A thorny five par.

Like any golfer who has been lucky enough to play Augusta National, Richard Priory considers the site of the annual Masters tournament to be among the best courses in the world. And it's from the back nine of that fabled layout that he selected his favorite golf hole. "It's the par-five 15th," says the 53-year-old head of Charlotte, NC-based Duke Energy. "I've played it on maybe 10 occasions over the years and loved it every time."

Named Fire Thorn, No. 15 plays 455 yards from the members' tees and 500 from the Masters markers. It's a fairly straightforward hole at which players must hit their drives to a relatively wide landing area on the crest of a hill bordered on both sides by groves of pine trees. "Then you have to decide whether you want to go for the green in two," says Priory, a six-handicapper. "Most good players can reach the green in two because 15 is not particularly long. But there is nothing easy about that shot."

Indeed. The green is guarded by water in front and back, which makes it look like a small and perfectly mowed island rising from a pond, and there's a troublesome trap to the right front - which means any errant approach shot can turn a potential birdie into a double bogey very easily. "That's what I like about the hole so much," says Priory. "There is a very high risk/reward if you go for it, and you can hit anywhere from a six iron to a five wood to the green depending on how well you hit your drive."

For those not feeling so adventurous, the smart play is to lay-up with a short iron and then hit a wedge to the green. But even that can be tricky. "For one thing, most of your lay-up shots will settle on a downhill slope, and that can be very tough, even if it is only a wedge." Priory explains. And, he adds, players have a tendency to hit that shot either fat or thin because it has to be so precise; the green at 15 is quite narrow when measured from front to back, and the water looms ominously.

Priory has had his share of birdies at Fire Thorn, but has never carried an eagle. And as he talks about his favorite golf hole, he remembers the time he managed to shoot a 73 for a round at Augusta, just one over par. "I was thrilled about that, but it took me quite a while to live it down," Priory recalls. "Every time I gave a speech over the next couple of months, the person introducing me always brought that up."

RICHARD PRIORY, CEO, DUKE ENERGY

Augusta National Golf Club 

Location: Augusta, GA

Hole: 15th, par five, 500 yards from the Masters tees, 455 yards from the member markers

Hole Description: A shortish par-five that can be reached in two by good golfers provided their drives stay in the fairway and do not get caught up in the groves of pine trees that guard either side of the landing area. The second shot usually requires a long iron or fairway wood, unless, of course, you decide to lay-up, in which case you will want to hit a short iron down a hill to on area just before a pond that stretches out in front of the green. From there, it's o wedge to the putting surface. A sand bunker sucks up any shots that are short and right, and there's water in back of the green as well. A good approach shot, however, does not guarantee a good score; offer all, this is Augusta, and the greens are famously slick.

Course Architects: Alister Mackenzie and Robed Tyre "Bobby" Jones Jr. laid out the original track, and it has been altered slightly over the years by Jack Nicklaus, Byron Nelson, and Tom Fazio, among others.

Description: Founded in 1931 by amateur golfing greet Bobby Jones and stock broker Clifford Roberts, it's perhaps America's most exclusive club and counts many of the country's top business executives os members. Regularly ranked among the world's best, Augusta National is the site of the annual Masters Tournament, the first leg of golf's Grand Slam. Its par-72 layout measures 6,205 yards from the member tees and 6,985 from the back markers.

John Steinbreder is a senior writer for Golf Week and Golf and Travel magazines and is the author of five books, including Golf Courses of the U.S. Open.