Masters Week is Finally Here
By Les Bailey
It’s the second week of April, spring is in the air, and the Azaleas are blooming. All of that can only mean one thing…Masters Week is finally here !! The world’s most iconic Golf Tournament is laden with tradition, so be prepared to spend a week with the traditional words and phrases dominating every conversations from opening conversations that start on Monday morning, and will not end until a New Green Jacket is presented on Sunday afternoon. It’s The Masters.
2012 defending Masters Champ, Bubba Watson got the benefit of the first tradition. He get’s the #1 badge that is reserved for the previous year’s winner. He even Tweeted us a pic. Watson will also be able to select the menu for the Past Champions Dinner on Wednesday evening.
What a better way to kick off Master’s Week here at Pro Golf Now than some history about the one thing that is still here from the start..Augusta National Golf Course.
The Augusta National Golf Course was founded by Bobby Jones, and Clifford Roberts on the site of an old Indigo Plantation. It was designed by Bobby Jones, and legendary course designer, Alister MacKenzie. It was opened for play in 1933, and Clifford Roberts served as the first Chairman from 1934 until 1976. It has hosted The Masters since 1934.
The Masters is one of only four Major Tournaments on the PGA Tour, and is the only major that is played on the same venue every year. Augusta National was ranked number one in the 2009 Golf Digest’s list of greatest 100 courses, and is currently the number ten ranked course on Golfweek Magazine‘s 2011 list of best classic courses in the United States.
Augusta National has went through changes over the years to accommodate the changes in equipment. The largest change was done in 2005 where the lion’s share of the 500 yards that have been added were instituted. The golf course now 7435 yards, plays to a par of 72, and does not have an official rating. During the 1990 Masters, a team of USGA officials unofficially rated the course at 76.2, and it does not possess a slope rating.
Nick Price, and Greg Norman share the course record of 63. Nick Price set his record in 1986, and Norman in 1996.
If you are going to watch the Masters, there are some terms you will need to learn, like Amen Corner, The Big Oak Tree, The Eisenhower Tree, Ike’s Pond, and Rae’s Creek. If you are a fan, you already know that Rae’s Creek runs through Amen Corner. The Eisenhower Tree is located 210 yards from the 17th tee, and was named The Eisenhower tree because the former president, who was a member, hit the tree so many times with his drive that in 1956 he proposed that it be cut down. Former Chairman, Clifford Roberts adjourned the meeting, not wanting to offend the former president before a vote could be taken.
Then there’s The Crow’s Nest, The Eisenhower Cabin, Founders Circle, The Hogan Bridge, The Nelson Bridge, and Magnolia Lane. All terms you will hear for the next week, and of course..I forgot The Butler Cabin. All part of the traditions, and beauty of Masters Week.
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