Those Famous Bridges at Augusta National Golf Course

Viewers of The Masters hear plenty of references during the tournament to bridges on the golf course that have been dedicated to famous golfers. There are three such bridges, and they are named in honor of three of the most famous golfers from the early part of the tournament's, and the golf course's, history.

The 3 Famous Bridges of Augusta National

The three famous bridges at Augusta National Golf Club dedicated to golfers are the Hogan Bridge, the Nelson Bridge and the Sarazen Bridge. All were dedicated at the club before 1960. The club has honored golfers since then, too, with dedication and renaming ceremonies — see our Augusta National Landmarks feature for photos and info about those.

That feature also includes more information about each of the bridges, photos, plus the text that appears on the plaque next to each bridge.

The three Augusta National bridges are:

• Hogan Bridge: Dedicated to Ben Hogan on April 2, 1958. The Hogan Bridge crosses Rae's Creek, taking golfers to the No. 12 green.
• Nelson Bridge: Dedicated to Byron Nelson on April 2, 1958. The Nelson Bridge crosses Rae's Creek, taking golfers from the No. 13 tee to the No. 13 fairway.
• Sarazen Bridge: The first bridge at Augusta named for a player, the Sarazen Bridge was dedicated to Gene Sarazen on April 6, 1955. It crosses a small body of water fronting the No. 15 green.

As you can see, all three bridges were dedicated within a three-year period in the 1950s, the Sarazen Bridge first in 1955. The idea to dedicate a bridge came about because 1955 was the 20th anniversary of Sarazen's famous double-eagle and eventual playoff victory in the 1935 Masters. Sarazen's double-eagle happened on the 15th hole, which is where his bridge is located.

The Hogan and Nelson bridges cross Rae's Creek before and after golfers have played the 12th hole, the little par-3 that is often the key element in Amen Corner. It's only appropriate that Hogan and Nelson are tied together at Augusta National, since they were connected to one another in so many other ways over their lives: both born and died in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, both caddies at the same club as juniors, both major champions. And Nelson defeated Hogan in an 18-hole playoff to win the 1942 Masters.

The Nelson and Hogan bridges were dedicated on the same day at Augusta National.

By the way, not every golfer is thrilled about the dedications to the three legends above — or at least about not receiving such an honor themselves. For example, Jimmy Demaret, the tournament's first 3-time champion, once jokingly (we think) complained, "Hey, I won three times and I never got an outhouse."