Sunday 8 April
They say that The Masters starts on the back nine on Sunday but what happens during the week in the lead up to that final back nine is so close to perfection that we could hardly believe our eyes when we witnessed the drama and excitement the last nine holes, plus a couple of extra ones threw up on Easter Sunday.

 

In the lead up to that last nine holes, we had simply been in golfing heaven.  We have experienced so much since arriving.  The first time you set foot on this amazing course sends tingles up your spine.  The tens of thousands of people that come to watch practice is incredible.  The par 3 contest is a great chance to get up close with the world’s best players.  Then the event itself starts and we witness great storylines over the first two days, from the charge of Freddy Couples to the struggles of Tiger Woods.  Moving Saturday is exactly that as 8 players share the lead at any time, and in the end the clear crowd favourite Phil Mickelson is one shot off the lead after another famous back nine charge.

The operation of The Masters is extremely well done and efficient, but everything just seems to happen without a fuss.  They use traditional old manual hole by hole scoreboards, there is not a digital scoreboard, big screen or TV screen anywhere on the course, but you don’t miss anything like that being there.   The leading ten players are up on the leaderboards situated at every second hole or so, usually next to a green with a large grandstand.  As a players hole score goes up the crowd cheers a US players birdie or groans at a bogey or worse.  Every hole has a progress board which shows each players score who is currently on that hole.  This negates the requirement of the walking progress boards and all the walking scorers and television people have to do their job from outside the ropes.  In fact there is no one inside the ropes at all except the players and their caddies.  The boards, although manual, are very quick to put up each score after the players finish each hole.  When you sit in the grandstands you hear these roar’s around the course,  the crowd all try and guess which hole it was from and which player it was until the new score is put up, and the guesses are confirmed or denied. Everyone on the course is in the same boat, no one gets a special seat or view anywhere, even the members, and it isn’t uncommon to be sitting next to one of the green jacketed members in the public grandstands.

Our final day begins with us watching the players tee off the first and tenth tees and hit into the ninth green.  We have meetings with Golf Australia and the Argentinian Golf Association before the leading players tee off. When our meetings are done at 1pm approximately 1 ½ hours before the leaders tee off, we have to formulate a plan for the day.  The crowds on the final day are simply massive.  When we arrived at the course earlier there were green seats everywhere.   The 18^thgreen is full as is 9 and 16. There were already people sitting and waiting in the prime spots on the 16^thgreen, 4 hours before the first players of the day were going to arrive.  Those patrons will have waited there all day and only witness that one hole played, and in the end it was great to see that they were treated to two hole’s in one and a Bubba Watson birdie.

We have forgone the chairs on Sunday as we want to try and chase as much of the final groups as possible, deciding on a mix between getting in the grandstands when we can and getting on tip toes at other times.  We get great seats in the grandstand behind the 1^stgreen and watch the last 8 groups play their first hole.  As the final group get up on the green we hear out first real big Sunday roar.  It starts to get louder and louder finally building to a crescendo.  People in the stand all try and guess where it is from – a few say it sounds like a hole in one from 16. We watch the final group hole out on the first and move to follow them down one.  As we walk behind the grandstand to view of the leaderboard on the 8^thgreen which is adjacent to the first, everyone is pointing at the scoreboards.  Louis Oosthuizen score on 1 shows a red 7 and on 2 shows a red 10, the crowd and us quickly figure out that the roar was for his double eagle 2 on the 2^nd hole!

The holes at Augusta are all so close together and we watch the leaders hit down the hill to the second green while watching the groups in front play 3 and 4.  While there we hear the second massive roar for the day this time it unmistakingly comes from the 16^thand we can see thousands of people going crazy on the bank, no one knows who it is and we later find it was Adam Scott.

It’s tough going trying to watch the final groups and while you can’t always see the hole or the putts go in, you can still get pretty close to the action and the crowd’s reaction certainly lets you know what has happened.   After Mickelson hits a close shot into the 3^rd we know that the crowd will let us know what happens with his putt, so we head back up to the quickly filling 8^th grandstand hoping to see an eagle or better of our own! With no roar from the crowd we assume that Mickelson has missed his putt and we sit in the grandstand on 8 unaware of the implosion that he is having on 4.  When his score changes from red 8 to red 5 as we sit in the grandstand the crowd groan in despair – not really believing what they have seen put up.  We almost see some Mickelson magic when he gets to 8 as his chip for eagle goes close.  The resulting birdie has his tournament heading in the right direction and the stand empties.  With a massive crowd up on 9 and 10 we head further down the course and chose the 13^th green grandstand as our next spot to watch the magic.

The 13^th is the final hole on Amen Corner and where Mickelson made eagle yesterday, we hope to see another special moment.  We arrive and the leader board puts up a bogey for Bubba Watson on 12, the crowd loudly grown, he quickly picks that shot up on 13 and the crowd go mental for him as he tees off the 14^th.  We almost see our magic moment as Oosthuizens chip for eagle hits the pin and just lips out and Mickelsons birdie putt just passes the hole.  At this stage all of a sudden the event seems to have stepped up a notch or two.  The crowd are beginning to really get into it and with Mickelson, Watson and Kuchar on the charge, every time one of their scores is put up on the scoreboard, it results in another loud cheer.  As Mickelson tees off 14 we watch from the grandstand as the crowd urge him on and we head to my favourite part of the course, 15 and 16.

Amen corner seems to me to be the most talked about part of the Augusta layout. It is made up of holes 11, 12 and 13 and every year something does happen there.  They are all wonderful golf holes and look great on TV but are very difficult to watch at the course.  The 15^th and 16^th green have big grandstands around them and the whole left side of 16 is a massive hill which must hold thousands of people.  With the risk rewards nature of 15 and the Sunday hole location on 16 where players use the ball to roll the ball close to the hole, they always seem to throw up excitement.

We find a spot to the right side of 15, about 100m up the hill from the green, and despite the crowds we have a great view of the players hitting into 15 and the 16^th green in the distance.  We arrive just as Kuchar taps in for eagle 3. Bubba and Oosthuizen are next to play and the crowd cheer wildy as Bubba makes the green in two.  Oosthuizen then makes a classy up and down for birdie to get to 10 under,  the cheer is muted and for the first time we get a feeling that the crowd aren’t really on his side.   Bubba makes his birdie as well and we watch him birdie the 16^th in the distance as Mickelsons eagle chance is short on 15.  After the birdie from Bubba to get to 10 under with Oosthuizen on 16 everyone kind of had the feeling that it was now a two horse race.  We get a good spot on the 17^th fairway to watch them both play, Oosthuizen again makes a classy up and down and Bubba’s birdie putt lips out.  Off to 18 and Bubba creams his drive – the crowd all fist pump and high five each other, its pretty crazy at this stage.

The 18^th green and fairway by this stage is chocker full and it is impossible to get anywhere close,  some smart people knowing they can’t see the finish up there head to the 10^th green knowing that should there be a playoff the second playoff hole is the 10^th.  On tip toes we can see Bubba and Oosthuizen hit their approach shots to the 18^th  but we can’t track the ball flight but the muted applause for Oosthuizen and the roars for Bubba let us know who is closer.  We watch from halfway up the fairway as both players miss and the playoff is on.  Lucky for us there is a group to finish and we race off to get our jackets and ties on.  As golf association representatives we are invited to be part of the presentation ceremony.

The playoff starts and we get back out by the time the players are on the green.  On tip toes I can see both players on the green and the hole, but as soon as the putt is hit everyone stands and only the groans let us know that both have missed.  We watch them hit off the tenth tee and off they head down the hole.  Moving anywhere at this stage is impossible but we do know that both players have hit it right.  Another massive roar is sent back up the hill and word quickly spreads back that Bubba is on the green and Oosthuizen is short.  The next few minutes is spent peering the 400 odd metres down the hill trying to figure out what is happening and originally there is a bit of confusion as rumors come back that they are back off to the 18^th tee.  The massive roars quickly after put pay to that and we all know that Bubba Watson is the 2012 Masters Champion.

We make our way to the practice putting green where the presentation in set up,  and we get to walk out on it and take our seats.  The first thing I notice is that it is as hard as concrete!! It gives you an idea of what the players have had to contend with all week and just how good they are to be able to stop the ball so quickly on such a surface.  The presentation starts and each golf association in attendance is read out and as they are we have to stand up! A final amazing privilege to what has been a very very special week.

I’m not really sure quite how to sum up the last seven days, I knew that The Masters was a special event, but it massively exceeded all of my expectations.  It is an event on every golfers bucket list and I was fortunate to be able to attend this year.  It’s something that I will never forget and hope that one day I can experience again.  

Saturday 7 April 

Last night we were on the guest list of the traditional USGA cocktail evening held at the Augusta Country Club, which is a private members club pre dating Augusta National, just on the other side of Rae’s Creek.  The Club House at the country club was magnificent and the evening was a fantastic opportunity to shake hands and meet some of the major players in world golf from the R&A, USGA, European Tour and American PGA. It was a privilege to be able to wave the NZ flag at such an evening.  Everyone we spoke to holds NZ in high regard and wre all quick to ask about our beautiful courses they see in golfing magazines as well as ask about Michael Campbell, as they all want to see him playing well again.   Pretty much everyone who is anyone within golfing circles attends the Masters, as the world’s first major.  As well as watching plenty of golf this week we have been kept busy with meeting with our golfing association colleagues.

Talking to people last night you started to get a further feel for how special this week is and how Augusta National strive to make their tournament The Masters the very best experience possible.   There wasn’t too much else talked about except sharing Masters stories.  We heard about how the old driving range at Augusta used to be each side of Magnolia drive, but was a bit short and players used to have bets on who could smack a ball over the far end fence onto Washington Drive.  So the committee decided something new was needed and the old car park was the ideal spot for a new range. Next minute a new range is built and it isn’t just any range. It was used first at the 2010 Masters, is an 18 acre facility that measures 400 yards in length.  It includes a short game area, four target greens (at 75, 150, 180 and 210 yards) and two distinct fairways that allow players to visualize on-course fairway corridors and shape shots using the strategically places trees as targets.

The next problem was turning the old parking lot to a driving range meant no parking lot.  Solution?  Buy the few hundred houses on the other side of the road – demolish them and turn them into the parking lot.  Problem solved!

Back to the golf – today was an amazing day. We tried as hard as we could to see as much as possible. The crowds at Augusta are massive and while it is possible to follow some of the leading players around the course unless you pick your spots you are really going to be peering on you tip toes over others to see your own moment of magic.

We were lucky enough to get our first special moment of the day when deciding to follow Ricky Fowler for a while, Luke Donald was in the preceding group and we saw the world number one hole out for 2 on the third hole.  It was a great moment and sent the crowd crazy – they really do get into it over here, high fiving each other and hugging at such a moment! They love yelling out to the players, “Common Bubba”!! “Great Par Freddy!” whatever it may be.

They also love to commentate! No matter where you stand or sit, someone is always telling their mate what is happening. Sometimes you can even be sitting next to someone who is just simply telling everyone around them what is happening!

Obviously at the end of the day everything was about Phil Mickelson – despite the fact he isn’t even leading.  As we followed the leaders, we missed most of Phil today, and also that of the current leader Peter Hanson.  The Masters has great old traditional leader boards that show the hole by hole scores of the leading 12 players.  The crowd cheer or groan when an American player is added to or taken off the board.  Sadly Fred Couples is quickly taken off – as is Bubba Watson – although big cheers go up as he is later put back on.

You always read or hear about the cheers around Amen corner, and we experienced those today.  We had been on the 6^th green watching the leaders through and planned to make our way back to the 12 grandstand.  On our way back we passed Mickelson driving onto the 13^th fairway before making our way to our grandstand seats.  From our seats on the 12^th we heard a huge roar, guessing it was probably Mickelson making the green in two.  A few minutes later the roar from the same area was spine tingling – Dean and I both look at each other – “reckon Mickelson just made 3”.  Two minutes later Mickelson’s score changes from 4 under to 6 under and the crowd go crazy, standing and high fiving each other, all of a sudden the place becomes electric, this is seriously now moving day at the Masters.  With him on the charge we forgo watching the last group through 12 and get to 15 just in time to watch Mickelson play that ridiculous flop shot, on that seems so dangerous, and he sends the ball miles in the sky, it lands soft and close to the hole for an easy birdie.

We decide not to follow Mickelson in and instead head back to the grandstand on 15, which also gives us a view of the 16^th green.  I know that Amen Corner is considered the most famous piece of real estate at Augusta, but for pure excitement, and I think especially tomorrow, that spot on 15, where you can also look onto the 16th is my favourite spot.

After the second last group putt out on 15 we jump out of the grandstand so we can get out ok, and after Fred Couples and Jason Dufner play onto the green we walk across the crosswalk of the 15^th fairway about 120 metres from the green and look down towards the 15^th and 16^th green that view down to those famous holes is awesome and we pinch ourselves not quite believing that we are actually here.  We hike back up to 18 and watch everyone finish and head home, looking forward to catching up on all the highlights we know that we heard but didn’t see!

With Masters efficiency, tens of thousands of people head out easily with very few delays.  It’s shaping up to be great finish tomorrow – The crowd loves Mickelson as well as Bubba and they will be going absolutely crazy for them – I’m sure that Hanson and Oosthuizen will give them a run for their money, but I’m going to go outside the history which says that a winner comes from the final two groups and say that Hunter Mahan is going to take it out – got to cheer for the red heads as well!

Wednesday 4 April: 

As stated in their mission statement the first consideration of the Masters is “To provide a first class golf course in as beautiful condition and nearly perfect condition as effort can make it.”  After a storm last night the large team at the Masters had their work cut out today.

Our first sight of some of the damage was behind the 16th grandstand (where we enter the course).  A large tree had fallen over and through one of the concession stands.  Chainsaws were slowly breaking the tree down as we walked past.

The plan this morning was to check out the holes 3, 7 and 8 (which we were yet to see) before breakfast.   The course was a hive of activity with large blowers driving up and down the fairway’s blowing the famous pine needles to the edges,  where volunteers where raking them all up.  A few of the famous Georgia Pine Trees which you see lining the fairway’s had broken branches.  We watched on the 8th as 3 workmen turned up and hurled a weight on the end of a string, 40 odd metres up to the lowest branches.  After 3 failed attempts the weight sailed over the branch and back down to allow a rope to be pulled up.  To our surprise one of the workmen tied himself to the rope and pulled himself up it to saw off the branch.  Heading 40 metres into the air seemed pretty dangerous to me but after that one was down, off they went to tend to the many others.

We spoke to one of the volunteers named Frank while watching this take place.  Being a volunteer at the Masters is a position held in very high regard.  Turnover of them is only about 2 a year, and the waiting list to get in is very very long! Frank was part of a team of 20 marshalls that looks after the 8th hole every year.  He changes from day to day from the tee block to the fairway to the green, but for the last 8 years the 8th hole at Augusta has been Franks home from Monday to Sunday.  The reason he comes back every year to marshall the one hole, apart from the beauty of the course and excitement of the Masters is pretty clear.  The day before memorial day they all get the opportunity to play this amazing course! Frank has played Augusta National 8 times.

After checking out the last few holes of the course we headed up for breakfast and quickly came to the opinion that we now had a stalker in Arnold Palmer, as he was sitting next to us again.

After breakfast we went to get our bearings of the par 3 course before the competition this afternoon.  The course is fun with many of the holes being over water.  The greens are tiny but look as good as those on the main course.  The course also offers plenty of great vantage points and is the best opportunity we are told to get signatures on our pin flags from the players.  The asking of autographs is prohibited except for here and the driving range.

We decide to take the advice of others and purchase some of the Masters chairs.  These foldable green chairs are intended to be left anywhere on the course and no one will move it, it’s your spot.  We are also told you can leave your wallet on it and no one will take it – but I don’t think we will be trying that.  There are thousands of these green chairs scattered all over the par 3 course, completely empty with people’s names simply written on the back.  We walk around and find the 3rd tee block is empty and we place our chairs there.  The tee blocks are only 2 metres in front of our chairs and we can’t believe that we will be able to watch the best players in the world play from arms length.

As it’s still a couple of hours until the competition starts we head down to the range. Ricky Fowler is in a bright yellow number starting his warm up routine.  He hits shot after shot dead straight as the thousands of people in the grandstand look in disbelief at just how good he is.  After an impressive display of hitting irons he pulls out driver and bombs 5 dead straight, seems happy with that and leaves.  We see “bones”,  Phil Mickelson’s caddy take his bag and place it a bit further down the range so we move position to get behind him.  Again the same, a series of perfectly straight iron shots before pulling out his driver and smashing a few – a fair bit longer that Fowler too!

After watching a few more players a sudden excitement comes over the range and everyone races off to the far end as Tiger Woods has entered.  We decide to skip watching him this time but will make sure that we are back on Thursday or Friday to watch him warm up.

The Par 3 contest is almost underway so we head back and as we had been told our seats were still empty, exactly where we had left them, so we sat and waited.

First through were John Senden, Bernhard Langer and Larry Mize.  As they approach the tee block they are met by a member of Augusta National who stands all day in the 30 degree heat in his tie and of course Green Jacket.  “Welcome Gentleman, the hole is playing 93 yards today – good luck”, he says to every group.

The par 3 competition is a fun relaxed day and many of the players have their children caddy for them.  Some of the players engage with the crowd and some don’t.   Some sign autographs and some don’t.  Fuzzy Zoeller tells us that he had a few too many the night before, Kevin Na asks the crowd if the hole is playing long or short, Ryan Palmer has to play a shot as his daughter sits on the tee next to his ball.

We sit in amazement as the best players in the world play little flick wedge shots down to the green below.  As well as tournament players some defending champions and invited guests also play and in the end Raymond Floyd hits the closest to the pin shot on our hole.

Not all players have to play in the par 3 competition and Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Luke Donald were probably the biggest names to miss the event.  Despite their absence it was great to be up and close to Mickelson, Fowler, Westwood, Poulter, Mahan, Scott, Ogilvy among others.

While it was great to see all of these players the biggest thrill of the day was to watch the group of Arnold Palmer, Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus play together.  All legends of the game and with 13 green jackets between them.

No sooner as they had teed off a loudspeaker came over the course announcing the play was about to be suspended and everyone had to evacuate the course.  We looked up and while there were a few darkish clouds, nothing seemed too out of the ordinary.  However organisers knew that another storm was coming so had to begin the evacuation of the 50,000 odd people on site.  As we made our way back to the clubhouse a further announcement was made that play had been cancelled.

So with that we headed home knowing we had experienced another amazing day at Augusta and been up close and personal with the greatest players of the game.  On the walk out the previously mentioned tree that had fallen through the concession building was completely gone and workers were using a stump machine to remove the stump.  A large part of the damaged roof had been removed and builders were frantically rebuilding – no doubt having it fixed by days break tomorrow!

As we walked out the heavens opened but fortunately as I write this now the sun is back out again so hopefully play can start on time tomorrow.

The last three days have been incredible. The access we have had and the ability to take photos of this amazing place has been an experience I will always remember.  The sheer size of the crowds watching the practice rounds surprised me to start with, but it’s such an experience, you can see why people trek all the way here even if it is only for a day.

BUT tomorrow is what it is all about and I can’t wait.  The patrons and media are buzzing about how even the field is and that the best players in the world are all winning at the moment.  So I guess I better make a prediction and I’m going to go with Rory McIlroy to bury his demons and win from Tiger and Luke Donald.  And I think with the greens being softer the scoring is going to be pretty good, so maybe at 15 under.

Tonight is a pretty special night for Dean as he has been invited by the Chairman of Augusta National to a cocktail buffet on the terrace of the club house and I have volunteered to drop him of because I think it means that I will get to drive down Magnolia Lane!

Their jaws dropped even further when they found out we had access to the clubhouse and they asked us for all our stories.  They shared their own stories and little rumours about Augusta, the membership and the Masters.  It seems everyone has their favourite little story or legend which adds to the mystique of the place (whether they are real or not).  My favourite of the evening was the story about a member hitting off the 8th tee and making a flippant comment to his playing partners that a tee block slightly further forward and to the right would be far better as the bunkers would then be far more in play.  Six months later that tee block was in place as he had casually suggested – also an invoice for $80,000 had been sent to the member! Which I’m sure was immediately paid to ensure his on-going membership.

We arrived early on the Tuesday, eager to get into the clubhouse and enjoy some breakfast (after realising how privileged we were the night before we agreed we better make the most of it).  We decided that the plan for day two would be to walk the first nine holes checking them all out as they are sometimes missed on the TV presentation and were unfamiliar to us.  Heading out to do this the mass of fans watching was incredible and as we walked up the first fairway we realised that Mr Tiger Woods was making his way to the 9th tee.  The plan was quickly changed and we watched him hit into the 9th green with the gallery cheering his shot.  We made our way up to the green and watched them putt out in front of crowds 10 deep and then watched them race off to the 10th.  Phil Mickelson was in the group behind so we watched him dump it into the bunker and play a less than typical Mickelson bunker shot to 20ft.  He calmly nailed that putt to the roar of the gallery!! It seemed like there was a tournament actually on and not a casual 4 ball match on a practice day.

As Woods was out on the course with Mickelson in the group behind we decided to head to the grandstand near 14 tee which gave a great view of the 13th green – perfect spot to watch them practice.  When we got down there we weren’t the only ones with that idea, eagerly awaiting the arrival of Woods.  Unfortunately for the patrons waiting,  Woods had decided that nine holes was enough for the day, the sight of Brandt Snedeker (no disrespect to him) in the group instead of Woods was a bit disappointing to the many that had waited for a glimpse of him.  I have a funny feeling we will get another chance though as no doubt he will be in contention come Sunday afternoon.  Next up was Mickelson and the crowds truly do love him, almost as much as he loves to ham it up to them.  He played his ball into 13 and then headed straight to the pine needles to the right of the fairway where he famously hit his second shot enroute to victory in 2010.  Throwing a ball down the crowd cheered – but he was only joking and quickly picked up and headed on, tipping his hat with his ever goofy smile.

Following that it was off to 16 to watch a bit more ball skimming and then check out the rest of the course.  The 6th hole is the first hole we check out that we don’t often see on TV and it is amazing how close it is to the 16th.   Balls hit from the tee would almost fly over the head of patrons sitting behind the 16th green.   Walking further you quickly notice that at Augusta it is very easy to get from different holes on each 9 to the other.  Another thing that springs out is the severe slope on most of the greens – 4 pin positions with some of them with the greens running at 14ft plus seems impossible! We did catch up with the green staff cutting the new practice pin location on the 17^thhole.  It made me laugh as it required a team 6 large to do it!  Again another example of the vast resource available to them.

The players are all friendly and seem relaxed when playing seemingly grouped together with countrymen or friends.  I’m sure all having a side match for big money! The volunteers are great and let the patrons get pretty close to them on the crosswalks – everyone just seems like us – big kids in a candy store!

We make the walk down as players buzz past us in the carts.  The range is lined with thousands of juniors waiting patiently with their yellow Masters pin flags to get the signatures of their heroes.

The range is impressive (what else would you expect) and a large permanent grandstand has been specifically built to watch the players practice their art.  We sit there in silence in awe of the way they hit the ball.  We look at our watches and the days end is almost on us so we look at the exit car park time board and it displays 10 minutes  exit time (at other times in the day it has hit 60 minutes!) so a good time to leave.

We arrived in Augusta at about lunchtime today (Monday) and easily found the house we were staying at which is in a beautiful leafy part of the city with some huge colonial houses in the area.  We unpacked and decided to head straight to the course to pick up our credentials.  Armed with only a printed off bit of paper from the Masters Committee we jumped in the car fully expecting just to rock up grab the credentials and maybe have a bit of a look at the course – I guess there would maybe be a few other people getting in on the Monday to have an early look as well ??

With 1000 plus cars in the car park this meant that we were a long long way from gate six and the car was telling us that it was 90 Fahrenheit outside – I think that’s about 32 degrees Celsius.  We got out cursing the fact that as we were picking up our credentials given to us by the Masters Committee we thought we were best to dress smartly in pants, our BLACK NZ Golf polo shirts and dress shoes! After a tough sweaty walk we were in the air conditioned credentials office picking up our badges for the week – it was finally time to walk on the hallowed turf of Augusta National.

The first thing that hit me was this was Monday afternoon 1pm and there were so so many people here already!  The first thing you walk past is the range and the grandstand was full.  There is a great little board next to it which tells you the players that are currently on the range and the players practice round tee times – you quickly notice that those little touches are everywhere at this place.  The next thing you walk past is the first merchandise tent (well you can’t really call it a tent as it is a building that I assume is always there) the line is ridiculous!  Past there and you look out straight across the first and ninth fairways and then up to your left is the famous Oak Tree with all the media waiting patiently for players to pass out from the clubhouse for a quick chat.

We made our way up to the clubhouse and are privileged enough to have access to these areas.  We walk through the clubhouse, spy Adam Scott having lunch, YE Yang walks past – yip this is about as good as it can get.  After a bite for lunch we make our way to the pro shop and both quickly buy the mandatory Masters Polo for Dad and a pin flag to get signatures on before going to the place we are really interested in, “Amen Corner”.

You walk past the 18^thgreen on the way and as everyone before me has said – you will never believe how steep the climb is up to 18! I can confirm it’s really, really steep! The one thing about 18 that did surprise me was the size of the green – it was very small – can’t wait for Sunday when it all finishes up there to the famous front left pin position.

To get to Amen Corner you walk down the 10^th. Again another hole where the elevation change is massive.   It’s also the hole where Rory McIlroy came unstuck last year and we check out the cabins he hit his tee shot next too – only 100 odd meters off the 10^thtee.

The first hole of Amen Corner 11 is a brute of a par 4 and the players walk back to the tee block must get longer each year as the committee lengthen the hole. You look down to your right and see that green you have seen so many times on TV.  The creek to the right of the green lies menacingly close for such a long iron shot, so you quickly understand why you see so many players bailing out to the right and chipping from there. We watch Charl Swartzel play in by himself and then go straight to that bail out area and try putting, chipping and hitting flop shots to different hole locations.

He then walks to the 12^thtee where there must be over 1000 people watching and they give the defending champion a rousing reception as he walks onto the tee block.  He plays only one shot (as I’m sure the practice conditions will state) into the famous 12^thhole.  The green looks almost impossible to hit and sits at a severe angle from the tee block – there is a large grandstand behind the green where I’m sure we will spend a bit of time during the week.   The 13^thhole is the final hole of Amen Corner and is a brilliant risk-reward hole, so simple in its design.  Padraig Harrington tries to take on the green in two and falls short, his ball rolling slightly down the bank and stopping before the creek – I have a funny feeling that bank might get another cut before the tournament to make sure that doesn’t happen again!

Our attention is then caught by roars coming from around the corner, not roars you would associate with a practice round but that of a final round Sunday.  We follow the roars and come to the 15^thgreen 16^thtee complex where there are again more people than I would have ever imagined would be during practice of a golf tournament.  The players tee shots into 16 are cheered for if they are good and then the players are coaxed into skipping balls across the lake by the patrons.  We stay and watch Edoardo Molinari claim to have no balls left to do it – he is booed loudly by the crowd until he has to oblige and puts a ball down and tries to skim it across the water.

The 16^thhole is at the bottom of the course so near the exit to our car park so we decide the day is done and we will be back no doubt before the gates open tomorrow.

My first impressions of Augusta are that it certainly lives up to the magic.  The course is immaculate and while we couldn’t get onto the fairways there didn’t look to be a divot anywhere or a blade of grass out of place.  The sheer volume of people that were there for a Monday practice round was testament to what a special week the masters week is.  Being able to have cameras on the course must aid in people arriving early to be able to take home the memories of a beautiful course.  Come Thursday cameras are prohibited as is the asking of autographs.  The organisation of the event is very smart as you would expect.  The officials and marshals were very quick to let you know if you were walking on the wrong spot of grass or encouraging you to walk on a path if there was one there, but were also very quick to flash you a smile and wish you a great day.  There weren’t too many players around today so we are looking forward to seeing a few more players out there and look at the rest of the course which we missed today.