AUGUSTA, Ga. — Want to play Augusta?
No problem.
It's $75 per round, cart included. Keep in mind, that's Augusta Municipal Golf Course, about 3 1/2 miles south of Augusta National.
Not every out-of-towner immediately recognizes that distinction. They dial up the course affectionately known as "The Patch," thinking they're calling the most exclusive golf club in the world.
"We have tons of people call, and they just want to know the address so they can come in and buy some merchandise," said Andre Lacey, the burly club pro at Augusta Municipal told the Los Angeles Times in 2019. "They get here and it's like, 'This isn't Augusta National.' So, sorry."
From this point forward, though, the two courses will be linked. Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley announced Wednesday that the club is going to support a joint partnership among The Patch, Augusta Technical College and First Tee of Augusta to continue to grow the game.
That means the home of the Masters will be assisting in the renovation of The Patch in order, in Ridley's words, to "usher in a new era for public golf in our city."
So maybe those callers weren't confused about the merchandise, just ahead of their time.
Holes-in-one
There were five holes-in-one on the renovated par-three course Wednesday, including back-to-back aces by Ireland's Seamus Power.
Power holed out on Nos. 8 and 9, delighting the gallery of thousands who had gathered for the annual Par-Three Contest.
During the yearly five-month course closure, Augusta National refashioned five holes on the par-three course, including installing new tee boxes and greens.
Others who had aces Wednesday were defending Masters champion Scottie Scheffler, two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson and Tom Hoge, who wound up winning the lighthearted event, when lots of players have wives, girlfriends or family members as caddies.
Hoge shot a six-under-par 21 on the nine-hole course, with four 3s, four 2s and a hole-in-one. It's good news/bad news for him: He won, yes, but no one has won the Par-3 Contest and Masters in the same year.
Perhaps the event's most memorable hole-in-one came in 2018, when six-time Masters champion Jack Nicklaus allowed his grandson, G.T., to hit a tee shot on No. 9.
Ace!
The elder Nicklaus would call it the greatest Masters moment of his career.
Masters garden gnome
As usual, the hottest item at the merchandise center is the Masters garden gnome, which changes in details every year but is always a must-have souvenir. They retail for $49.50, and it's one per customer.
This year it's a bearded gnome dressed as a Masters patron, complete with a white cap, blue polo and holding a Masters drink cup.
For some fans, particularly ones who don't have tickets, anything with an Augusta National logo is a coveted item.
Last year, a memorabilia salesman in a strip mall on Washington Road, across the street from the club, was selling a Masters shoe horn for $40, a matchbook bearing the Augusta National logo for $8, and a paper cocktail napkin for $5. One man's tchotchkes are another man's cha-ching.
On the ropes
You might know that cell phones are strictly banned on the course, either for calls or as cameras. But did you know the Masters is the only event on the PGA Tour that doesn't allow inside-the-ropes access for the media?
That makes for an interesting challenge when photographers are trying to get that perfect shot. They are moving around all day, so they don't have the luxury of staying in one spot to reserve an open spot along the ropes.
The seasoned Masters photographers, typically lugging 20 to 30 pounds of equipment, briskly make a beeline to high ground when they're approaching a hole — no running allowed — and are pros at sweet-talking patrons to scoot over just a smidge.
Although the photographers are not permitted to use phones to transmit their images from the course, there are some secret stations at a few spots — hidden behind walls and camouflaged with green paint — where they can upload their photos to the media center (and nowhere else) via an ethernet connection. That allows them to keep working with minimal interruption.
Tiger tales
Nobody knows this course better than Tiger Woods, and the five-time Masters champion is more willing than ever to share his knowledge of how to play it with younger competitors. However, there was a time when he was much more of a student than a professor.
He recalled this week a tip he received from Raymond Floyd about hitting an approach into the second green with the pin placed in a tricky, back-left spot.
Floyd suggested — half-jokingly, we hope — that Woods use the spectators as a human backstop, hitting into the gallery behind the pin and yelling "Fore!" just a little late, so nobody can really scatter. That would raise the odds of a soft landing or maybe even a lucky ricochet.
That spot behind the green provides some ideal viewing. You first.
