Augusta National: There's Nothing Like it

Mike Dudurich

Posted 2009-04-06

Whether you're attending for the first time or you've been to the Masters multiple times, the feeling is the same once you get to the main entrance of Augusta National Golf club. You can feel it, there's something palpable about this place. Some might say, hey, it's just a golf course, but it's much more than that. This is a cathedral, a meticulously manicured canvas for one of the most elite fields in golf on which to create their version of Masters history.

Take a walk with me and see some of the things that make "The National," as it's known in Augusta, so special.

Get through the scanning process at the main entrance and you emerge into a plaza. A fairly bustling area, you get the impression the plaza was once a mostly forested section of the grounds, with several large trees still standing. It's no accident that one of the first buildings you see on the grounds is the largest of the golf shops. If you've ever been to a U.S. Open, the shop is the equivalent of the humongous merchandise tent that's become a staple of every Open. Shop to your heart's content, but make sure you have lots of green and/or your favorite piece of plastic in your wallet. On the opposite side of the plaza is a Masters Museum with artifacts and displays showing the historic events that have taken place at this spectacular venue.

A concession stand and public facilities are part of the understated buildings in the plaza. As you make your way through the plaza, you'll come to one of the National's landmarks: the huge scoreboard adjacent to the first fairway. Like all of the other scoreboards on the course, it's manually operated. No electric, LED scoreboards anywhere on the course. It's one of the early meeting places and before you even get out onto the course, you can see what's going on in the tournament.

Take a left and walk back up the hill toward the first tee and the back of the clubhouse. On the way, you'll see the small "official" golf shop and then the clubhouse and its annexes. What strikes you at first is the huge tree "the big oak" with its sprawling branches. This monstrous tree was planted in the 1850s, making it somewhere around 150 years old.

It's one of the most popular gathering places for credentialed media, golf industry leaders, players, caddies. It's also the area where players exit and enter the clubhouse on their way to the first and 10th tees and putting green. You can't get into the clubhouse unless you have the proper credentials, but it's what you always imagined. Very "old south," very traditional, very Masters.

Between the clubhouse and the putting green you'll see dozens and dozens of tables with umbrellas lined up where lunch can be had under the bright blue sky that is as much a part of the masters as those legendary pimento cheese sandwiches. If you go past the putting green, you'll get a glimpse of the Par 3 course, a 9-hole layout that is the site of the Par 3 Contest Wednesday of Masters week. If you get into a Masters pool (for entertainment purposes only, of course!), remember that no player who wins the Par 3 contest has ever put on the green jacket on Sunday night. The next stop of note comes up on your right side. It's the practice range, where you can watch the game's elite work on their games for the four-day test that awaits.

Go just a little further and you get to experience the Masters most famous "Kodak moment." Just past the practice range is the end of Magnolia Lane, the fabled main entrance to the club that is limited to players, officials and club members. You can take pictures looking down the lane toward the main gate, but the nice man in the security uniform won't allow you or anyone else any farther than the edge of the lane.

Inside the circle driveway are two flowerbeds on a raise knoll known as Founders Circle. The flowers are planted to form the outline of the United States and a flag stick rises from the approximate location of Augusta. Be prepared to stand in line, however, if you want to get a picture taken there. It's one of the most photographed spots at the club.

You'll notice in the general area of the clubhouse, and down the left side of the 10th fairway, the 10 Augusta National Golf Club Cabins. They provide lodging for members and their guests. One of the cabins is named the Eisenhower Cabin because the Club built it for President and Mrs. Eisenhower for their visits to Augusta National. Perhaps the most famous cabin is the Butler Cabin, where the made-for-TV presentation of the green jacket is held Sunday evening. You've now made your way around a very wonderful place. You've gotten your bearings and you're ready to go out to the golf course.

We'll take the walk around the National next time.

Start a Feedback Thread Or Talk About This Article

About Mike...
As a sports writer for over 35 years, Mike Dudurich has seen a lot of great things, covered spectacular events, but his passion is, and has been golf. He recently ended a 29-year career at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and will now be a frequent contributor on GolfGearReview.com. Mike hosts a weekly golf radio show on 1250 ESPN in Pittsburgh from the beginning of April through the end of August. The show airs Saturdays from 8-9 a.m. and can be heard online at http://stations.espn.go.com/stations/espnradio1250/show?showId=insidepghgolf - Listen to Mike Here!.

Home - More Golf News & Reviews
Start a Feedback Thread Or Talk About This Article

Didn't find what you need? Try our site search: