Not all Masters participants take advantage of playing Augusta National in the months and weeks before the tournament.

Mike Weir, the 2003 Masters champion, no longer plans a trip because he doesn't believe it helps him prepare.

"It's totally different; it's not even the same golf course," he said. "The course plays much slower; there is none of the roll off when you miss a green. It just kind of stays there instead of rolling 25 yards away. The green speed is totally different."

Padraig Harrington, who is seeking his third consecutive major championship title this week, also skipped the early visit this year.

"I always find that a golf course changes incredibly, even from the Monday through Thursday," he said. "You can turn up there two weeks, three weeks before the tournament, and the temperature being different, the golf ball doesn't travel. It's not the same course."

Tiger Woods, a four-time Masters champion, has made early trips in the past, but usually when he was starting his career or when major changes were made to the course.

This year, only minor changes were made, the most noticeable being the shortening of the first hole by 10 yards.

"I'm not going up there, no," Woods said in mid-March. "They have only basically changed one hole up there. They just moved the tee up."

Reach David Westin at (706) 823-3224 or david.westin@augustachronicle.com.