The Masters 2012

The Masters 2012- My 1st journey to Augusta

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I always envied others who had attended the Masters over the years.  Tickets are hard to come by and when you can find one, they are expensive.  

When I earned my Membership to the PGA in 2006, I earned a free ticket every year to attend but between work and having children and the challenge of finding my husband a ticket we didn’t make it to Augusta until this year (thank you Missy).  So I write this recap not to gloat about my experience but to share it with you who have not yet been to this very special place.

We drove down that Monday to Colombia, SC which sits about an hour northeast of Augusta.  From VA to Colombia was about 8 hours with a few pit stops along the way. The hotel room was reasonably priced at $150 a night and we got up early the next day, had breakfast and drove to Augusta for the Tuesday Practice Round! 

There are multiple exits you can get off- we got off right on Washington St. and with a quick two turns we were in the parking lot! We followed the crowd and walked for less than 5 minutes right to the main gate. No shuttles…just walk right up.  Once we got through the metal detectors it was about 9amJ  we walked on and right up the side of the range and practice area.  I didn’t see a ball on the range… the picker cart was picking the balls up as fast as they were being hit.  A few guys were practicing but instead of sticking around to watch, we took a look at the pairings board and tried to see where we wanted to start. We knew we wanted to walk the whole course, but we decided to head for the back nine first.

To get to the clubhouse/ 1^st and 10^th tees you walk through this little “village” where they have refreshments, outdoor seating, restrooms, pay phones(ha) and a merchandise shop.  We were amazed to see the $1.50 pricing on the sandwich menu… $3.00 for domestic drafts very nice. I think we ate and drank all day for $20! The merchandise tent looked a little busy so we figured we would wait until later to shop.

Past the village, on the right, the famous scoreboard… nice and clean and ready for the week. Turn left and up the hill is the clubhouse and the “old oak” which is very large…. And from the top of this hill you see a wide open view of many of the holes (1tee, 2green, 9 green, 18 green, 10 tee, you can almost see down to 15, 16 and Amen Corner if you had binoculars!). I had no idea it was that open and elevated from the back of the clubhouse.  

We saw Jiminez and Olazabal putting on the green up there, so we followed them down 10 and started our journey. We noticed a few things… everything was SO green- if it wasn’t green, it was pine straw.  No brown dead grass, muddy areas anywhere. The put this green spongy gravel  to mask worn out areas… and the staff is very cognicent of moving the ropes around in certain high traffic areas throughout the course of the day so the grass gets a rest. As we made our way around the back nine we noticed a few other things...

Not one tent on the course. Every building is a hard structure and all the camera towers are permanent and painted green of course. No wires! All the wires are underground. No trucks or cart traffic around, I heard there are underground tunnels for food services, etc.The overall vibe is just relaxed and peaceful. Everyone is just so happy to be there.  You never see anyone running, as a matter of fact we saw an official stop someone that was so he would no cause any excitement.

 The practice round was great to go to because you could get right up to the ropes no problem. If you want to bring a chair you can plant it in the designated “sitting” areas” around any of the greens or tee boxes and just leave it there for the day.  They have painted lines on the grounds on certain hilly areas for people to stand and create natural aisle ways for traffic patterns. Speaking of that, the logistics and traffic flow even down to the bathrooms and concessions were so remarkably thought out... they don’t let you go out the in door… everything is first in first out, it moves quick and the beers are already poured and waiting for you.   

Yes we bought some merchandise, you can't go to the Master's and not grab some souvenirs.  Hats for everyone back home a shirt for me:) All the staff sits behind long counters and in front of a wall of shelves holding all the shirts (which are displayed very clearly on manikins above the shelves) to provide you with your selection in your size. No hunting or folding or unfolding on tables or racks... just like everything else, they've got it down to a very organized science- shirt buying, who knew?  Of course they have it all besides shirts- jackets, flags, logo balls, sunglass cases, cashmere sweaters and much much more. We managed to escape just a few hundred dollars lighter, but no regrets other than I wish I had bought more!  We were told they can ship it home for you or check it for the day... but we waited until late in the day to do our shopping and just carried the bag with us.  I would recommend going to the merchandise tent out behind # 5 which was a little less crowded and just as good of a selection as the one by the main entrance.

 

Finally, the golf course…  I guess the thing that I was most amazed about was how hilly the course was and of course right down to the greens how much severe undulation there is compared to what you can see on TV.   I just have such a different appreciation for courses once I see them in person and this is no different. Amen corner was perfectly peaceful just as I had imagined it would be, the only thing missing were the azaleas which were past their bloom. Still just gorgeous.

The fact that I was able to walk on such historic grounds with my husband was definitely a bucket list kind of thing.… I can look forward to this amazing event every year whether or not I ever attend again I will look at it from a whole new perspective and I do hope that you will get your chance to have this great experience one day as well and in the meantime, you can get a little taste of Augusta from my story.  Thanks for reading! 

Teaching with other Teachers

It has been a real pleasure this year to have a few opportunities to teach alongside other teachers. 

Fran Rhoads (left) , PGA Director of Instruction at TPC Avenel approached me about bringing a golf school to Stonewall this year  and it was an awesome experience to spend time with his members and share both of our thoughts with them for a whole day.

This past Sunday, Mark Guttenberg, PGA (below left)  brought Tim Kremer below right) of Spirit of Golf to town from FL and we co-hosted a "Golf and the Mind Game" clinic at the course. I learned a lot from Tim and was able to learn some new mental techniques also help and speak with the participants throughout the day as they tried to apply the new concepts as well.

I typically teach alone and do not get to bounce ideas off others or get feedback from colleagues. I go to many teaching summits and seminars to get fresh ideas and share ideas most of the time.  So to have a chance to do that at my home course and in action is refreshing.  I am definitely going to continue to pursue ways to bring new "blood" and experts and experiences to my students and Stonewall and encourage my fellow professionals to do the same. We should use each other to help each other and everyone will learn more!