showing how Ben’s longtime caddie Carl Jackson aided his understanding of the course after having been introduced by Crenshaw.)
GS: It’s the thirty-year anniversary of your win in 1995. What continues to stand out?
BC: It was amazing how things just kept going in a positive manner. If I made a mistake, I got it right back immediately. It was soothing to have that happen, but I was hitting it solid. I had a very simple swing thought that Carl helped me with, and it just worked. It worked the whole week. I also made some good putts when I needed, and as I say, I didn't have any bad patches. If I did make a mistake, I got it right back and kept the train moving.
GS: What was the swing tip?
BC: He told me to move the ball back in my stance and make a tighter turn. So I had a good, I'd say, “sensitivity” with my approach shots. They ended up in good spots and it just kept going. And then my mind didn't wander that week. Somehow. If my mind were ever to wander at all on the course, that was going to be the week with Harvey and everything. But something just told me to just keep focused and say, “Look, you're here, it’s your favorite tournament, you're playing well and you're having fun.” And it was just amazing how there were no extraneous thoughts.
GS: How were you playing coming in?
BC: I had missed the cut in New Orleans and went back home. And then we buried Harvey, and that was Tuesday. We went back over there Tuesday afternoon and hit some balls in the afternoon that day. And I just hit it solid, and I felt confident that I was eager to try it on the first day, then saw some good things happen. The first round was a good, solid one, and it just kept going from there.
GS: You were tied with Brian Henninger going into Sunday and at one point fell one stroke behind Davis Love through 12-and-half holes (15 holes for Love). Were you a scoreboard watcher?
BC: Not too much. I was just playing the course and somehow I was just intent on keeping things simple. For some reason my mind just did not stray except on 13 on Sunday. I hit my drive and it was one of the longest drives I’ve ever hit. I had a five iron to the green and I pulled it over the left of the green. I got upset about that. I had a hard pitch, but got it up and down somehow to keep things moving.
GS: And then the incredible approach into 14 after you pulled your drive.
BC: I hooked it too much, but it did get a nice bounce off one of those pines and it was just enough to give me a shot at the green. I had to hit a shut-faced eight iron and draw shot, and it went up there just perfectly.
GS: One of the last pure run-up shots into a green we’ve seen at a Masters and to one of your favorites.