Only Golfers would be interested!
Really informative and interesting read if you enjoy “The Masters”/Augusta.
1. In the Beginning
The Masters as we know it would never have been, if the USGA hadn’t turned down
Bobby Jones’ request to host the 1934 US Open. Angry at the rebuff, Jones and
Clifford Roberts decided to stage their own event.
2. Bitter Sweet
Course architect, Alister McKenzie, never saw his famous course completed. He
died January 6th 1934, just 2 months before the Inaugural Masters Tournament.
3. The Language
You should never hear the word “championship” on the telecast. The U.S. Open,
British Open, and PGA are championships held by the major ruling and organizing
bodies of the sport (or a vestige thereof in the case of the PGA). The Masters
is an invitational tournament held at a very pretty golf course, given prestige
by the involvement of Bobby Jones. The winner is not the champion of anything.
Other words you shouldn’t hear: “fans,” “bleachers,” “sand traps,”
“front/back nine.” The officially preferred words are “patrons,” “observation
stands,” “bunkers,” and “first/second nine.” That last distinction is aimed at
avoiding use of the phrase “front side” for the first nine holes, leading
inevitably to the so, so vulgar “back side” for the next nine.
4. Respect
Some amateurs have always been invited to the Masters, out of respect for the
career of club founder Bobby Jones. But Jones himself was no longer considered
an amateur by the USGA by the time Augusta National opened. He never competed
for prize money, but his equipment deals and Hollywood instructional short
films made him a professional in the eyes of all, except for the eyes of the
Masters hierarchy, of which he was a part of.
5. Ahhh…the Green Jacket
If you just happen to be the winner of the Masters, you get the honor of
topping off the standard ensemble with a shamrock green blazer. Professional
golf’s version of a beauty queen crowning ceremony, the presenting of the Green
Jacket by the previous year’s champion to the current champion at the
conclusion of the tournament dates back to 1949, when Sam Snead won the
Masters. However, the signature jackets started appearing at Augusta National
12 years prior, when members started sporting them during the tournament so
that they would be easily identifiable by patrons in need of assistance or
directions. Also, when a member hosts guests in the clubhouse, the green jacket
designates who gets the bill. The Masters website has more on the sartorial
back story:
“The club purchased the Jackets from the Brooks Uniform Company in
New York and urged members to buy and wear them at the Masters. Initially, the
idea met a lukewarm reception from the membership, for the heft of the coats
made them warm to wear during a typical April in Augusta. Within a few years,
the Club introduced a lighter-weight version more suited to the season. Today’s
single-breasted, single-vent Jacket bears the Club’s logo on the left chest
pocket and on the brass buttons adorning the front of the coat and each sleeve.
The unmistakable color is known, simply, as Masters Green.”
So does the Masters winner get to take home that fetching piece of
outerwear? He sure does. After the presentation ceremony, a custom version of
the Green Jacket is tailored to the champ’s exact measurements and he gets to
call it his own for an entire year. So, to be clear, a single jacket isn’t
passed on from winner to winner. During the following year’s tournament, he
must return to Augusta National and relinquish the Green Jacket, at which point
it’s placed in a locker but available any time he returns to play at the club.
Seve Ballesteros famously challenged the decision by saying to the Augusta
committee: “If they want it, they can fly to Spain and come and get it.”
6. The Template
The Masters invented the template for what we know as tournament golf. It was
the first 72-hole four day event and the first to use the over/under par
system. The Masters also saw the first grandstands for viewers.
7. Strict But Polite
The level of respect that the patrons of The Master’s have is only surpassed by
their understanding of the game. It is awesome to witness. In the 10+ years I
have been to this tournament, I have never seen a single spectator get out of
line, say something in appropriate or make a scene. It is as if everyone has
collectively agreed to be on their best behavior. There is no need for marshals
to hold “Quiet Please” signs because everyone respects the tournament so much.
As mentioned earlier, they are not fans, they are not a crowd or
even a gallery. They are patrons. You’ll hear it often during the CBS
broadcast. Also, while on the grounds, patrons are told not to run. Walking
only.
If you watch any pro tournament, behind the golfers you’ll see a
cadre of sign-bearers, reporters, photographers, broadcast personnel and
cameramen. Not at Augusta. Between the ropes, competitors, caddies and rules
officials only.
Patrons who show up early and place their chairs and leave will find
their chairs waiting for them when they return. Try that at any other PGA event
and let me know what happens.
More than 40 years ago, during one tense moment, CBS commentator
Jack Whitaker used the term “mob” to describe the scene around a green. The Masters
leadership let his bosses know that he wouldn’t be invited back, and he wasn’t.
8. Value
It’s one of the best-kept numbers in sports—the initiation fee to Augusta
National. With barons like Warren Buffett and Bill Gates, among others, as
members it goes without saying that money isn’t the object. And it isn’t. To
join is reportedly under $100,000, which might be one-tenth of other high
profile clubs in the country. And if you were lucky enough to play the course
with a member, you can probably afford it. Guest fees are said to be about $40.
9. The Reagan Appointment
On October 23, 1983, President Ronald Reagan was playing at Augusta National as
a guest of his secretary of state (and club member) George Schultz when his
round was interrupted at the 16th hole by a disgruntled local named Charles
Harris, who had crashed his truck through the gate and was demanding to see the
President. Harris held hostages at gunpoint in the pro shop for two hours
before Secret Service agents subdued him.
10. Clifford Roberts’ Demise
Augusta National’s co-founder Clifford Roberts, a quiet investor turned
autocrat, was at turns beloved and despised. In the fall of 1977, at age 83 and
in failing health, Roberts walked to a slope next to Ike’s Pond and ended his
own life with a single pistol shot to the temple.
11. The Crow’s Nest
Located above the main clubhouse at Augusta, this is where the amateurs stay
for the Masters week. Bobby Jones spawned the idea and the rest is quite
literally history, lots of it. Eight youngsters who stayed in this infamous
bedroom and gone on to win the green jacket; Nicklaus, Aaron, Watson, Crenshaw,
Stadler, O’Meara, Mickelson and Woods – that’s quite a list. There are four
beds, a bathroom and a living area which is lined with paintings of historical
moments at the Masters and books about the history of the game.
12. Sweet Georgia Peaches
The history of Augusta is much more than golf; it was once home to Fruitland
Nurseries. Owned and operated by P.J. Berckmans and his family the nursery was
one of the most successful horticultural sites of its time in the South.
Located on Washington Road, approximately 3 miles northwest of downtown
Augusta, Fruitland planted millions of peach trees in the 1800s and early 1900s
and made Georgia famous for its sweet Georgia peaches. In 1931, the land was
purchased and transformed into the most famous golf course in the world,
Augusta National. The Berckmans’ family home still remains on the Augusta
National property and serves as the clubhouse.
Email from Hak Joo Choi
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