From Montana to the Masters

 

by Scott Sacry

Going to the Augusta National Golf Course to witness the Masters tournament is at the top of the bucket list for any golf fan. I have always wanted to see this course and this tournament as a sports fan in general and a golf fan specifically. I was fortunate to travel to Augusta, Georgia last week and go to Augusta National on Wednesday, April 5th to watch the practice rounds and Par 3 contest at the Masters.

The golf course is much more hilly than it appears on television. For example, on the finishing 18th hole, from the tee box the players walk down a gully, then straight uphill to the green. The course itself is in immaculate condition – the fairways are in better condition than the greens of most courses you will ever play.  

The crowds are massive with an average of 40,000 fans per day, basically the whole population of the Bitterroot Valley walking around an 18-hole golf course. But the management at Augusta National could give a masterclass in crowd control. There are manned queues everywhere – the gates, the bathrooms, the pro shop, the concessions. At each, you’ll find workers enforcing line etiquette with words of kindness. Of the thousands of workers, each one smiles, makes eye contact, and greets you with cheerful Southern small talk. On your way to the bathroom, there is someone there to make a joke and point you in the right direction.

If you stop and listen, you will hear birds chirping and insects humming. And if you pay close enough attention, you will see microphones squirreling up trees to capture this sound. 

On Wednesday, players play practice rounds, then around noon most, but not all, play in the annual Par 3 contest. The Par 3 contest is an informal competition where the golfers get a chance to play and relax before the intense competition starting the following day on the first day of the tournament. The golfers are often joined by their families who walk the course with them – kids take putts, caddies take tee shots, wives caddie for husbands, and players can even be seen carrying their own clubs. We camped between the 8th and 9th holes and witnessed four of the five hole-in-ones of the afternoon, including two by Seamus Powers on both the 8th and 9th holes. 

It’s a chance to see a human side of the golfers who generally act like machines in front of the cameras and on the course during a tournament where the winner is awarded $3.24 million. Behind all the spectacle and pomp and tradition of such a tournament, maybe the highlight of it all was to see these players encourage a child, or hug a wife, or laugh with a caddie. It’s then you realize that when all is stripped away, we all have more in common then we might have thought.  

A once in a lifetime opportunity indeed. In the end, John Rahm of Spain won the tournament.