Master’s Road Trip

After six years of trying to get tickets, last September I received a letter from Augusta National Golf Club, it was notification that I was chosen for Master’s tickets. Finally Master’s week was here, we jumped in the car and took off for Augusta. The night before our visit to the hallowed grounds of Augusta National Golf Club, we were sitting in Garnets Sports Bar, listening to stories from fellow patrons who had attended the Masters that day.

The greatly anticipated day had arrived, we hopped in the car and made the hour long ride down South Carolina Route 20 towards Augusta. We took our exit, fought our way thru traffic and within ten minutes we were parked in the Augusta National parking lot and walking toward the entrance. While waiting in line to go through the metal detectors, everyone was sharing stories from either the day before or visits from years past. The weather early in the morning was colder than the expected forecasted 75 degrees, it was in the high 50’s with a slight breeze, but warmed up into the 70’s around 1:30.

Once inside we were overwhelmed by the enormous size of the course and the entire facility. We needed a plan of attack, which way do I want go, what do I want to see first? We first hit the huge merchandise building, there was no line to get in and it was pretty packed (so we thought) but easy to navigate through. This place had everything under the sun to purchase. 45 minutes and a hit of $800 later, we walked directly over to UPS shipping just off to the side of the merchandise building, packed everything in a box and off to New Jersey it went.

With that out of the way, we proceeded to the Masters Exhibit area set up across from the merchandise building. Walking through the exhibit you learn just about everything about the tournament, its significant milestones and past champions. After the quick detour through the exhibit, we were off to the first tee to check out the sign in sheet (posted on the 1st hole and 10th hole) to see who is currently on the course and which hole they started on.

Deciding on a game plan, and on advice from several people, I decide we would walk the course backwards, starting at the18th green. As we proceeded over to the 18th green (Par 4, 465 yards, Holly), we walked directly in front of the club house which was roped off, no public access allowed. Nice Georgian style club house, I realize the inside of the club house must be amazing to see, but the outside wasn’t all that impressive, for being the 2nd rated golf course in the United States and possibly the world. Still, seeing it in person still gives you the chills, knowing all the history that is contained within its walls is simply amazing. The grass around the club house was cut a little taller then the rest of the course. The normal grass all over the facility, in the woods, out front, behind buildings, anywhere I looked, was cut to match the second cut of the fairway, tight and not a weed in the entire complex!

Walking up to the 18th green, you realize just how hilly this course is compared to the relatively flat appearance portrayed on TV.
The greens are very undulated and super fast since they are cut so short. As we strolled down the 18th green, the fairways were cut as short as our typical greens in this area (South Jersey), and the fairway was narrow with a small shoot between towering pine trees to hit your ball into off the 18th tee.

As we walked down the 17th fairway (Par 4, 440 yards, Nandina) someone mentioned Tiger was on the tee box. Everyone stopped and watched as Tiger (some 300+ yards away) swung away, suddenly we heard a thump on the ground and a ball rolling toward us. We ran over and stood behind the ball, facing in the direction of the green which Tiger would be hitting toward. Within seconds, there were people surrounding us and the ball. Everyone was getting excited to see Tiger hit the ball front and center, just a few feet in front of us. Tiger walked up the side of the 17th fairway and motions to the gallery guard to toss his ball over to him, everyone was disappointed and started booing Tiger. He just stood there waiting for his turn to hit, un-phased and unemotional. Standing about four people deep along the fairway, we watched Tiger hit his approach shot to the green and off he went with all of his fans in tow.

Sitting in the stands at the 16th green (Par 3, 170 yards, Redbud) over looking the 15th green, 16th pond and green, we watched players come through and hit their tee shots onto the green. Following the players tee shots, the patrons start chanting, Skip it! Skip it! 99% of the players move in front of the tee box and skip balls over the pond onto the 16th green. Half of the players might have benefited from skipping the ball across the pond during the tournament, and if they even thought about not skipping the ball, that was it, the boo birds were out. That was a pretty neat tradition which lasted all day. We went back later in the day and sat on the hill across from the stands for a few hours to watch more players skip balls across the pond and onto the green.

We proceeded down the 15th fairway (Par 5, 530 yards, Firetorn) up to the 15th tee box, while waiting, we watched Justin Rose on the 14th green chip and putt for about 30 minutes. Rose chipped balls from every position around the green and followed up with putts from every spot on the green while his caddie feverously took notes on speed, break and distances. When Rose finally finished, he walked down the 15th fairway towards the green, he was only practicing chipping and putting that day, his caddie was only carrying a few clubs. While we were standing there, Phil and his foursome where approaching the 10th green. They all hit their approach shots and walked up to the green. Phil’s ball was approximately 45 feet away from the hole, he putts his ball to within a foot, lines up the tap in and just as he is about to hit the ball, one of the other players says ‘that’s good Phil’. He picks up his ball and watches the other three players putt out. They finished the hole by placing a few balls in different spots and putting, checking break, speed and distance control. Just as Phil’s foursome was finished and started walking to 11th tee box, Adam Scott walked over to the 15th tee box, he sets up and lets the driver fly; what a fluid swing and long drive.

The walk from the 14th green (Par 4, 440 yards, Chinese Fir) to the tee box seemed to take forever, the incline of the fairway gives this hole a much longer feeling. From the tee box, it’s a blind shot. We stayed behind the 14th tee box until Phil came through. As we waited for Phil’s group, we watched most of the young guns drive the ball over the crest of the hill. Most of the older players didn’t quite make it to the crest, making this hole even longer than necessary. We stayed and watched Stuart Appleby and his group play their approach shots to the 13th green and tee off on 14. Appleby’s ball was the only one in their group that ended up in the front hazard at the 13th green. Then, just like Tiger, the crowd was coming, following Phil. We watched Phil’s approach to the 13th green, sticking it within 10 feet. Standing directly next to the tee box we watched Phil hit his tee shot well over the crest of the fairway, which prompted a few spectators to use a few choice words regarding the distance of the ball. Phil acknowledged his fans and proceeded down the fairway with his group. After Phil’s group cleared the tee box, we proceeded down the 13th fairway (Par 5, 510 yards, Azalea) to a point between the 12th tee box (Par 3, 155 yards, Golden Bell) and the 13th fairway. There was no access for the public to the 13th tee box or the 12th green. From there we watched a few groups come through and play the 12th and tee off on 13.

Heading to Amen Corner the scenery is 100 times more impressive than on TV and provides an unforgettable view. I stood at the point between the 12th and 13th holes and just soaked in the beauty of the lush greens, the Hogan (12th) and Nelson (13th) bridges, flowers, towering trees, the white sand and Rae’s Creek, the greatest three-hole stretch in all of golf.

It was 11:30 and we found ourselves next to a food vending area, so we decide to grab lunch and sit in the 11th green/12th tee box spectator stands and eat. We pick up two egg salad sandwiches (1.50 each), one famous palmetto and cheese sandwich (1.50 – gotta try it while at the Masters), two sodas (1.00 each) and two moon pies (0.50 each), for a grand total of $7.50. Quite a bargain for lunch for two. As for the world famous pimiento and cheese sandwich, I can say I’ve tried it. From the front row, we watched Gary Player (playing in his 51st Masters), Retief Goosen, Trevor Immelman and Tim Clark play the 11th, 12th and 13th holes. Gary Player hit his tee shot onto the 12th green to within a few feet and did a little dance, the crowd erupted with cheers for him.

After lunch, we headed down the 11th fairway (Par 4, 505 yards, White Dogwood) up to the tee box just as Robert Allenby reached the tee box. Playing by himself, he went through his typical pre-shot routine and ripped a driver down the middle of the fairway. He said out loud ‘that was a good one, no need to hit another”. He grabbed a bottle of water, talked to the fans for a minute or so and started on his way.

Walking down from the 11th tee box to the 10th green (Par 4, 495 yards, Camellia), the green is a little uphill from the fairway in front of the green. The fairway dips down slightly about 20 yards from the edge of the green and continuously rises until you get to the tee box. It was such an incline, by the time we reached the tee box, we both were huffing and puffing. This is definitely one hole TV does not do justice to regarding the elevation change from tee to green.

After reaching the tee box, we decided to make another quick stop at the pro shop for a forgotten item. The line is long and all the way out to the main walkway. It moved quickly though, and we were in and out in about twenty minutes.

With the back nine behind us and the front nine to go, I decide to go against our original idea of walking the course backwards and walk the front nine from tee to green. We started at the 1st tee (Par 4, 455 yards, Tea Olive) and walked down to the green. Once there, we watched Padraig Harrington practice putting from different spots around the green.

We walked over to the 2nd tee box (par 5, 575 yards, Pink Dogwood) and waited for the next group, apparently with perfect timing and what a treat. Up walks Fred Couples, playing with Daniel Chopra and another player. Literally standing a few feet away, Couples is joking around and has a huge smile as he takes his typical silky smooth swing and stripes it down the fairway.

The 3rd hole (Par 4, 350 yards, Flowering Peach) was the only hole of the day that we walked from tee to green without any players playing the hole. It was nice because you get to see the hole without anyone in the way. The fairways are cut so tight it plays just like a typical course’s greens and the second cut, which seems to be everywhere else on the property isn’t much higher short and tight to the touch.

Walking up to the 4th tee (Par3, 240 yards, Flowering Crab Apple), a group had teed off just before we got there and were walking down the fairway. We followed the down and watched Adam Scott, Bernhard Langer and Paul Casey play their approach shots to the green and putt numerous balls from around the greens.

Walking uphill from the 5th tee box (Par 4, 455 yards, Magnolia) to the green we saw a group of golfers practicing on the green. It was Jim Furyk, Ben Crewashaw, Mike Weir and Niclas Fasth testing their putting skills from different locations on the green. We stayed for a few minutes and proceeded to the 6th tee box (Par 3, 180 yards, Juniper) expecting to get a good viewing spot at the tee.

We underestimated the movements of the fans, there was a large crowd watching a group on the putting green and waiting for the Crenshaw group. This area seems to be one of the high points of the course, looking out over the 6th and 16th holes and you can see numerous holes beyond, and each hole is progressively at a lower elevation. We started the short and steep decent to the green and saw VJ, Tom Watson, Fuzzy Zoeller and Craig Stadler finishing up on the green.

Noticing that the tee box on 7 (Par 4, 450 yards, Pampas) was fairly empty, we went over and got a front row spot just in front of the tee markers. A short 10 minute wait and finally Watson’s group approached the tee box. Tom Watson wasted no time, he teed his ball and swung away hitting a straight but short drive. Craig Stadler pretty much matched Watson’s drive with a little extra distance. Then Fuzzy Zoeller ‘the jokester’ stepped up jawing away at Stadler and VJ and pulled his drive short and left. VJ stepped up, Fuzzy jumped in front of him just as he was about to swing and addressed the crowd, ‘Now this is how you hit a golf ball, go ahead VJ’. VJ, started his pre-shot routine over again and was about to swing and Fuzzy jumped in front of him again, asking him a few questions most of us couldn’t hear due to the crowd laughing at Fuzzys odd body movements while he was talking. VJ seemed to be getting annoyed, again he started his routine over, this time VJ waited and Fuzzy was still and quite, he seemed to swing with anger, not the typical VJ swing and smoked his drive about 40 to 50 yards past the other three. Fuzzy walked over to the middle of the tee box, patted VJ on the back and explains to the crowd, ‘That’s how you hit a golf ball’. VJ keeps a smirk on his face and walks down the fairway with the group, not saying a word.

Once Furyk’s group got to the tee box, and since VJ’s group was still in the fairway, the guy next to me calls out a Texas comment, and Ben Crenshaw walks over and has a pleasant conservation with the fellow Texans standing next to me. Finally the group was ready to tee off, Furyk’s swing is just un-explainable, Crenshaw, Weir and Fasth have a typical smooth, stable swing.

After Furyk’s group clears the fairway, we decided to take a break for a while. We walked over to the 16th green and sat on the opposite side of the spectator stands on the hill and watched the golfers play through and skip balls across the 16th pond. At this point, the sun was out and it warmed up.

After our break we proceeded over to the 8th tee box (Par 5, 570 yards, Yellow Jasmine), barely able to see the green, it seems a mile away, but is not the longest hole on the course. We walked half way down and watched Geoff Ogilvy, playing by himself, hitting 4 or 5 extra shots towards the green. As we walked up along the fairway, spectators really could not see the green due to the mounds surrounding it, only once you pass the green do you get a full view of the green. This green has huge undulations due to the mounds directly surrounding it.

We finished our Augusta National Golf Club course tour by walking down the 9th fairway (Par 4, 460 yards, Carolina Cherry) toward the green and clubhouse. We walked up to the green which was guarded on the right by two large bunkers and watched VJ’s group finish putting and head off to the clubhouse.

Having seen almost everything on the course, we head over to the practice range area. On the way over, we noticed the line to the pro shop (now 3:30) is endless and static. There were a few golfers using the practice facility to the left of Magnolia Lane. We proceeded over to the second practice area located to the left of Magnolia Lane, by way of the clubhouse and Founders Circle; the Augusta National Golf Club logo in yellow flowers on the front lawn. I noticed again, how the outside of the clubhouse just doesn’t move me, a plain, Old South style building. Now, if I entered off Washington Road and drove up Magnolia Lane (seems like it is a half mile long) to the club house, that would be a rite-of-passage and might change the way I would look at the entire experience. We finally got to the second practice area, there were a few more golfers including Jeev Milkha Singh, Tim Clark and Phil Mickelson utilizing the facilities. I watched Phil for about 45 minutes, it was like watching a machine. Phil was on the left side of the drive range, Bones was out on the range moving white towels which were placed at measured distances from about 50 yards to about 120 yards from were Phil was hitting balls. Using his wedge, while being observed by Butch Harmon and David Pelz, Phil would hit about 10 shots to a single towel. Out of 10 shots, and no matter which towel he was shooting at, he landed the ball on the towel 4 or 5 times, the rest landing within a few feet. Everyone just stood there in amazement as he kept this up, towel after towel at all distances, simply amazing. After about 45 minutes, we decided it was time to leave Augusta behind; we walked past the front of the club house one last time, took a long look at the Augusta National logo, the front of the clubhouse and down Magnolia Lane then headed for the car. Within ten minutes, we were in our car and on the way home, I was already looking forward to coming back next year!

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