MASTERS TTRADITIONS

MASTERS TRADITIONS

Let's start wit this: The Masters was founded by the GOAT of amateur golfers: Bobby Jones.

Bobby Jones had played against the best amateurs and best professionals of his time. And he had beat them all. He won thirteen majors of his time, including U.S. Open and British Open, where professionals played.

So, when he started the Augusta National Invitational, he not only invited professionals but also the best amateurs of his time. Players he had played with. Since amateurs did not get paid any money for their wins, he had a cabin built inside the premises called the "Crow's Nest", where amateurs stay for free when playing The Masters. To this day, the Crow's Nest is the place where to stay if an amateur is invited to The Masters. I have never seen a picture of the inside of the Crow's Nest, but I bet my next week's lunches... better yet, my next week's payday, that it is as simple and luxurious as anything you have ever seen: first class. Meals are free (and if you can imagine, meals at Augusta National are anything but fast food). This year, there will be six amateurs in the field.

Every PGA Tour event has a "Pro-Am" on Wednesday. None of the majors has a Wednesday Pro-Am (which raises money for different charities), but they leave Wednesday open for last practice day. Not the Masters. On Wednesday, you have the Par-3 Tournament in the additional short holes on the north-east of the property. If you are playing in The Masters, you are invited, but it is not reserved for Masters players only. Some older players who have won before, or former famous amateurs, or even Augusta National members who want to have a good day with some of the more famous players. The first Par-3 Tournament was played in 1960 and was won by Sam Snead. One historical fact: no one who has won the Par-3 Tournament has ever won the Masters in the same year, so, as a tradition, players in the Par-3 tournament who are playing in The Masters, usually hit their last ball in the water in purpose, so not to "jinx" themselves in the main event. Oh yes, during the Par-3 Tournament you can have your kid caddy for you, but they will have to use an Augusta caddy uniform! Up to 2014, the last group to tee off in the par three tournament was the one of Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player. Between them, they won 13 Masters titles.

Food in the premises for spectators: it is the cheapest of any place at any tournament. Let's put it like this: if you would order one of everything in the menus, you would spend less than $70.00! There are more than ten types of sandwich, the most expensive is... $3.00! Import beer is $5.00! All wraps are in green color.

At one time, in the 60's, a player was expelled from his practice round for trying to skip a ball across the pond on #16. It was a "no, no" to disrespect the game by playing around", and more if you dared to do it at the Holly Grounds. That was then, now, most all groups who play a practice round, to the delight of the patrons (don't dare to call them crowd, or mob when they are so many in one place) have contests on who gets closer to the hole by skipping the ball on the pond. I can imagine there are some hefty bets made, both, on the groups, and by the spectators! In 2014, I watched a few groups there, and it was a lot of fun.

The Masters gives you a daily pass from Monday to Sunday (practice rounds and tournament) if you are a PGA Professional. It is not a "ticket", it is a daily pass. So, in 2014, when I was invited to a trip to The Masters with several members of Elk City Golf & Country Club, I called Augusta National and asked if I could bring my camera inside the premises. I was told "yes", but only Monday to Wednesday. I had to have a special permission to take photos during the tournament itself. And, I was reminded, NO CELLPHONES AT ANY TIME ANY DAY. Period. In other words: no possible noise that may distract a player, even if in a practice round. No, you cannot say "I'll turn it off or put it on silent mode", when Masters rules say "no phones" it simply means "no phones", and that its the end of it. By the way, there are payphones in certain areas of the property so you can check on your kids and their nannie.

How about the first day pairings? It is a tradition that last year's champion is paired with last years U.S. Amateur champion. Tiger Woods won three straight amateurs, so, in 1995, he played with Jose Maria Olazabal, in 1996 he played with Ben Crensahw, and in his debut as professional (*), he played with Sir Nick Faldo.

(*) - by turning professional in the fall of 1996, Tiger Woods was no longer eligible to get an invitation as the last U.S. Amateur champion, however, Tiger won three professional tournaments between the fall of 1996 and the spring of 1997, so he had an invitation to play as a PGA Tour winner of the last 12 months.

How many commercials do you see when watching The Masters? Don't count them, I'll tell you. Four and only four minutes per hour of commercials are allowed for The Masters Telecast. CBS has been the only network to broadcast The Masters since it started, and they only have a one year contract. CBS has to renew the contract every year... so don't mess up!

Golf fans that have a ticket are referred as "patrons", not fans or "spectators". The ticket says, "patron passes".

Note 1: Every hole at Augusta National is named after a flower that surrounds the fairway or green in general. The photo here is of the famous par-3 #12, called "Golden Bell".

Note 2: The picture of three players going into the future is of Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Arnold Palmer. The "Big-3" as they called them in the 60's when the three would give exhibitions around the world. It was taken during my visit in 2014, and has a little historical meaning: It was the last time that the three of them played together in any setting, as Arnie's health deteriorated and could not play in 2015 and 2016, finally passing in September of 2016.

More tomorrow.