@GVF ever applied for ticket lottery?
Had chance to go to practice round yesterday but life got in the way...
No never tried. Should have gave it my best efforts though. almost 50 years of my life I always lived within 2-3 hours of augusta and for over a year commuted there every day 4 hours round trip. Would stay with my maintenance manager on occasion whol lived in a neighborhood right accross the street from the almost hidden Magnolia Lane entrance. It's very unassuming. Storms and weather changes things. But, when I was working there, the perimeter of the club at the roads seemed to be a mix of bamboo and stuff. You couldn't see in from the main road side at all except for a quick peek down Magnolia Lane if you didn't miss it driving by. I guess over the years, town grew up around ANGC. It's not in an area they'd build a place like that now. Atleast on the east side. Everywhere he'd take me to learn my way around he'd say "you're in the hood now." After about 4 months I realized that pretty well meant the entirity of augusta except for some outlier neighborhoods. I said heck, you've yet to take me anywhere that hasn't been in the hood.
Best thing, and only good thing, I found in August was Reinhardt's Oyster Bar. A seafood dive about 5 minutes up the road accross the interstate. That place was totally legit. And in 2009ish was very affordable, especially on their Tuesday night deal. I'd get half a dozen oysters, couple dozen shrimp, a beer and tip for around $20-23. They'd shuck and rinse hte oysters at the bar when you ordered them.
Best deal I've ever seen though. Growing up, one of our elders was a pediatrician. His daughter was some sort of medical field and her husband was a doctor. The husband started putting in his requirements to become a marshall during the tournament, and got on as a marshall for the week. He's prob in his mid 60's or maybe upper 60's. Can't recall how much younger I am than him. If he is still doing it, he's running on maybe 40 years now since he got in. It's a volunteer service, as their only compensation is a free round of golf at Augusta afterwards.
This same elder/doctor though somehow always came up with practice round passes, or maybe it was thursday/friday passes. Sometimes if he couldn't go he'd give them away. I never had a chance to take one. I think my brother in law got one one time and tried to attend on one of the worst weather days in Master's history and ended up leaving early if they ever got there.
Kid up in Hartwell, GA where I lived 16 years was in the larger group of folks I golfed with. He and his brother both were scratch golfers and better in HS. He went to Augusta College on golf only because they got to play an at home toruney therre once a season after the Masters. I think Augusta CC right behind AN was the home course. He was pro level good. Shot par a couple times at AN, and maybe 1 or 2 under at 18-20 tears old. Our local state rep I played with shot par there. Several men in town offered the kid $50K gift to cover one years expenses to go get his tour card after he graduated college. He wouldn't go. He was a big boy and I think he was afraid of the physical being 350 pounds or so. His brother was a lefty. Maybe could have been as good, but got killed in a car wreck in town going to a wedding. He wqs on golf at Anderson College accross the river at the time. His name embroidered golf bag is still in the pro shop at Cateechee Golf club there.
You'll have to excuse me, but i'm almost 60, a really good looking 60, and sometimes simple questions bring up several related memories and leads to a small essay. ( I purposely left out the story of Augusta's one legged stripper)
