I love The Masters.
Today marks the end of my most favorite week of the year- the Sunday of the Masters. Yes, it is also Easter and the end of Holy Week, which is also a beautiful week, but the post today is about The Masters. Now, for those of you who don’t know, I am a HUGE golf fan. I pretty much suck at playing golf- I have a set of old clubs, collecting dust and goodness knows what kind of spiders, in the garage at my Dad’s place. But I haven’t picked up a club in ages.
My Dad started playing golf when I was about five, and I would go with him and his friends when I was a kid when they played… the family loves to tell the story about how I used to wash my Barbie’s hair in the golf ball cleaner and how I forgot her there and the group behind us came charging up to us in their golf cart, like knights on white horses (err… golf carts) to return her to me. YEARS, I have been hearing this story for years and they always tease me, but I digress. So, all of those years of being on the course or watching golf with my Dad on TV has made me a fan. My poor grad students got a whole lesson on the PGA and what the Majors are at lunch the other day because one person asked a question. Point is, I like golf… follow it pretty well and it is always tradition that my Dad and I watch part of The Masters together.
Oh, The Masters. How I love you. Really, I do. I am going to conveniently leave out the whole “Women membership in Augusta National” debacle. I have an opinion, but it is not what I want to talk about today. I am also not going to lecture everyone on the PGA and try to explain what it is or what the majors are. You can find out about them HERE and HERE. So why is THIS tournament my favorite, well several reasons:
- It takes place in the South! It is such a classic Southern event. It is full of hospitality, good manners, great southern food… this list goes on. It is a classic Southern event.
- The history. Augusta National has been around since the 1930s and was founded by some of the greats in the history of golf. Now while I don’t like all of their history, I appreciate that it has a long and storied history.
- Augusta National is hands down one of the most beautiful places in the Southeast, if not the whole United States. From that walk up Magnolia Lane in front of the club house, to the azalea bushes framing Amen Corner, to the dogwoods. It is lovely. I was really disappointed this year though because there were no flowers! It was such a warm March down there that all the azaleas and dogwoods bloomed a few weeks too early and no one was able to appreciate their blooms during the tournament this year. Regardless, every blade of grass is still perfect and it is just amazing.
- The food. I know I did a blog on this a while ago, but I still think it is the coolest thing that you can get a sandwich, chips and a drink for under $5. You go to so many places… theme parks, sporting events, concerts and everything is ridiculously overpriced. The food is reasonable here and Southern- tuna salad, egg salad or pimento cheese sandwiches! And while the food is reasonable, you are still going to pay $65 for shirt… can’t be perfect.
- Respect. People are so respectful. People don’t yell, they don’t heckle players. Not at The Masters. They respect the grounds- you never see trash left somewhere. People respect the people there watching the tournament with them. You go and leave your chair on the 18th green, walk around to see the course for a bit, and your chair is still waiting there for you when you get back. Respect.
Okay, so I love The Masters, and the one time I was able to go was by far one of the coolest experiences I have ever had living in the South. I entered my name and my Dad’s name in the lottery to even get on the wait list last year… this first time they had done that in over a decade. No luck. I look forward to the day we randomly get tickets again. Even though getting tickets to The Masters is one of the toughest tickets to get in the sporting world, I feel confident we will get them. Heck, if my father can manage to have gone three times, I think I can manage two. So to sum up this ode to the best golf tournament there is, check out this article that was in CNN in the other day…. It sums up why it is the happiest place on earth: http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/06/sport/golf/golf-masters-impression/index.html
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