ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- As defending champion Tiger Woods and other top professional golfers get ready to tackle famed Augusta National in the 70th Masters Tournament, another course designed by architect Alister MacKenzie -- the University of Michigan Golf Course -- is included in a listing of top holes designed by what Sports Illustrated calls "golf's greatest course architect."

The U-M Golf Course's signature No. 6 hole -- a 310-yard par 4 which plays from an elevated tee to a two-tiered, kidney-shaped green protected by four bunkers -- is the second hole on the Alister MacKenzie Dream 18 as selected by a five-person panel that includes three-time Masters champion Nick Faldo and golf course architect Tom Doak. The listing of "the best holes ever designed by Augusta National architect Alister MacKenzie" is featured in SI's Golf Plus special edition previewing the Masters (April 4).

"MacKenzie created boomerang-shaped greens at every course he designed," reads SI's description of the U-M Golf Course's sixth hole. "Set into a hill with many compartments, this remains the wildest of them all." The par-3 14th hole at the U-M Golf Course sports a similar green which is less severe in its slope.

Other highlighted holes in the Dream 18 include three from Royal Melbourne (Nos. 4, 6 and 10) in Black Rock, Victoria, Australia; two from Cypress Point (Nos. 9 and 16) in Pebble Beach, Calif.; two from Augusta National (Nos. 12 and 13) in Augusta, Ga., and two from Crystal Downs (Nos. 5 and 8) in Frankfort, Mich.

A par-71 layout which is nearly 6,700 yards from the championship tees, the U-M Golf Course was designed by MacKenzie in the late 1920s and opened to the public in the spring of 1931. In the spring of 1994, the course reopened following a multi-million dollar renovation. The course recently hosted Big Ten Conference Championships in 2004 (men's) and 2005 (women's).

The U-M Golf Course was rated No. 3 among collegiate golf courses by Golf Digest in its September 2005 issue, and it is regularly listed among Golf Digest's top courses in the state.

U-M Golf Course | Hole No. 6

Contact: Tom Wywrot (734) 763-4423

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