ok - here goes my tips for the masters... I don¡¦t claim to no everything, just passing on my advice.. you get what you pay for...
1 - first - understand that Monday is the day with the least play. Some of the players will play - and you'll certainly enjoy the course and seeing it first hand. but don't be surprised if some of the big names (mickleson) don't play on Monday. And I don¡¦t recommend hanging out on the 1st tee hoping someone will show up. That¡¦s a waste of time.
Tuesday is a great practice round day¡K almost all of the field will play, and most will play 18 holes. Many of the best players (tiger, phil, Freddie) will be off 1 or 10 very early. So get there early. Bubba Watson is usually the first one off, and usually plays alone¡K
Wednesday ¡V everyone loves Wednesday, and that includes the volunteers (marshals) as we¡¦re done by 230 and get the afternoon off. The par 3 is great, but if that¡¦s your only day, you will not see as much play on the big course as many players are resting for Thursday¡K all play on the big course must stop around 230 to allow the course to be set up for Thursday...
Everyone knows you can bring a camera in on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. No phones¡K but I expect that to change in the next 3 years.
2 ¡V check out the information boards. There¡¦s one by the main leaderboard as well as by the concessions at the back gate ¡V those boards will tell you who¡¦s on the course and when they teed off or when they made the turn. Once the tournament starts on Thursday ¡V the boards have the tee times¡K
3 ¡V Remember that there are no tee times for the practice rounds. The players will play whenever they want. And they can go off the front, or the back, or stop at any point. A couple of years ago, it was a Monday and everyone kept asking me where tiger was¡K of course ¡V we don¡¦t know when the players will play¡K anyway ¡V at about 4:00, tiger came out of the clubhouse and tee¡¦d off on #10¡K. Thousands of people were so excited that tiger was finally playing¡K and he took thousands of people with him down the hill on #10. But after putting out on 10, he walked over to the 18 tee (which is close to 10 green) and played 18 back up the hill and then went back in the clubhouse. Many of these people were then mad at me¡K. again ¡V the players do whatever they want during the practice rounds¡K
4 - parking is now a snap since they've cleared out all the houses along berkman drive. just follow the signs. earlier the better. i'd recommend taking the bobby jones exit from i20 versus Washington road. Washington road always has the most traffic. Early and late.
5 - traffic is a problem. remember - augusta is a small town to host such a large event. Its spring break for the people who live there. Most want to get as far away as possible, so they rent their house and hit the road.
6 - buy your stuff when you get there and ship it home. no since lugging it around. you can ship or store it while you see the course. Prices are mostly the same as what you¡¦d pay at your local pro shop. I¡¦ve been watching people buy stuff for 20 years, and most people spend at least $300, and many people go up much higher.
7 ¡V food is cheap. You¡¦ll understand this if you¡¦ve ever been to the US open, or an NFL game. A sandwich is 2 ¡V 3 dollars. Chips are a buck. A coke is $1.50¡K eat up¡K beer is cheap too, but they stop selling it at 4:00. People rave about the pimento sandwich, but I don¡¦t like pimento¡K I go all out and spend $3.50 on the club SW...
8 - Rhineharts is my best dining recommendation. its about 3 miles from ANGC on the other side of i20. mostly rustic, but the best fried shrimp I've ever had. Crowed, but you can get Rin. there¡¦s another rhineharts further out on Washington road that¡¦s less crowded and the same great food / beer
9 - I don't get the chair thing. yes - you can buy a chair, put it down on the ropes, and leave it and not worry about losing it - but the stands are there for a reason. the best viewing is the stands. i'd avoid the chair thing.
10 ¡V best seat / viewing at Augusta? The right stands on #15. You¡¦ll see the shots into the green on 15 and the shots into 16. Those stands are always full. but be patient. People will leave. So hang out in line and you¡¦ll get a seat¡K remember ¡V the stands are there for a reason¡K most of the best viewing is where the stands are¡K
11 - see the entire course¡K. walk all of it. you many never be there again. you'll be blown away by the slopes, size of greens, depth of bunkers, hump in the green on #6, size of green on 3, 7; the elevation change on 6 and 10, beauty everywhere. Notice the design ¡V also remember the changes that have been made ¡V some good, some bad¡K look at #7 ¡V that green is ridiculous ¡V slopes, and its tiny. The hole was built to be a 3 iron and wedge. 325 yards and tree¡¦s crimp in towards the greens. Now its 450 and tighter than ever because the trees keep growing¡K
And make sure you check out the driving range¡K I haven¡¦t been everywhere, but I¡¦ve never seen anything like it¡K
12 ¡V Lastly, don't be that guy. Avoid being:
a. the you da man guy, or the booyah guy
b. the drink all day guy carrying your masters beer cups around
c. the guy who goes thru the trash looking for plastic masters cups,
d. the guy who wears the ricky fowler clothes, or the guy who wears the loudmouth pants
e. ...the masters is a classy place. be the classy guy...:-)
Enjoy ¡V greatest show on earth¡K and arguably the most well run...
I¡¦ve been to the masters every year since 1995. And spent the last 11 years as a volunteer, spent the first 6 as an information board guy, then 5 years on the 1st tee calling the players off during the practice rounds. This year I¡¦m moving to scoring, but I will not find out my assignment until I get there. The great thing about scoring is you don¡¦t work the practice rounds ¡K since no one keeps score¡K
ļ
The benefit of being a volunteer is we get to come back in may and play the course¡K
enjoy...
1 - first - understand that Monday is the day with the least play. Some of the players will play - and you'll certainly enjoy the course and seeing it first hand. but don't be surprised if some of the big names (mickleson) don't play on Monday. And I don¡¦t recommend hanging out on the 1st tee hoping someone will show up. That¡¦s a waste of time.
Tuesday is a great practice round day¡K almost all of the field will play, and most will play 18 holes. Many of the best players (tiger, phil, Freddie) will be off 1 or 10 very early. So get there early. Bubba Watson is usually the first one off, and usually plays alone¡K
Wednesday ¡V everyone loves Wednesday, and that includes the volunteers (marshals) as we¡¦re done by 230 and get the afternoon off. The par 3 is great, but if that¡¦s your only day, you will not see as much play on the big course as many players are resting for Thursday¡K all play on the big course must stop around 230 to allow the course to be set up for Thursday...
Everyone knows you can bring a camera in on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. No phones¡K but I expect that to change in the next 3 years.
2 ¡V check out the information boards. There¡¦s one by the main leaderboard as well as by the concessions at the back gate ¡V those boards will tell you who¡¦s on the course and when they teed off or when they made the turn. Once the tournament starts on Thursday ¡V the boards have the tee times¡K
3 ¡V Remember that there are no tee times for the practice rounds. The players will play whenever they want. And they can go off the front, or the back, or stop at any point. A couple of years ago, it was a Monday and everyone kept asking me where tiger was¡K of course ¡V we don¡¦t know when the players will play¡K anyway ¡V at about 4:00, tiger came out of the clubhouse and tee¡¦d off on #10¡K. Thousands of people were so excited that tiger was finally playing¡K and he took thousands of people with him down the hill on #10. But after putting out on 10, he walked over to the 18 tee (which is close to 10 green) and played 18 back up the hill and then went back in the clubhouse. Many of these people were then mad at me¡K. again ¡V the players do whatever they want during the practice rounds¡K
4 - parking is now a snap since they've cleared out all the houses along berkman drive. just follow the signs. earlier the better. i'd recommend taking the bobby jones exit from i20 versus Washington road. Washington road always has the most traffic. Early and late.
5 - traffic is a problem. remember - augusta is a small town to host such a large event. Its spring break for the people who live there. Most want to get as far away as possible, so they rent their house and hit the road.
6 - buy your stuff when you get there and ship it home. no since lugging it around. you can ship or store it while you see the course. Prices are mostly the same as what you¡¦d pay at your local pro shop. I¡¦ve been watching people buy stuff for 20 years, and most people spend at least $300, and many people go up much higher.
7 ¡V food is cheap. You¡¦ll understand this if you¡¦ve ever been to the US open, or an NFL game. A sandwich is 2 ¡V 3 dollars. Chips are a buck. A coke is $1.50¡K eat up¡K beer is cheap too, but they stop selling it at 4:00. People rave about the pimento sandwich, but I don¡¦t like pimento¡K I go all out and spend $3.50 on the club SW...
8 - Rhineharts is my best dining recommendation. its about 3 miles from ANGC on the other side of i20. mostly rustic, but the best fried shrimp I've ever had. Crowed, but you can get Rin. there¡¦s another rhineharts further out on Washington road that¡¦s less crowded and the same great food / beer
9 - I don't get the chair thing. yes - you can buy a chair, put it down on the ropes, and leave it and not worry about losing it - but the stands are there for a reason. the best viewing is the stands. i'd avoid the chair thing.
10 ¡V best seat / viewing at Augusta? The right stands on #15. You¡¦ll see the shots into the green on 15 and the shots into 16. Those stands are always full. but be patient. People will leave. So hang out in line and you¡¦ll get a seat¡K remember ¡V the stands are there for a reason¡K most of the best viewing is where the stands are¡K
11 - see the entire course¡K. walk all of it. you many never be there again. you'll be blown away by the slopes, size of greens, depth of bunkers, hump in the green on #6, size of green on 3, 7; the elevation change on 6 and 10, beauty everywhere. Notice the design ¡V also remember the changes that have been made ¡V some good, some bad¡K look at #7 ¡V that green is ridiculous ¡V slopes, and its tiny. The hole was built to be a 3 iron and wedge. 325 yards and tree¡¦s crimp in towards the greens. Now its 450 and tighter than ever because the trees keep growing¡K
And make sure you check out the driving range¡K I haven¡¦t been everywhere, but I¡¦ve never seen anything like it¡K
12 ¡V Lastly, don't be that guy. Avoid being:
a. the you da man guy, or the booyah guy
b. the drink all day guy carrying your masters beer cups around
c. the guy who goes thru the trash looking for plastic masters cups,
d. the guy who wears the ricky fowler clothes, or the guy who wears the loudmouth pants
e. ...the masters is a classy place. be the classy guy...:-)
Enjoy ¡V greatest show on earth¡K and arguably the most well run...
I¡¦ve been to the masters every year since 1995. And spent the last 11 years as a volunteer, spent the first 6 as an information board guy, then 5 years on the 1st tee calling the players off during the practice rounds. This year I¡¦m moving to scoring, but I will not find out my assignment until I get there. The great thing about scoring is you don¡¦t work the practice rounds ¡K since no one keeps score¡K
ļ
The benefit of being a volunteer is we get to come back in may and play the course¡K
enjoy...