There's so much to love about Augusta:
1. It is, almost without question, the world's greatest course for television viewing. The tall pines lining the fairways and huge slopes throughout the course give a backdrop that allows viewers to see ballflight in a way unlike any other course on Tour. The best example is the incredible 13th, the site of filming for the best Hogan footage I've ever seen (search YouTube for Ben Hogan ball flight).
2. Speaking of the 13th, it may be the world's best par 5, and Augusta may have the best collection of 3 shot holes in the world as well.
3. It's among the most well-realized courses in the world aesthetically. I get that there are a handful of non-members who wish it looked "scruffier" or something, and we can nitpick about the first cut and things like that. But the restrained use of huge flash-faced bunkers, wide corridors of monochromatic fairway, and the pines give the course a nearly unmatched sense of place that measures up to and enhances its lofty status in the game. It has none of the houses of Pebble Beach, the hotel signs of The Old Course, out of place bunkers of Merion, or highways of Oakmont. It's hard to believe that you're watching an urban course when you see the place.
Regardless of how well the course upholds its intended architectural principles (and I think it does it better than most would give credit for), it upholds the history of the game as well as any. As the game has modernized, become more technologically driven, and become infiltrated by capitalism, Augusta is a rare place that still makes Rickie Fowler's clothes look stupid, beer carts seem ridiculous, housing developments seem like an intrusion on the game, and wielders of cavity backs and ProV1s look overmatched as shotmakers.