What makes a work of art worthy of being recognized as great is always going to be subjective, and if we’re being honest, there are no wrong answers. It’s probably a stretch to consider a golf shot a work of art, but not entirely. If ballet is art, then why can’t golf qualify?
We were surprised this spring when we started discussing the greatest shots in Masters history, and how incomplete some of the lists felt. We decided to make our own, but with some additional criteria up front. First, we decided to limit our list to the televised era of Masters coverage. Gene Sarazen’s double eagle on 15 in 1935 is certainly one of the greatest shots in Masters history, but there is no footage of it to compare with the others. We have only newspaper accounts to go by. It’s a bit like Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game. You can acknowledge its importance, but also place it in its own special category. The same can likely be said for Ben Hogan and Sam Snead. I’m sure they hit some truly great shots. We just can’t relive them.
MORE: Fried Egg Golf’s 2026 Masters Hub
Secondly, we wanted to take into account the gravity of the moment when the shot occurred. Louis Oosthuizen’s double eagle in the 2012 Masters ends up on every one of these lists, and it’s a truly great shot, but the pressure you’re facing on No. 2 is not quite the same as a hole on the back nine with the lead. You could almost argue Oosthuizen’s 4-iron deserves a category of its own. It’s the best final round shot since Sarazen, but it came so early in the round, it didn’t have the same stakes when it was struck. So we are giving it special designation. It doesn’t make our list, but we acknowledge its greatness.
Here is our attempt (Kevin Van Valkenburg and Joseph LaMagna) at a definitive list for the modern era:
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15. Gary Player’s birdie putt on No. 18 to win in 1978
Did you know that Player still holds the record for the lowest final round (64) by a Masters winner? A lot of what Player accomplished in his career feels like it’s been overshadowed by what an outlandish character he’s become late in life, and the 1978 Masters is at the top of the list. Nicklaus’ victory in 1986 is hailed as one of the greatest moments in golf history, but Player’s victory rarely comes up in the same conversations, even though he was 42 years old and came from seven shots down to win outright. He played the entire back nine with his foot on the gas, and made seven birdies in the last 10 holes to zoom past Hubert Green, Rod Funseth and Tom Watson. All that context is important, but his birdie putt earns a spot on this list because Player knew it was likely do-or-die. He was out well ahead of the leaders. Green had just birdied 15 to take the outright lead at 11 under, and Watson had also made a birdie to get to 10 under. Player flagged a long iron to 15 feet, then trickled in a downhill putt that won him his ninth and final major. It’s also the rare golf highlight that features Vin Scully on the mic, which makes it even better. –Kevin Van Valkenburg
14. Phil Mickelson’s shot through the trees on No. 13 in 2010
A part of us wanted to go with a less obvious choice here, and call attention to a shot that kick-started one of the most memorable back nines in Masters history. In 2004, Mickelson came to the 12th tee on Sunday in a world of trouble. He’d begun the day three strokes ahead of Ernie Els, and now he was seconds away from trailing Els by three. (Els had just flagged it on 13, and if you listen closely to the broadcast, you can hear the roar when Els makes an eagle as Mickelson steps into his shot.) He had no choice but to live dangerously on a hole that typically wrecks players who are tempted to go after the pin. He hit it 15 feet behind the flag and made the putt. That shot into 12 started a run that changed everything. But it’s impossible to ignore the iconic imagery of Mickelson flushing a 6-iron off the pine straw in 2010. In some ways, that moment encapsulated Mickelson’s entire career: Risk, thrill, charm, foolishness. It’s also kind of fitting that he didn’t make the eagle putt. His ability to thrill you, then leave you feeling slightly deflated, is unmatched. So many bad outcomes in that moment were conceivable. Would he dump it in Rae’s Creek? Would he hit the tree and watch the ball ricochet backward? Would he lose the tournament with one calculated risk? Whether or not Phil is one of the 10 greatest players of all time is an interesting debate, but he is certainly the greatest showman since Arnie. It’s hard to imagine we’ll ever see another like him. –Kevin Van Valkenburg
13. Greg Norman’s second shot into No. 17 in 1986
It’s rare to have a shot from a non-winner on these lists, but you will see a couple on ours. That’s how you know we didn’t just pick the usual suspects. Norman’s shot has been mostly forgotten because it was just a footnote in Jack Nicklaus’ most famous victory, but at the time, it meant everything. After leaking oil much of the afternoon, Norman made four consecutive birdies to draw even with Nicklaus, and none was more impressive than the shot he hit on 17 after he pulled his drive left. Faced with tree trouble, Norman hit a low, penetrating runner between two trunks that skipped beautifully up onto the green, 12 feet from the flag. You could drop 50 balls in that same spot and not get it closer, and Norman did it with the Masters on the line to pull into a tie with the greatest of all time. Did he erase everyone’s memory of that heroic shot on the next hole when he sent a 4-iron into the gallery? Absolutely. That might be the quintessential Greg Norman experience. –Kevin Van Valkenburg
12. Nick Faldo’s approach into No. 11 in the 1989 playoff
This shot is one that will likely never be duplicated for myriad reasons. For starters, the playoff holes at the Masters now alternate between 18 and 10, whereas back in the 1980s, if there wasn’t a winner on the first playoff hole (10), they moved on to 11. (You’ll see this routing come up again later on our list.) But more than that, no one is ever going to hit a 3-iron from 203 yards again into the 11th hole. You’ve probably seen the putt that Faldo makes, where he raises both arms in triumph after he rolls in a 30 footer. What you might not remember is that he laces his approach onto a scary part of the green, taking on the water, despite the fact that it’s cold, foggy and wet. It was so cold, in fact, that Faldo and Scott Hoch could see their breath in the air as they lined up putts. It’s fair to say that Faldo should not have won this green jacket. After he made a mess with his approach on 10, all Hoch needed to win was a two-putt from 30 feet on 10. Instead he left his first putt above the hole, and one of the biggest gaffes in Masters lore unfolded when he missed. Faldo pounced, lacing that cold-blooded approach through the fog and into history. –Kevin Van Valkenburg
11. Tiger Woods’ lag putt on No. 9 in 2019
I know what you’re thinking. A lag putt? That’s seriously one of the greatest shots in Masters history? The answer would be absolutely. If you’ve never been to Augusta, you really can’t conceive of how much slope there is in the ninth green. Gary McCord once said it was like putting from one end of your bathtub and trying to get the ball to stop by the drain. When Tiger won his fifth green jacket, he was asked if he thought about his dad at any point during the final round, and he mentioned he felt like he was channeling his father’s lessons on the ninth hole, when he told himself to “putt to the picture.” The speed control Tiger demonstrated in that moment to give himself a stress-free tap in was remarkable. When you consider everything that was in play, the fact that Tiger had not won a major in 14 years, it’s not an exaggeration to call it the greatest lag putt in tournament history. –Kevin Van Valkenburg
10. Vijay Singh’s second shot into No. 15 in 2000
Strictly on difficulty, few shots rival Vijay Singh’s long-iron into the 15th in 2000. At the time, the man from Fiji clung to a two-shot lead, but a nearby roar on the 16th hole shortly before Singh addressed the ball suggested his lead might be narrowing. In six previous Masters appearances, he had never finished better than T-17, but here he stood with a green jacket on his fingertips. From 210 yards in the left side of the fairway to a left hole location, Singh needed nothing short of perfect execution. Execute, he did. Singh hit a towering hook around the trees that landed softly on the front section of the green, where the ball’s curvature and sidespin guided it about 30 feet beyond the hole, effectively sealing Singh’s first Masters victory. It was a masterclass from one of the era’s true ball-striking masters, delivered when he needed it most. –Joseph LaMagna
9. Tiger Woods’ second shot into No. 8 in 2011
If we wanted, we could have made this entire list shots by Tiger. The fact that we showed some restraint is admirable. This is another entry on the list that didn’t produce a green jacket, but it’s too good to leave off. It’s also our only entry from the first nine. With Rory McIlroy in a free fall, suddenly the 2011 Masters was up for grabs, and a half dozen players climbed into contention. Tiger’s 3-wood to set up an eagle that vaulted him (briefly) into a tie for the lead isn’t memorable just as a display of power, it’s memorable because it’s a display of artistry and strategy, knowing which way the ball would kick off the mounds so that it would funnel to a back pin. It’s a blind shot, so even Tiger could not have known how good it was until he reached the putting surface, but the fist pump he throws when he rolls in the eagle putt lets you know even he knew how good it was. –Kevin Van Valkenburg
8. Jack Nicklaus’ eagle on No. 15 in 1986
There are at least three shots from Nicklaus’ back nine that could have grabbed a spot on this list, but his birdies on Nos. 16 and 17 would have been meaningless without the jumbo bird he made on 15. Nicklaus’ superpower was always that he could hit long irons straighter and higher than anyone, particularly under pressure, and his second shot into 15 is what started the most memorable stretch of golf the Baby Boomer generation ever watched live. Vern Lundquist gets all the credit for his “Maybe. Yes, sir!” call on 17, but for my money, Ben Wright calling Nicklaus’ eagle putt and following it up with “There life in the Old Bear yet!” is one of golf’s goosebump moments. –Kevin Van Valkenburg
7. Sandy Lyle’s approach from the bunker on No. 18 in 1988
Rarely in Masters history does the champion birdie the 72nd hole to win the tournament. In 1988, that’s exactly what Sandy Lyle did. A bogey on No. 11 and a double bogey on No. 12 posed the first threat of the day to his chances of winning, but a lengthy birdie putt on 16 pulled him back into a share of the lead. Playing one group ahead, Mark Calcavecchia, posted four at the last, meaning Lyle needed par to force a playoff. When the Scotsman pulled a 1-iron into the left fairway bunker close up against the lip, he wore the agony on his face, fully aware that par had suddenly become a daunting endeavor. But he rose to the occasion, cleanly picking a 7-iron from 145 yards up the hill and directly over the flagstick, feeding back down the slope to a mere eight feet. Lyle buried the putt, securing his first Masters title with one of the most improbable clutch birdies in Masters history. –Joseph LaMagna
6. Jack Nicklaus’ putt on No. 16 in 1975
Tom Watson once said that he didn’t really understand how to close out a major until he watched Nicklaus in 1975. He chased down Tom Weiskopf and outlasted Johnny Miller in one of the great duels of all time. This entry could easily be about the majestic 1-iron that Nicklaus hit into 15 from 230 yards to set up a birdie, but the shot that really put a dagger in Weiskopf came after Nicklaus hit a mediocre approach into 16. Faced with a 40-foot putt that he knew he probably needed to make, Nicklaus drained it, then leapt into the air with his putter aloft like an Olympic sprinter who had just broken a world record. He practically jogged to the 17th tee. Poor Weiskopf couldn’t help but feel rattled. He hit a poor shot that was woefully short, he bogeyed the 16th, and Nicklaus held on to win his fifth green jacket by a single stroke. –Kevin Van Valkenburg
5. Arnold Palmer’s chip-in on No. 16 in 1962
There was a two-and-a-half-year stretch, from 1960 to halfway through 1962, where Arnold Palmer was really the only golfer who really mattered to America. He was the reason people wanted the game on television, wanted coverage in newspapers, and wanted him in commercials hawking products. He wrestled the game away from the aristocrats and gave it to the masses. The Masters was still in its infancy as a television product. Only the final four holes were broadcast, only six cameras were used, and it was still in black and white. The footage of Palmer chipping in from 50 feet isn’t great. You can barely see the ball as it trickles toward the hole. But it is, without a doubt, one of the shots that thrust the Masters into the zeitgeist. Palmer was, in the moment, trailing Gary Player and Dow Finsterwald and running out of birdie opportunities. He had won the Masters twice previously and entered the final round with a two stroke lead, but now the tournament was slipping away. He had not made a birdie all day, and on 16, he’d sent his approach over the green. The pin was on the lower tier, seemingly miles away. Palmer sent his ball trickling down the slope, then jogged after it when it dove into the cup. He followed it with a birdie on the 17th hole, and defeated Player and Finsterwald in an 18-hole playoff the next day. Jack Nicklaus defeated Palmer in a playoff at the U.S. Open two months later, the first of Nicklaus’ 18 majors, and Palmer responded by winning the Open Championship in the summer. It was the beginning of the end of Palmer’s reign as the dominant force in the sport. He won the Masters one final time in 1964, but Nicklaus won three green jackets in a four-year span. A new world had arrived. –Kevin Van Valkenburg
4. Bubba Watson hooking a wedge around the trees in 2012
It isn’t hyperbole to suggest that Bubba Watson is one of the only players in the history of golf capable of pulling off the shot he hit on the 10th hole in the 2012 playoff against Louis Oosthuizen. After yanking his tee shot deep into the Georgia pines, Watson’s path to victory appeared slim. To reach the green, he needed nothing less than a 40-yard left-to-right hook with a high-lofted club. Oosthuizen’s ball rested just short of the green, in fine position to salvage a par following an errant tee shot of his own.
In one of the most iconic and replayed moments in Masters history, Watson dipped into his bag of tricks and produced the exact shot the moment demanded, hooding a 52-degree gap wedge from over 150 yards. The shot hooked so violently and with so much spin that it took a hard right turn up the heavily contoured 10th green, before yielding to the slope and releasing to 10 feet. Few players would have had the gall to attempt the shot Watson pulled off. Fewer still possess the creativity and skill to execute it. The shot may not have even been possible for a right-handed player, given the challenge of slicing a modern golf ball as much as the trees required. Sure, Oosthuizen failed to save his par and Watson only needed a two-putt to lock up his first major championship, but that shouldn’t significantly diminish the brilliance of one of the greatest recovery shots of all time. –Joseph LaMagna
3. Rory McIlroy’s second shot into 15 in 2025
“The shot of a lifetime.” Jim Nantz’s call didn’t just capture the difficulty of the 7-iron McIlroy slung around the left-side trees at Firethorn from 207 yards. It distilled a decade’s worth of pent-up tension. There was St. Andrews in 2022, where McIlroy entered the final round tied for the lead only to be hunted down by Cameron Smith’s closing 64. Los Angeles Country Club in 2023, where a sloppy wedge on the par-5 14th led to a costly Sunday bogey in a one-shot defeat. Or Pinehurst in 2024, where missed short putts on 16 and 18 paved the way for Bryson DeChambeau to grab the trophy. Time and time again, spanning more than a decade, McIlroy failed to deliver in the most pivotal, career-defining moments. Standing in the fairway on 15, McIlroy appeared doomed for a similar fate. Though he still held a co-lead, he’d just carelessly double-bogeyed the 13th followed by another poor bogey on 14. The wheels were in motion for another heartbreaking collapse and an intensification of one of golf’s loudest, most painful narratives. Instead, McIlroy summoned the shot of a lifetime, flushing a 7-iron that cleared the water hazard with little room to spare and set up a short eagle attempt. Ultimately he missed the eagle putt, but the birdie proved to be enough to get him into a playoff where he closed out the fourth and final leg of the Career Grand Slam. We considered putting this shot at No. 1 but didn’t want to fall victim to recency bias. As time goes on, McIlroy’s approach into 15 could very well mature to where it’s considered the greatest shot in Masters history, at least in the television era. Given the moment, the stakes, and the degree of difficulty, McIlroy’s second into 15 belongs high on the pantheon of all-time Masters shots. –Joseph LaMagna
2. Tiger Woods’ chip-in on No. 16 in 2005
There isn’t a lot new to say about the most famous chip in Masters history, and maybe the most famous chip in the history of televised golf. Yes, it’s true that Davis Love III made a similar shot while in contention at the 1999 Masters; the 16th hole truthers love to bring it up every time these lists come together. And it’s probably accurate to say that the shot isn’t as difficult as the lore surrounding it now. If it doesn’t go in and instead stops on the lip, Woods walks away with an easy par. But part of what makes it an iconic sports moment is the way it unfolds, the way the drama builds almost in slow motion. Verne Lundquist’s iconic call is part of that, but even more important is the fact that it’s the biggest star in the world on one of the most famous holes in the world doing something that feels like magic in the heat of a major championship. It’s also the greatest organic branding moment in the history of sports, the way the Nike Swoosh appears and holds for a half second, just before the ball dips into the hole. How many hacks bought boxes of mediocre Nike golf balls because of this moment? Hand up, I will admit to buying a few. If you really want to get persnickety, it’s worth pointing out that Woods actually bogeyed the next two holes after this shot. It’s a forgotten piece of the Tiger legend. Chris DiMarco nearly won the Masters on the 18th with a chip of his own that lipped out. But that’s what makes it an important piece of history. It did contribute to an iconic victory, and decades from now we’ll still be watching that replay asking the same question Vern did: In your life have you seen anything like that? –Kevin Van Valkenburg
1. Larry Mize’s chip-in on No. 11 in the 1987 playoff
In 1987, Larry Mize birdied the 18th hole in regulation to earn a spot in a three-man playoff featuring Greg Norman and Seve Ballesteros, two of the best players in the world. In the first playoff hole, Mize’s birdie putt for the win barely ran out of steam and tailed just wide of the left edge of the 10th hole, inches from seizing the tournament. Ballesteros uncharacteristically three-putted to eliminate himself, leaving Mize and Norman to duke it out in a second round of sudden death on No. 11.
From 20 yards behind Norman’s tee ball, Mize wiped his approach way out right into 11, leaving a treacherous, long, 45-yard chip shot to a green sloping away from him towards the water. Norman, meanwhile, found the right side of the green, taking complete control of the tournament and knocking on the door of his first Masters win. Then, magic happened. With daylight fading, Mize stepped up to the ball, clipped a delicate sand wedge that bounced twice before reaching the green, checked up slightly as it rolled towards the flag, struck the pin, and disappeared. As Mize leapt around with both fists in the air before turning to the heavens, the camera cut to Norman, who looked as if he had seen a ghost. Perhaps he had — his own from a year ago, when he’d suffered his first true heartbreak at Augusta, bogeying the last to give Nicklaus his sixth green jacket. Now needing a miracle, Norman missed. Mize was officially crowned the winner.
Considering the totality of the moment — the do-or-die nature of a playoff, the hometown story, the intimidation of going head-to-head with one of the best players of the era, the emotional whiplash from the previous hole, and the sheer difficulty of the shot — Larry Mize’s hole-out chip on No. 11 is a deserving choice for greatest shot in Masters history. -Joseph LaMagna
Honorable Mentions
Ernie Els’ second shot into No. 8 in 2004
With Mickelson looking shaky early, Els wasn’t afraid to rise to the moment. He hit a beautiful long iron into the uphill green, and used the mounds to feed the ball in close to a front pin. He made the short eagle putt and grabbed the lead. Mickelson eventually came to life, and won the Masters with a back nine 30, but Els’ approach to grab the lead was sublime. –Kevin Van Valkenburg
Jordan Spieth’s Saturday Night Flop Shot in 2015
Every single entry on our list is from a final round except for this one. Why make an exception? Because it’s arguably the most important shot of Spieth’s Masters victory. He had just double bogeyed the 17th hole, then missed the green with his approach on 18. He was facing a downhill lie to a difficult pin. Considering he had a four-shot lead, he probably should have played for bogey. Instead, he hit a terrifying flop shot and saved his par. It changed the psychology of the entire final round. You can find video of the flop at the end of the daily highlight clip reel on this Masters page. –Kevin Van Valkenburg
Jack Nicklaus’ birdie putt on No. 17 in 1986
One of the most replayed Masters moments in history, and one of the most memorable calls with Verne Lundquist shouting “Maybe… Yes, sir!” as Nicklaus raises his putter into the sky. The difficulty of the putt, however, is often overlooked. Nicklaus knew the putt was going to break right, but then straighten out at the end. One little bit of theater I’ve always loved too, the way Jack looks at the sky and shakes his head as he’s walking off the green. –Kevin Van Valkenburg
Tom Watson’s birdie putt on No. 17 in 1977
By 1977, it seemed like Watson was on the cusp of dethroning Nicklaus as the best golfer in the world, but he had not proved it just yet. That changed at the Masters, where he held off a charge from Nicklaus with this emphatic fist pump after a delicate birdie putt. Nicklaus thought all he had to do was make a par at the last to sneak into a playoff, but when he heard the roar from Watson’s birdie, he was so rattled, he dumped his approach in the front bunker and made bogey, letting Watson waltz up 18. –Kevin Van Valkenburg
Scott Hoch’s chip on No. 17 in 1989
Yes, Hoch’s name is synonymous with choke after he missed a 10-inch putt to win the Masters in a playoff against Nick Faldo. But coming down the stretch in that Masters, he hit one of the greatest chips from behind 17 green that you will ever see. Did it result in a par save? It did not. But much like Mickelson’s shot through the trees on 13 or McIlroy’s shot into 15, we can’t dismiss a great shot just because someone didn’t make the putt. Hoch was leading the Masters and he was completely boned. He somehow hit the best chip imaginable, one that almost went in. It would be nice to remember him for something other than a sloppy three-putt that allowed Faldo to escape in a playoff. –Kevin Van Valkenburg
Charl Schwartzel’s hole-out eagle on No. 3 in 2011
Schwartzel’s 2011 final round is one of the best Sunday viewing experiences in recent Masters history. After a magnificent chip-in on No. 1, Schwartzel holed out from 108 yards on No. 3, one of the most difficult wedge shots in golf. Many recall the flurry of four birdies Schwartzel rattled off to close the tournament, but he wouldn’t have won without the early-round theatrics on Nos. 1 and 3. –Joseph LaMagna
Scottie Scheffler’s 3-iron on No. 18 in 2022
For my money, Scheffler’s 3-iron into No. 18 late on Saturday evening in 2022 is the most underrated shot of his career. After losing his tee shot left and taking an unplayable, Scheffler faced a long, uphill third shot from the pine straw in cold conditions. He hit a perfect 3-iron that bounced just short of the back tier and trundled a few yards over the green to a back-left hole location, an easy spot from which he saved bogey. It wasn’t the flashiest shot you’ll ever watch in your life, but few pro golfers would have saved bogey from the position Scheffler was in. He saved bogey and entered the final round with a three-shot lead instead of a two-shot lead en route to his first Masters victory. High degree of difficulty, immaculate strike. Quintessential Scottie Scheffler. –Joseph LaMagna
Tiger Woods’ approach on No. 6 in 2011
If you had to pick the most underrated, underappreciated shot in Woods’ Masters career, this would get our vote. In an attempt to give himself an uphill putt to an impossible front pin, Woods hits a slinger draw to the right side of the green that then rides the slope and makes a beeline for the pin. You can hear him when the ball is in the air say “Be perfect!” which is another indicator that he knew exactly what he was doing. Many times during his career, Tiger overwhelmed Augusta with power, but this shot? This is art. –Kevin Van Valkenburg
