After having great plans to get an early night, some how we forgot that and only got to bed at 11:30, with an early  morning ahead that might not have been the smartest thing to do..  We had a great nights sleep apart from the jumbo jet engines starting up in our room 2 or 3 times during the night (that turned out to be the air conditioner)!

Off to breakfast and the Masters, it was so exciting.  Cockers, Sugzee and I were all wearing Fluro pink shirts so that all of you had a good chance at seeing us on telly.  We boarded a shuttle at 8am that took us to a hospitality house outside of the Masters grounds, there we got our tickets and could leave any valuables.  Parting with our mobile phones was quite strange as we could not contact each other if we got lost – that is where the pink shirts turned out to be a genius idea.  No mobiles, no cameras so no photos except this one of us in the bus! 

The shirts attracted a lot of comments from passers by, when all three of us were together we were very noticeable.  We started off by buying the chairs, which are little green camping chairs that you can book a spot with.  You put it down in a spot with your business card and when you want to sit on it if anyone is using it then you can just ask them to move.  Then we walked a few holes including 17 and 18, this was whilst there was no one on them so you could get a good look at the course.  Things that I was surprised by;

1. It is wide open, I got the impression from television that it is a tight course.  The fairways are narrow but the trees are not too dense and there are gaps.
2. It is very very hilly, I estimate that 18 has an eleveation of 30 to 40 metres from tee to green. On the 10th the elevation drops more than 100 feet, the par 5 2nd it drops 90 feet, 8th its 60 feet and on the 18th from the fairway bunkers, aka middle of the hole it climbs 40 feet to the green and the tee is a further 40 to 60 feet below that.
3. The greens are very similar to Pinehurst with large mounds and Swales with very precise landing areas to get the balls close.
4. The price of food and beverages is ridiculously cheap, $1.50 for a sandwich.
5. The efficiency of the whole tournament, the toilets have ushers that ensure that the cubicles are clean and have loo paper, they are clean and there never seemed to be a queue.  The merchandise tents had all the shirts and hads displayed and numbered, so you just asked for a 15 and a 27 in a large it a small and voila.  Checkouts were quick.
6. There was no litter.
7. As soon as a group left the green and providing there was time a group of people came onto the green and picked up the pine tree droppings (the little wormy things that pine trees drop). 
8. If a player had played out of a bunker they came with a whip and whipped the sand off the green.
9. When players have teed off, people come out to pick up broken tees and fill the divots and pick up any pine tree worms.
10. The players wives follow them in the crowd, they have to stand in the same place as the patrons to see their beloveds play.

We sat in a stand at Amen corner, watching the play at 11 and 12, we saw just about everybody. We watched at 

Categories: The Masters Trip

Shaz Thompson

Mad about golf, enthusiastic about life, totally in love with my husband and just having fun.