First, this is a long read... Hope you enjoy...
My first trip to Augusta was speechless and to see it in person was something else. It’s a must. Here’s my story.
A few weeks back I got a text from a buddy “what are you doing April 6th”. Last Tuesday night I flew to Atlanta and stay overnight. My buddy was already down there for work and was going to pick me up Wednesday early afternoon and then head to Augusta. While spending the early part of the day in Atlanta, there were tornado watches/warnings, severe thunderstorm warning, hail warning, flash flood warning and on and on all day long… Never in my life have I ever seen anything like it. I’ll be honest, I was a little scared. Long story short we made it to our rented house in North Augusta, SC which literally right over the border and a few miles from the course. Oh yeah, there was a tornado watch in our area that night as well. GREAT! Nothing happened thankfully….
Woke up Thursday morning to sunny skies w/ a little breeze and that sure put a smile on my face after dealing with a typhoon the day before. We left our rented house around 7:30 for the course. Traffic was not bad going into the course, probably a 15-20 minute wait in the car. When we parked I was blown away by the parking lot, it was like going to a football game at Gillette stadium home of the N.E. Patriots only it was more organized. And mind you Augusta owns the parking lot and apparently there is another lot.. Already I’m thinking this place is MASSIVE. Parked our car and made sure we left our phones in the car. Remember ZERO electronics allowed in Augusta especially during tournament rounds.
We walked to the gate and sure enough it’s like going through security at an airport; empty ya pockets and walk through the metal detector. But these security personnel’s had smiles on their faces and were very friendly unlike the TSA agents… No further comments on that one. Anyways, we grab our stuff and got our Master badges scanned. After we got them scanned, they gave us our Arnie pin (see pic) only given out during the 1st round of the Masters. I have to tell you it’s probably the coolest souvenir I got all week. And now the walk…
My first impression, how big is the place? This is a BIG course…. We walked for about 3 minutes before we saw the practice area… Speechless just how beautiful that practice area is… The range is pretty big with plenty of seats available to watch the players and the short game/bunker area was amazing…. I didn’t spend too much time at the practice area but all I could think was “I could stay there for days and hit balls”..
Next stop, Merchandise tent. When we got there, there was a LONG line and my buddy insisted we come back at noon time. I told him, HECK NO. Not taking any chances of missing out on some stuff especially if I’m only here for one day. So, I begged him to wait in line. So we waited for about 10 minutes which wasn’t bad at all. The line moved along pretty well. Before you get in the store, there’s a green shopping bag which is pretty big. I grabbed one. This Merchandise tent had everything from pictures, ball markers, golf balls, shirts, hats, visors, boxing shorts, pull overs, cups, coffee mug, t-shirts, jewelry, chairs (little ones you see on TV), calendars, belts, socks and the list goes on. Every single item had a Masters logo on it. And you can only buy this stuff here at the Masters. By the time I got to check out my bag was to the top and some… I had to do a double take when I was given the total amount but didn’t hesitate to pay... When will I get to do this again? I will say this, you are paying for great quality.. No doubt about it….
Grabbed our stuff and headed right next door to the shipping area. This was a great setup. Waited for about 10 minutes to finally get our stuff boxed and shipped home… They also have a check in area where you can check in the stuff you bought and pick it up before you head home. But b/c I had a little carry on, there was no way I could fit all the stuff I bought… The box arrived last night at home and my wife was like “WHAT THE HECK!”.. haha.. But like I said and she understands, when will I get this chance again… So with waiting in line and getting the stuff shipped, it was less than an hour.. Not bad at all considering how crowded that area was…
Now, off to the course… I could go on and on but I’ll keep this short and apology in advanced if I’m all over the place… The first holes I saw were 1st tee box and the 9th and 18th green. I can’t begin to tell you how blown away I was with the elevations.. I thought for a minute I was in Vermont… I've heard it’s more elevated than you think when you watch it on TV but boy seeing it person is something else. I didn’t follow anyone and wanted to walk the whole course to see everything… It’s honestly the most flawless, beautiful golf course I have ever seen.. Fairways were immaculate and didn’t think it could get any greener. Even the roughs and bunkers were so beautiful.. Just speechless… My buddy took me to the spot where BW hit his famous shot to win the Masters. WOW!!! Let me tell ya, he had to REALLY bend that shot.. The view from the 18th tee box, good lord… I always thought it was a fairly straight shot.. NOPE.. A dog leg right UPHILL. To see those players for one hit it between the trees and let me tell ya that is one narrow strip. And then to land it where they hit it, that is ONE serious poke… We hung by the 6th green to watch the players hit downhill on a par 3. Saw a few Titleist players; Fowler, Spieth, Adam Scott (he’s one handsome dude btw) and a few others. Pretty cool to watch them putt and study the greens since that 6th green is pretty nasty… And the most beautiful spot of them all, Amen corner. Let me tell you, I had to slap my face a few times b/c I didn’t think it was real… It was everything I expected and more.. I can see why it’s the most crowded area on the golf course… Able to see guys coming down 11, then watch them on 12 and then watch them drive on 13… It’s pretty cool… But that #12 is so perfect…. What I would do to hit one shot……
Here’s what I’ve learned about the course; fairways are TIGHT, greens are small, it’s elevated more than you think, mounds ALL over the fairways and greens so now when I watch on TV I understand why they’re hitting it there and it’s beautiful. Did I mention that?
Oh, can’t forget the food and beers… I tried the Pimento cheese, 2 THUMBS up. Beers was good although you don’t know what brand it was. But I will say this, it was the smoothest food/beer line I have ever witness.. They got it down… And yes, SO CHEAP!!!!
Other things I’ve noticed; so many volunteers never seen anything like it, security guards and cops ALL over the place, it was pretty cool to see the members wearing their green jacket and seeing the logo, absolutely LOVED the old school leader board and there is ZERO electronic displays, hearing the crowd roar from afar was pretty cool to hear and last but not least the bathrooms. Hands down the most beautiful and cleanest bathrooms I’ve ever seen.. They probably had 6-8 volunteers working in there making sure it was cleaned at all time, AMAZING!!
All in all I am so thankful I was given the opportunity to attend the 1st round at the Masters and forever thankful to my wife for allowing me to go at the last minute... It was everything and more… A must for everyone…
Bucket list – Checked.