The Masters: A non-golfer's experience

The Masters: it's synonymous with the great names in golf, perfectly groomed and maintained grass, the Masters green color, Augusta Georgia.  A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to attend one of the practice rounds.  I wasn't sure what to expect before going.  For one, I am not a golfer; in fact, I've never golfed before or even been to a driving range.  There are a lot of people who would probably cringe and scoff that I had the audacity to attend part of the Masters and didn't instead relinquish my ticket to a more worthy tournament goer.  No way! I wanted to see what all the hooplah was about.

I attended with my my husband, my dad and my father-in-law.  All three of them are golfers, so there I was, the uneducated rookie with a miniscule amount of knowledge in golf terminology.  There were only a select few golf words that I dared utter.  "Why did he put his tee there?" (yes I knew what that white peg in the ground was).  "Hmmm, they don't yell FORE! when then drive the ball down the green? (good thing I whispered this one, I don't think the pros ever use that term...)  While at the tournament I learned that the few words I knew are only the tip of the iceberg in golf lingo.  Words like fade are used meaning the ball goes to the right down the green and draw when the ball curves to the left.  There's a whole slew of other terms specific to the game to describe what's happening.  I'm not sure I understand why golf has to have a language all of its own.  Seems to me it would be easier to simply say the ball went left or right.  Maybe I just feel that way since I'm not a golfer...

I have to say, walking the Augusta National course was an experience to remember.  The weather was sunny and beautiful, perfectly highlighting the bright pink azalea bushes that kissed the edges of each perfectly manicured green.  The trees seemed as if they were plucked from perfection and planted in exact spots where they would provide the right contrast between the blue of the sky and the green of the course.  The course itself was something to marvel at, it seemed the perfect grass was an exact hue; I'm sure there are specialists whose only job it is to make sure it is always pristine.

The phenomenal natural setting was not the only thing to notice at the Masters, the people in attendance provided entertainment as well.  They came in all shapes and sizes wearing all types of outfits and getups.  When a man walked by with the most outrageous shorts on I couldn't hold my laughter in and definitely lost it when I noticed he was alongside a woman with matching ensemble.  I wondered, did he set that ensemble aside to specifically wear to this event? I would have to assume most definitely, he did.  The Masters was a circus of people, all there to show face and experience one of the greatest tournaments in golf.

On the other side of the white rope were the pro golfers on stage.  As we were at the practice rounds, it was a more relaxed and laid back atmosphere.  Many of the pros would engage with the crowd, take multiple shots on a green and even play around with the game, performing trick shots only further highlighting their talent to place that tiny ball wherever they wanted.

There's one more thing I can't avoid mentioning about the Masters.  At a tournament where the first place prize is a cool $1.4 million dollars and even 15th place gets a prize of $128,000, you can buy a beer in a souvenir cup for $3 and a sandwich for $1.50.  Now here's one sporting event that has it right.  There isn't any professional sporting event I can think of that keep their prices so modest and reasonable for the fans.  Last time I was at Yankee Stadium in New York I'm pretty sure I spent $9 for a bottle of Bud Light and $7 for a mediocre hot dog.  At the Masters, I happily sipped my ice cold beer and munched on my pimiento cheese sandwich for a total of $4.50.

For those that don't know what pimento cheese is, I would urge you to seek it out and try it.  Here in the South it's served as an appetizer that you dip chips in, on sandwiches as a spread and even atop burgers.  It's a blend of cheddar cheese, pimentos, mayonnaise, salt and pepper and sometimes other ingredients depending on who is making it - in short, it's a really bad for you delicious treat.  That's enough of my food digression, the point is, the Masters didn't make me think about the hole burning in my pocket, but instead allowed me to indulge and happily spectate the pros on the course with a full belly.

I loved my first Masters experience; but in all honesty, I will probably relinquish my ticket next time so a true golf fan can enjoy the fantastic event.  In the meantime, maybe I'll head out to the driving range and take a crack at swinging that shiny stick at that tiny white ball.