Dispatches From Augusta National: The “Feel” of The Masters
It always drives me crazy and now it kind of makes me laugh when some reporter asks, “How does it feel? “Every athlete says, “It feels amazing! Unbelievable!” Or if I’m in a press conference and somebody says, “Tell us about such and such?” That’s not a question. That’s either uninformed or lazy.
At Augusta though, it is a little different. Bobby Jones once said, “Competitive golf is played mainly on a five and a half inch course … the space between your ears” So, how it feels is important. If you play golf, you know that depending on the situation, what pressure you might be under, what’s on the line, all count as part of executing the next shot. You never know how you’re going to feel when the shot presents itself. That’s part of the game at the highest level as well. Getting into contention, having a shot that really counts all goes into how you’re going to react. The best players know, and learn how to be, “Comfortable being uncomfortable.” It’s one of the reasons they say that the Masters at Augusta National doesn’t start until the leaders reach the 10th tee on Sunday.
With the history and tradition and the legends of the game enshrined as winners, there is a different feel to The Masters, and it starts, at least for the professionals, when they drive down Magnolia Lane.
“I think growing up as an American golfer, I think Augusta is the place you always want to get to,” two time Masters Champion Scottie Sheffler said on Tuesday. “Whether or not it’s to play in the tournament or just to get to see the golf course. For me, I truly feel that once you drive down Magnolia Lane, everything else melts away, and you get to be here and be focused.”
To give the players a chance to be focused, Augusta National has smoothed out every process the players seem to endure at other tournaments. They’ve built underground parking under the member’s practice area.
That’s connected to the new Players Services building that houses the locker room, a gym, a physio space for stretching and massage and every other thing you can think of a player would need to get ready to play. Even the teeing ground at the practice facility is heated in case there’s a frost delay. Players will still be able to warm up and be ready to go when the weather allows.
Some players have said they don’t want to attend the Masters until they’re playing in the tournament. Not Tommy Fleetwood. He says he “managed to get a ticket” in 2014 and he just came to watch, thinking it would be motivation.
“I would get to see it before I came,” he explained. “It was more I remember walking around, and you get to the back of the 12th tee, and that’s as far as you can go as a patron, can’t go any further. And I’m watching these players go play and walk over the bridge to 13 and then teeing off on 13, and I was like, I want to go there. That’s where I want to be.”
And when Fleetwood played his way into the tournament, that’s what he was thinking about. “I think that became my thing about playing in the Masters. When I play, I get to go and get to the 12th green and the 13th tee. So that was like my — sort of my biggest motivation in a way. I never even contemplated at the time winning it.”
That spot around Amen Corner is unique in tournament golf. The patrons at the tournament can see every shot back there, but the players are away from everything but the golf itself.
“It’s serene, it’s peaceful. It’s an opportunity to gather yourself amidst the buzz of the tournament.” Bryson DeChambeau opined when asked about how removed that part of the golf course becomes. “I think it allows us to take a mini break. It kind of settles you in for the rest of the round. It’s a nice space. It’s a really fun space to go back to and be around all the azaleas, and I think there’s a couple dogwoods back there. It’s fun. I’m a nature guy. I like knowing what’s back there.”
It’s no surprise that the rarest of winners are those who have donned the Green Jacket in their first attempt at Augusta National. Horton Smith, who won the first one in 1934, Gene Sarazen in his first the following year, and Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979 are the only players to accomplish that feat.
Knowing the golf course counts.
“I think the experience is the biggest thing here,” said former U.S. Open Champion Matt Fitzpatrick. “I think the more you can learn about the golf course, the better. There’s obviously so many different things that you need to learn, I feel like, for the golf course and the more experience you have, the better chance you have of succeeding here.”
Defending Champion Rory McIlroy agreed. “You come back — the other major venues, we don’t go back to the same place every year. So, I think that is something I feel like I’m still young, but I’m very experienced. I’ve been doing this for a long time. This is my 18th start.
I just think that everything here is a little more predictable. You know the golf course pretty much. There’s subtle changes year after year, but the hole locations are always in similar spots. I just think the more experience you have around this golf course, the better it is.”
Winning it has changed how McIlroy approaches the week. He noted that would have never gotten to Augusta National so early, preferring to wait until sometime Monday evening or Tuesday to be on the grounds.
“I think for the past 17 years I just could not wait for the tournament to start, and this year I wouldn’t care if the tournament never started,” McIlroy said in his press conference Tuesday to much laughter among the press corps.
Wearing his Green Jacket, Rory related that it’s all a new experience for him. “Yeah, it’s completely different. I feel so much more relaxed. I know that I’m going to be coming back here for a lot of years, going to enjoy the perks that the champions get here. It doesn’t make me any less motivated to go out there and play well and try to win the tournament,”
