I’ve been fortunate enough to see my fair share of Major Championships and Ryder Cups over the last 15 years.
Until this year, however, a Masters was not one of them. Still, it’s just another golf tournament, right?
Eighteen holes, penal bunkers, slick fairways, swathes of fans, giant stands, etc. There’s a lot more to Augusta National and The Masters.
After a stroll round the course in the heat of Wednesday afternoon, here are a few extra things I noticed, some of which came as a bit of a surprise.
1. The Color
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I was led to believe everything – and I mean everything – is green at Augusta. Actually, it’s the mix of colors that hit me as soon as I joined a queue of patrons and entered the course for the first time.
Green may be the predominant (fairways, putting surfaces, pines, even the bin bags), but a fine spring day clearly encourages everyone to wear bright colors. It’s a shame the rain that has been forecast may change that over the weekend.
And then you have the iconic yellow flags. Against the green stands and, in many cases, perched upon on elevated greens, you can see them from a distance – tiny targets fluttering away in the breeze. The bunkers, meanwhile, are almost pure white. On a day like today, you could throw a beach towel down and work on your tan. Not permitted, of course, but you get the picture. Caribbean-like.
2. 18 is steep
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The rolling terrain at Augusta National isn’t a secret. Perhaps the steep slopes weren’t that obvious on television years ago, but modern coverage has made this more clear to the spectator watching at home on the sofa. Still, for Masters debutants like myself, I hadn’t quite expected the course to be as testing on the joints as it was.
It hits you as soon as you see the course for the first time. For me, it was the 18th. I’m embarrassed to say that I had to ask what hole I was looking at. Fortunately, no-one looks at you as though you’re insane if you ask a silly question – the patrons and staff here are super friendly.
Once I knew that I was looking at 18 from behind the green, where LIV Golf trio Brooks Koepka, Cameron Smith and Jason Kokrak messed about with their stupidly good short games, I was shocked. I knew the approach to 18 played uphill, but television still doesn’t capture just how hilly Augusta is and just steep the climb from the 18th fairway is.
3. The Golf Shop Is Ridiculous
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In a good way….
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