Jim McCabe
With an eye on Augusta
http://www.golfbrief.com/articles/796/1/With-an-eye-on-Augusta/Page1.html
By Jim McCabe
Published on 03/21/2008
http://www.golfbrief.com/articles/796/1/With-an-eye-on-Augusta/Page1.html
With an eye on Augusta
DORAL, Fla. — There are a multitude of reasons why players have great affection for the Florida swing on the PGA Tour, among them warm weather, quality golf courses with which they’re familiar, proximity to where they live, and overflowing purses.
But in recent years a new reason has emerged and roared near the top of the list: Florida is close to Georgia. OK, so I didn’t need MapQuest or Triple A to determine that; it’s Geography 101.
The point is, however, that the most popular stop on the Florida swing remains Augusta National Golf Club.
Players may have tee times in the Sunshine State, but if you want to suggest that their minds during this swing are on the Masters and not the Honda Championship or PODS Championship or Arnold Palmer Invitational or even the World Golf Championships-CA Championship, well, I wouldn’t rush to get into a debate.
The Masters remains the tournament that elicits the most passion, which is why the private jets are pointed in the direction of Augusta, even while the games are in Palm Beach Gardens, Tampa, Orlando, or here in the outskirts of Miami.
Consider Martin Kaymer, the 23-year-old German who has vaulted into prominence with stunning swiftness. Ranked 23rd in the world after his victory in Abu Dhabi and runner-up finish to Tiger Woods in Dubai, Kaymer earned spots into the fields at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and CA Champion
ship, but the great benefit of that was the fact it afforded him a chance to visits Augusta.
“It was good [to see it in quiet setting], so I won’t be overwhelmed in a few weeks,” said Kaymer, who is like so many others in that his introduction to Augusta National Golf Club came via television. To see it in person for the first time is … well, it is a sight golfers will never forget.
They will tell you of the beauty of the place, of the sense of timelessness, or the serenity and the quaintness. And whether it’s their first visit or their 10th or, in the case of Butch Harmon, who was there 60 years ago when his father won the Masters, it never fails to delight.
“It’s such a special, special place,” said Harmon, who was 5 when he watched from the gallery in 1948 when his dad strolled to a five-shot win over Cary Middlecoff.
“I don’t remember anything from that year, but I was there and for years, our family used it as a place to gather and get together.”
Claude Harmon, who died at the age of 79 in 1989, pocketed a mere $2,500 for his Masters win. That’s the sort of money a player will drop in one day, just to head up to Augusta National for a preview weeks before the tournament. Given what they get when they get there, it’s well worth it.
Not only do they get a good feel for the golf course without tens of thousands of spectators gawking at their every move, but they soak in Augusta ambiance that isn’t quite there the week of the tournament. They can sit in a quiet clubhouse and study the photos that tell priceless stories. They can get a view of the landscape free of grandstands and scoreboards, gallery ropes and concession stands.
And, yes, that makes it feel like a different place.
“It’s such a beautiful place, when it’s empty,” said Adam Scott, the young Aussie who was 21 when he made his Masters debut in 2002. He’s gone back every April since, but it wasn’t until this year’s Florida swing that he got an Augusta thrill that he hadn’t experienced.
He stayed in one of the cabins on property, the Stephens, to be precise.
“That was special,” said Scott, who went up to Augusta with Fred Couples, Nick Watney, and Harmon. When an attendant brought in the bags and
announced that Couples’ “jackets” were in the closet, Scott got goosebumps, knowing that he was talking about the prized green jacket Couples won in 1992.
Kaymer made his trip to Augusta with veteran caddie Fanny Sunesson, who got to know the famed golf course while working for three-time Masters champ Nick Faldo. Though she caddies now for Henrik Stenson, Sunesson has become friendly with Kaymer and serves as his coach. Having her on hand for his first trip to Augusta was a brilliant move.
No surprise, but two-time Masters champ Phil Mickelson also used his tournament appearances in Florida as a springboard to an Augusta trip.
“The course is in great shape,” said Mickelson, though that’s like saying water is wet. In other words, no kidding.
Mickelson, like so many of his peers, has an affinity for Augusta National, though his will be for life given his two Masters win. Still, he had PGA Tour business to attend to (the CA Championship, to be exact) and had to fight off the temptation to stick around Augusta for a club tournament.
“The greens are very quick,” said the lefthander. “They’ve got their jamboree coming up, so they were rolling really quick, just like the practice rounds do tournament week. I tried to get an application to join [the jamboree], but I couldn’t find anyone around.”
If Mickelson still gets a charge just to drive down Magnolia Lane, you can imagine how excited Watney was. It was Watney’s first visit to Augusta, and “you should have seen how big his eyes were,” said Harmon, who serves as swing coach to the young star.
Then again, so, too, does Harmon get a thrill out of the place, 60 years since he made his first visit there.
OK, so he can’t remember how he felt that day, but he guesses he felt great. Augusta National has that sort of effect on you.
But in recent years a new reason has emerged and roared near the top of the list: Florida is close to Georgia. OK, so I didn’t need MapQuest or Triple A to determine that; it’s Geography 101.
The point is, however, that the most popular stop on the Florida swing remains Augusta National Golf Club.
Players may have tee times in the Sunshine State, but if you want to suggest that their minds during this swing are on the Masters and not the Honda Championship or PODS Championship or Arnold Palmer Invitational or even the World Golf Championships-CA Championship, well, I wouldn’t rush to get into a debate.
The Masters remains the tournament that elicits the most passion, which is why the private jets are pointed in the direction of Augusta, even while the games are in Palm Beach Gardens, Tampa, Orlando, or here in the outskirts of Miami.
Consider Martin Kaymer, the 23-year-old German who has vaulted into prominence with stunning swiftness. Ranked 23rd in the world after his victory in Abu Dhabi and runner-up finish to Tiger Woods in Dubai, Kaymer earned spots into the fields at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and CA Champion
ship, but the great benefit of that was the fact it afforded him a chance to visits Augusta.“It was good [to see it in quiet setting], so I won’t be overwhelmed in a few weeks,” said Kaymer, who is like so many others in that his introduction to Augusta National Golf Club came via television. To see it in person for the first time is … well, it is a sight golfers will never forget.
They will tell you of the beauty of the place, of the sense of timelessness, or the serenity and the quaintness. And whether it’s their first visit or their 10th or, in the case of Butch Harmon, who was there 60 years ago when his father won the Masters, it never fails to delight.
“It’s such a special, special place,” said Harmon, who was 5 when he watched from the gallery in 1948 when his dad strolled to a five-shot win over Cary Middlecoff.
“I don’t remember anything from that year, but I was there and for years, our family used it as a place to gather and get together.”
Claude Harmon, who died at the age of 79 in 1989, pocketed a mere $2,500 for his Masters win. That’s the sort of money a player will drop in one day, just to head up to Augusta National for a preview weeks before the tournament. Given what they get when they get there, it’s well worth it.
Not only do they get a good feel for the golf course without tens of thousands of spectators gawking at their every move, but they soak in Augusta ambiance that isn’t quite there the week of the tournament. They can sit in a quiet clubhouse and study the photos that tell priceless stories. They can get a view of the landscape free of grandstands and scoreboards, gallery ropes and concession stands.
And, yes, that makes it feel like a different place.
“It’s such a beautiful place, when it’s empty,” said Adam Scott, the young Aussie who was 21 when he made his Masters debut in 2002. He’s gone back every April since, but it wasn’t until this year’s Florida swing that he got an Augusta thrill that he hadn’t experienced.
He stayed in one of the cabins on property, the Stephens, to be precise.
“That was special,” said Scott, who went up to Augusta with Fred Couples, Nick Watney, and Harmon. When an attendant brought in the bags and
announced that Couples’ “jackets” were in the closet, Scott got goosebumps, knowing that he was talking about the prized green jacket Couples won in 1992.Kaymer made his trip to Augusta with veteran caddie Fanny Sunesson, who got to know the famed golf course while working for three-time Masters champ Nick Faldo. Though she caddies now for Henrik Stenson, Sunesson has become friendly with Kaymer and serves as his coach. Having her on hand for his first trip to Augusta was a brilliant move.
No surprise, but two-time Masters champ Phil Mickelson also used his tournament appearances in Florida as a springboard to an Augusta trip.
“The course is in great shape,” said Mickelson, though that’s like saying water is wet. In other words, no kidding.
Mickelson, like so many of his peers, has an affinity for Augusta National, though his will be for life given his two Masters win. Still, he had PGA Tour business to attend to (the CA Championship, to be exact) and had to fight off the temptation to stick around Augusta for a club tournament.
“The greens are very quick,” said the lefthander. “They’ve got their jamboree coming up, so they were rolling really quick, just like the practice rounds do tournament week. I tried to get an application to join [the jamboree], but I couldn’t find anyone around.”
If Mickelson still gets a charge just to drive down Magnolia Lane, you can imagine how excited Watney was. It was Watney’s first visit to Augusta, and “you should have seen how big his eyes were,” said Harmon, who serves as swing coach to the young star.
Then again, so, too, does Harmon get a thrill out of the place, 60 years since he made his first visit there.
OK, so he can’t remember how he felt that day, but he guesses he felt great. Augusta National has that sort of effect on you.