At the time, I thought it would be great to have Shelly's parents join us for a meeting in Augusta, then follow-up with a drive up to NC for a visit. Unfortunately, Jim had some health scares, and while recovering fully, did not feel well enough for a long day of walking the grounds at Augusta National Golf Club.
On Tuesday morning, we took off for the hour drive to Augusta, just on the Georgian side of the GA / SC border. We were able to sell our two additional tickets on the side of the road ... then were asked by a hundred others on our drive and walk into the golf club if we had any additional tickets.
As we entered the grounds, we heard others remark on the immaculate manicure of the grass, shrubs, landscape ... everything ... at Augusta National. "This place is cleaner than Disney!", one patron remarked ... and he was right. I've never seen such a well-kept landscape. As you watch the tournament, in all its glory, there really isn't a way to describe how meticulous they are ... and how friendly the staff is. Better than Disney is a shocking standard, but I think they achieved it.
Will and I spent the first three hours walking around. Since it was a practice round, there were no scheduled tee-off times, but we were able to see some areas where they posted names of golfers teeing off or on the practice range. It was pretty sparse of players, but amazingly crowded with spectators. In those first few hours, we were able to see Phil Mickelson and Gary Player fairly close
Phil Mickelson on the fairway at 11th, the start of Amen Corner
Gary Player, coming off the 9th green towards the 10th tee
After grabbing a bite to eat (Will loved the chicken sandwich), which only cost $10 for two sandwiches, two drinks, and a bag a chips. Any other major sporting event would have cost $30 for the same meal. (No, we did not have a Pimento Cheese sandwich). We decided to find some shade and hang out at a hole for a while and watch players come through ... and we knew that Tiger would be teeing off soon, so we found some grandstands off the 4th hole green (a Par 3) with a view of the 5th hole tee area, too. Not too many people were there and we were able to see several players come through. As a practice round, the players hit multiple shots into the green, then practiced their putting and chipping from same place around the green in preparation for the various hole locations during the tournament. Kind of blah viewing, but we were on vacation. It was good to see grass grow for a bit.
Then, we heard that Tiger was on his way ... and the stands started to get crowded ... and the area around the tee box was swelling with people ... from 1-2 people deep ... to 6-7 people deep.
Will's first shot of Tiger ... rookie mistake
Tiger with Fred Couples
As the afternoon got longer, and the first few holes were no longer being practiced on, the lawn mower teams came out to trim just a little bit more
On Hole 16, a par 3, Al Geiberger (Mr. 59 for being the first professional to shoot a 59 in a tournament round) pleases the crowd by hitting some trick shots ... ahead of the tee area, he hit some low shots, skipping them off the water multiple times (like skipping rocks) and having the ball hit up on to the green safely ... or into a nearby bunker
Look how tough these greens are!!! (Will taking some liberty with the camera angle)
Overall, we had a great time. Lots of walking! Hopefully I can "win" another set of tickets for next year's tournament and take a different son.
