It was all smiles in the Augusta National press room on Thursday morning as Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson and Gary Player sauntered in following their ceremonial opening tee shots. Clad in their hard-won green jackets, the trio of legends fielded questions from the press corps, including a brave journalist who asked Tom Watson to name the one change he would make to Augusta National if he could. Watson didn’t hesitate.
“I’d fill in the creek in front of no. 12,” the two-time Masters champion quipped.
Laughter ensued as Jack Nicklaus asked Watson how many times he hit in the water over the years.
“Don’t brag that you only hit it in the water once,” Watson teased Nicklaus. “I didn’t count how many times I hit it in the water, but it was too many times.”
That’s when Gary Player chimed in from stage right with what is sure to go down as the quote of the day. Take it away, Mr. Player.
Tom Watson was asked what change he would make to Augusta National.
"I'd fill in the creek in front of No. 12."
Laughter ensued. Then Gary Player added:
"That's an 8-iron, and it's crippled more people than polio.
"You can't knock it in from the water unless you've got a… pic.twitter.com/Go9E0CXrop
— Cameron Jourdan (@Cam_Jourdan) April 9, 2026
RELATED: Jack Nicklaus roasts himself for rough opening tee shot: ‘I don’t want to kill anybody’
“It’s a great example for golf architects, you don’t have to make the holes all that long,” Players said. “I mean look at that [no. 12], it’s an 8-iron and it’s crippled more people than polio!”
Players dates himself somewhat with the polio reference, a disease that, thanks to modern science, has largely been eradicated. Still though, it’s an all-time Gary Player soundbite, and lord knows he’s had more than a few knee-slappers over the years.
Player wasn’t done there, however. He also went on to elaborate on how the hole may have singlehandedly “damaged” Jordan Spieth’s career after his quadruple bogey while leading the Masters by five strokes in 2016, and dropped this bit of wisdom from the man himself, Bobby Jones.
“Funny enough, Bobby Jones said to me, ‘Make your pin at the back of the green,” Player said. “There’s a lot of merit in that. I knocked it in the hole from the bunker one year. You can’t knock it in from the water unless you have a hell of an underwater stroke.”
Never change, Mr. Player. Never change.
RELATED: The Augusta National ‘flex’ that Viktor Hovland’s buddies are probably sick of
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
