A few years ago I was fortunate to attend the Masters Golf tournament. It wasn't only one of my most unforgettable golf memories, but that very same golf course that I'd spent years watching on TV had a much dissimilar look in person. My first impression was the contour of the course: the contours are a great deal steeper than they appear on TV. For example, the fairway on eighteen is much steeper by plenty as opposed to the image we have come used to watching television.
One more feeling was the size for the driving area. That section was so tight that the golfers would drive the ball from the practice tee into a large net. As compared with the contemporary golf courses now, where you'll find immense land areas in which to work, Augusta National is a vintage golf course. When it had been developed, golfers did not hit the golf ball for the huge distances they are doing today, so they've outgrown the driving area. I watched Padraig Harrington at the driving range hit golf balls three-quarters the way up the massive net.
Augusta National gives the impression of being what heaven must appear to be to the golfer, particularly when it is in full bloom in early April. It is more unspoiled and beautiful than what is captured on television. And they still keep the Southern welcome and charm, while the wealth with the golf club becomes pretty evident. They still were serving homemade sandwiches (for lower than $3) and snacks that were so inexpensive for an event such as this I could scarcely believe it. The tournament most likely always has maintained its Southern charm; however the wealth has not always been there.
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The property was an indigo farm when it was bought by a Belgian baron in 1857. The son, who was a horticulturist, imported plants and trees that turned the estate into a nursery, which the property owes a great deal of its splendor to this day. The nursery ended operations in 1918.
The great player Bobby Jones originated the concept of building a course on the empty section of land, and then the golf course became finished in 1933. The club almost went bankrupt in those depression years, and so the golf course designer Alistair Mackenzie was paid just $2000 of the $10000 he was due. The first tournament was held March 22, 1934, with the total winnings for the twelve pros participating was $5000. In order to meet this total, the association would ask the members for donations, since the club as well as the tournament continued to lose money in those initial years and through World War II.
The post-war boom years ultimately brought some economic ease, and during the 1950s the tournament in particular and golf in general, helped to make this one of the golden eras of sports entertainment within the United States. CBS has televised the Masters every year since 1956. It has truly develop into one of the top events in all of sports, and for a person now living through freezing winters, it is the event that really starts the golf season.
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