The Masters

Where to start?



The Masters practice round last year was a dream come true. It happened as a dream probably should. I dreamed it, thought about it and knew that someday it could happen. I left it alone but never forgot it. Perry, my father in law, called and said our good friend Terry had some tickets to the Monday practice round; apparently someone in his family was ill and couldn't use the 3 tickets. At the time I didn't even know it was possible to see a practice round. I had been to the PGA practice rounds in Louisville at Vahallla but the Masters seemed untouchable to me.



We got the phone call and invitation about two weeks prior to the event last year. It went something like this. Bryce, you wouldn't be interested in going to a practice round at Augusta would you? To which I said, don't ask me stupid questions. Of course I'll go. For those who know me there aren't many spontaneous bones in my body. We made the arrangements and the rest is a magical memory. I drift there often.



It started with the drive into Augusta- I believe it was Washington Street. I'm terrible with details like streets or anything minor for that matter. We sat bumper to bumper while people bought and sold tickets. The weather for the day was around 70 but the forecast for the tournament was one of the coldest on record.



We found a spot, parked and entered the grounds at Augusta. I had seen similar crowds from my days growing up around the corner from Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby. We entered the gates and took a moment to see some of the souvenir booths. You couldn't take cell phones or PDA's inside the gates which touched my heart strings. Once inside we made our way to the restrooms and the large pro shop/gift shop. I was amazed at how reasonable the prices were. I bought gifts for 15-20 people and two nice shirts for my wife and I for around $300. I had a very large UPS box filled and they actually shipped them home from the gift shop for a small shipping fee. It beats toting them around the course all day.



After the gift shop I lost my two companions because with a crowd of people and no cell phones it's tough to stay together. This was fine by me. I was in my own little world of wonder. I noticed several things immediately once we made our way to the actual course. The front side is very hilly much like people say. The grass is like the tightest carpet. Everything that isn't blooming or pine straws is bright green. You can see golf balls from 4 holes away just laying there waiting to be struck. The first players we saw were Davis Love, Scott Verplank and Lucas Glover. I was amazed at the first 7 holes. I am terrible at recounting the layout of a new course I've recently played. I have friends who can tell you hole by hole the layouts of courses they played once 10 years ago. Not me! With Augusta it was different. I can walk through it all. It was very interesting to see the combinations of players during the practice rounds. Some odd combinations as well as some that made perfect sense. During the round I noticed that some players would play a multitude of shots from different areas around and into the green. Other players were very casual and would just play a round of golf.

I didn't worry with a camera to get unbelievable pictures, because the pictures would be the same to me as watching vicariously on TV. Nothing could recreate the impression on my mind. The photos would pale in comparison to the mental imagery I can still draw upon a year later.

I met some interesting people on the course. I met a business guy with a golf apparel company. I met a guy from my hometown. I also met Bob Russell, the retired pastor of my church Southeast Christian. In my seven years at Southeast I never had an opportunity to speak to Bob. I have met Dave Stone our current pastor on several occasions- most notably my baptism. As for Bob, I always wanted just a few minutes to chat or listen really. I ran into him on the back of 7 green, which is to me the most unbelievable spot on the course. Sure Amen corner was great, as well as the par 3's 16 and 6. The special thing about # 7 green, other than my short memorable conversation with Bob, is that you can see several holes from one vantage point. I saw Nick O'Hern playing with his caddy on #15. Tiger Woods and JJ Henry were coming up 17 fairway. Chris D'Marco and Zach Johnson (last years winner) were hitting approaches into # 7. I believe that Steve Stricker was with them of just ahead of them. There was a group teeing off on # 3 that included several foreign stars. There was an all Spanish crew coming down #2 that included Olazabal, Villegas, Garcia and Jimenez. David Howell was teeing off #1 and another group made their approaches from # 8. Last but not least Vijay and John Rollins hit tee shots off #18. What a glimpse!

The last two things that amazed me were the lack of corporate sponsors and fluff inside the gates. In was a family friendly place with a focus on the golfers and the tournament. Secondly, I got a couple famous pimento cheese sandwiches, a snickers and a lemonade for around $5. Beat that at any sporting event in the world!

If you ever get a chance to go, say yes. It will change the way you watch the Masters forever.