Spending a day at Augusta

[PThomas]

Kevin - thanks much for the link.

Sometimes I think Augusta has not a very small membership but no membership at all -- just a few very kindly souls who take care of the place so that guys like Mr. Wilson and his friend can have the whole course to themselves and have such a magical day.

i wonder what it would take to get them to let us GCAers have the run off the place for a day....perhaps 100 Chicago deep-dish pizzas

along the same lines, reminds of when SNL offered the Beatles something like $5000 for a reunion on their show...the Fab Four really considered doing it , i read......

[George Freeman]

Later down in the "posts", the guy says it was "the tightest driving course I've ever played".

Interesting...as I was always under the impression that it was pretty open off the tee and you couldn't get into a lot of trouble.

[Sam Morrow]

Later down in the "posts", the guy says it was "the tightest driving course I've ever played".

Interesting...as I was always under the impression that it was pretty open off the tee and you couldn't get into a lot of trouble.

I think it used to be that way until Hootie came along.

[Jerry Kluger]

I thought that many of the tournament tees are set back in chutes.

[Nick Church]

I read the post over at golfwrx several times.  Just kept shaking my head & smiling.  What a great experience & very generous of the fellas to share with the golf fanatics at large.

That said, I can't help myself from thinking that the black helicopters will swoop down and make those pictures disappear.  Some of the inside shots appear to reveal too much of what's behind the curtain at Oz.  I think Augusta still relishes it's privacy, in whatever way it may enhance the club's mystery & allure.  (Op Ed - I think the club is well within its rights to enjoy its privacy in whatever fashion it sees fit).

Still, a lot of fun to feel like I was sneaking a peek.

[David Neveux]

George,

It's not much tighter than good ole Timber Ridge, however the conditions from a birds eye view appear to be somewhat superior....

[Brian Potash]

If it was my friend who invited me to play Augusta, and I brought a camera, and I took pictures inside of the clubhouse, there is no way i would then post all the clubhouse pictures etc. on a bulletin board.

If that same friend had been invited to play in the masters, it makes it even worse.

glad he did it, but probably not too smart.

[Eric Pevoto]

Amazing.  Almost a full page and not one mention of hats in the clubhouse.  I'd expect the golfwrx crowd not to notice. 

The tee shot on #11 looks surprisingly tight.  Could be the camera though.

[Sam Morrow]

If it was my friend who invited me to play Augusta, and I brought a camera, and I took pictures inside of the clubhouse, there is no way i would then post all the clubhouse pictures etc. on a bulletin board.

If that same friend had been invited to play in the masters, it makes it even worse.

glad he did it, but probably not too smart.

That was one of my first thoughts.

[Tom Huckaby]

Amazing.  Almost a full page and not one mention of hats in the clubhouse.  I'd expect the golfwrx crowd not to notice. 

I definitely noticed that.

I just did not assume it was the custom - or requirement - to remove such at Augusta.  Oh when in doubt one does remove such, for sure - but perhaps there they either don't care, or maybe even specifically allow such.

Still you are correct - someone should have commented.  We are slacking.

 

[PThomas]

Amazing.  Almost a full page and not one mention of hats in the clubhouse.  I'd expect the golfwrx crowd not to notice. 

I definitely noticed that.

I just did not assume it was the custom - or requirement - to remove such at Augusta.  Oh when in doubt one does remove such, for sure - but perhaps there they either don't care, or maybe even specifically allow such.

Still you are correct - someone should have commented.  We are slacking.

 

i'm guessing at least 1 more comment is forthcoming...

[Tom Birkert]

I know several people who have played there and I'll admit to being a touch jealous... Maybe one day!

The 12th there is supposedly based on the 7th at Stoke Poges (now Stoke Park) and those pictures do show the similarities. I didn't realise that green had that much slope in it.

The one thing I'm always told by people who have been there is that the tv cameras do not capture the severity of the slopes there.

[jeffwarne]

Removing one's hat indoors is considered good form or good manners.

When a GM is running around telling people to please not wear their hats indoors (as is so common at many clubs-particularly the wannabe clubs --citing a club rule) it does not IMHO elevate the status of the place.
Kudos to AGNC for not feeling the need to rectify this (evidently notso) grave situation.

What's next? signs that say no talking with your mouth full?
You could post that next to the"no changing shoes in the parking lot" sign.

Manners should not have to be mandated-if so it kind've defeats the purpose.

[Martin Del Vecchio]

reminds of when SNL offered the Beatles something like $5000 for a reunion on their show...the Fab Four really considered doing it , i read......

It was $3,000, the standard fee for a musical performance.

Paul was visiting John at the Dakota, and they were watching the show.  They seriously considered showing up, but didn't.

My favorite part of the story; a later episode featured George Harrison at the show, and Lorne Michaels explaining patiently that the $3,000 was for the entire band, and that George Harrison alone does not merit $750.

[Tom Huckaby]

Removing one's hat indoors is considered good form or good manners.

When a GM is running around telling people to please not wear their hats indoors (as is so common at many clubs-particularly the wannabe clubs --citing a club rule) it does not IMHO elevate the status of the place.
Kudos to AGNC for not feeling the need to rectify this (evidently notso) grave situation.

What's next? signs that say no talking with your mouth full?
You could post that next to the"no changing shoes in the parking lot" sign.

Manners should not have to be mandated-if so it kind've defeats the purpose.

Concur with all of that.
But re the photos - showing hats so worn - before we damn the wearers, is it not possible Augusta either doesn't care, or actively allows such a thing?

Just asking.  As I say, I default to hats off (as these guys probably should have). 

TH

[Rick Sides]

My question is, if someone qualifies for the Masters, does anyone know how many practice rounds they let them have?  I heard last year that Brandt Snedeker played Augusta almost 50 times last year to prepare. I don't know if he knew a member or they let the pros prepare

[Will MacEwen]

If it was my friend who invited me to play Augusta, and I brought a camera, and I took pictures inside of the clubhouse, there is no way i would then post all the clubhouse pictures etc. on a bulletin board.

If that same friend had been invited to play in the masters, it makes it even worse.

glad he did it, but probably not too smart.

Bad, bad Karma for the friend come April.

[George Pazin]

I would not doubt this course being rated #1 in the U. S. if it had been built in the past couple of years and never been on television.  

I'm not an english major, nor do I play one on TV, but ... huh?  What?  

What Mike said.

Thanks for the link, Kevin.

[Dan Herrmann]

I'm drooling...  What a great treat for that gentleman....

I remember watching Luke List, the MidAm Champ play a practice round at the '05 Masters with Tiger.  Tiger couldn't have been nicer.

[Jeff Shelman]

I'm shocked no one is ripping Augusta for having a beverage cart. 

Great photos. I'm going in April for a practice round and I can't wait.

[Matt Bosela]

My question is, if someone qualifies for the Masters, does anyone know how many practice rounds they let them have?  I heard last year that Brandt Snedeker played Augusta almost 50 times last year to prepare. I don't know if he knew a member or they let the pros prepare

I'm under the impression that they can play as many rounds as they'd like in preparation for the event.  No member needed.

[jeffwarne]

Removing one's hat indoors is considered good form or good manners.

When a GM is running around telling people to please not wear their hats indoors (as is so common at many clubs-particularly the wannabe clubs --citing a club rule) it does not IMHO elevate the status of the place.
Kudos to AGNC for not feeling the need to rectify this (evidently notso) grave situation.

What's next? signs that say no talking with your mouth full?
You could post that next to the"no changing shoes in the parking lot" sign.

Manners should not have to be mandated-if so it kind've defeats the purpose.

Concur with all of that.
But re the photos - showing hats so worn - before we damn the wearers, is it not possible Augusta either doesn't care, or actively allows such a thing?

Just asking.  As I say, I default to hats off (as these guys probably should have). 

TH

Tom,
I wasn't condemning them at all.
I was congratulating Augusta for not being worked up about it.
Either they forgot or didn't know any better.
A gracious host doesn't embarrass people who inadvertantly make social mistakes.

Hopefully the folks in Augusta didn't care, but my guess is anyone who usually takes their hat off indoors would continue to do so, even if it was "actively allowed" (whatever that means).
Also, when in the deep south, never confuse a southerner's silence with him condoning something.

[Kevin_Reilly]

Not a word about the [Dr. Evil voice] LASER [/Dr. Evil Voice] that appears to be in use here?   

[Kenny Baer]

Talk about some Debbie Downers.....who sees that group of pictures and gets upset about hats in clubhouse and the caddy using a laser.........only on GCA 

You know what though, Augusta gets ripped so often on this sight, many times correctly so, but it is still one of the best golf courses in the world, is it as good as it could be...probably not but it still is a gca kind of golf course.

They try to keep it firm and fast
It is wide open compared to every other major championship course with the lone exception being St. Andrews.
You have to know the course to score
Many times you fire more than 20-30ft away from the flag
Blind Approaches
Crazy bounces
More short game intrigue than almost any course in the world.

The 3 things that shocked me when I saw Augusta in person were
1. The elevation changes; you just CAN NOT TELL ON TV. The 2nd shot at #9 is straight uphill; the walk up 8 is unREAL; the plunge down hill on the 2nd shot at 10 is like something you see in Highlands, NC.
2.  The greens are the most severe I have ever seen; to me they almost looked unplayable; you CAN NOT tell that on TV.  They are just plain wild.
3.  The course is wide open; even with the rough it is still the most wide open parkland course I have ever seen; 1 or 2 tight corridors but still it is wide open compared to 99.5% of every other golf course in the US.

[Joe Fairey]

Kevin,

I must say that this photo essay is quite impressive....however,  I believe that Steve Wilson should check with the folks at Augusta and get their blessings on this...I believe that  the club does have a very strict policy or code of conduct which restricts anyone from posting Augusta National-related photos, digital images, or any other information on the Internet, personal websites, blogs, etc...

The Masters is an invitational...and I would hate to see this have any effect on his invitation....