Augusta National...There's Nothing Like It

Today was a bucket list kind of a day.  It's one thing to be fortunate enough to have tickets to get inside the gates of Augusta National, it's another to have them for a Wednesday before the Masters.  Outside of Sunday, this is the day to go, in my amateur opinion. You have morning practice rounds and then the par 3 contest, all on the most beautiful golf course I have ever seen in my life.

The fairways were perfect. The rough was not rough, until you compared it to the fairways.  And then there are the greens. They are as tough to watch in person as you can imagine they ever would be watching on tv.

I'm getting ahead of myself and need to back track.  Augusta National is Disney World on crack and steroids. Disney needs to take notes and start applying it to their brand.  From the second you get out of your car (from the FREE parking lot), the walk up to the gate is pleasant.  There are signs everywhere telling you to leave your phones in the car (being disconnected never felt better) and there is a greeter for each side of the walkway and two in the middle.  Every one is welcoming you to the Masters and thanking you for coming.

You walk in and immediately the attention to detail smacks you in the face. Every person working is as friendly as the next, including the BATHROOM ATTENDANTS.  This was bizarre on a whole new level but still a very nice touch.  Guys in the rest rooms spraying down everything, getting you towels after washing your hands, all in the shadows of signs that read "No Tipping".

The food prices are legendary because they probably haven't changed in my lifetime.  An egg salad sandwich ($1.50) and a beer ($3.00) for breakfast and it was time to see some of the course.  Right away, you turn a corner and the beauty of the 13th hole takes you aback for a moment. Behind it, the 16th, where a roar erupts after Bubba Watson hits a hole-in-one while practicing.  The 16th butts right up to number 15 and who's coming down the fairway? Tiger, of course. He's playing a practice round with Fred Couples, which makes it even cooler.

Practice rounds are exactly that.  Seeing the professionals try different things here and there all in preparation for the big dance.  They're loose, but focused all at the same time.  There's a trend starting here and it's again what makes a practice round special.  The beauty and the spectacle make it near impossible not to point a camera at everything and take a picture.  Every hole is as beautiful as you can imagine it to be watching it for years on television.  This is for sure what sets the practice rounds apart from the tournament rounds. Having the memories is one thing, but getting to relive them whenever you want via a photograph is another.

And it's the memory of something like the Par 3 Contest that will never go away. Kids are caddying for
their dads and even now, wives and girlfriends are getting in on the action. It's laid back and fun for everyone involved.  Parked under a shade tree behind the 8th green on the Par 3 is one of the neatest spots in golf.  You see the shots come down the hill on 8 and then the 9th, where most players are letting their kids putt out for them.

The rest of the Par 3 Course has it's allure as well.  It's short and easy to cover in less than an hour.  As undulating as the main course, the challenges it provides are less treacherous but equally as fun to see.

Then it happens.  There's a moment in time where the stars align and the Godfathers of Golf come knocking.  That moment was today.  Now seen as the three wise men who kick off the Masters on Thursday morning, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, and Gary Player are in a grouping for the Par 3 Contest and they're one hole away from being within earshot.  The crowds grow in size comparable to the one's seen when Tiger is working on his short game.  Everyone wants a glimpse and it's that moment when the stars align even more to make sure the glimpse is crystal clear. This is a moment in sports that cannot be duplicated.

Another type of moment that is similar is one that is experienced by those who are playing the course for the first time. Augusta has been taking care of the amateurs since the beginning. Bobby Jones knew what it meant to be an amateur and this has been an integral part of Augusta's traditions. The Crow's Nest is offered as a place to stay and for the week, the amateur is given the royal treatment by the
patrons of Augusta.  This year is that year for TJ Vogel.  A golfer for the University of Florida, Vogel was eating up the spotlight and enjoying everything about the Par 3 Contest. He was playing with the only golfer who ever shot a 59, Al Geiberger. Two differing generations coming together and enjoying a round of golf.  There's nothing like it.

And then there's this. Everything described to this point is great. Words don't mean anything compared to the time that is spent between a father and a son in one of the most magical of places. Had it been a "guy's trip" or something along those lines, it still would have been fun but it wouldn't have been special. Parents are only around for a limited part of our lives and opportunities like this are once in a lifetime. Two generations coming together to enjoy a round of golf. There's really nothing like it.