Augusta National Golf Club: The Masters Tournament

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Augusta National Golf Club

Augusta National Golf Club is one of the for-profit corporation located in Augusta, Georgia, United States. Once in a while, it is also called The National or Augusta. One of the most popular and sweet Augusta National Golf Club was founded by Bobby Jones and Clifford Roberts, then designed by Jones and Alister MacKenzie. It started its operations in 1932. The club had some racist and sex policies as no African Americans were registered as members up until 1990, and no women were accepted as members until 2012. They didn’t allow the blacks to participate in the Masters Tournament until 1975. Tiger Woods became the first person of color to win the tournament in 1997.

How much is the Augusta National worth?

Augusta does not disclose its member’s details, income on the tickets and more.

History

It was founded in 1932 by Clifford Roberts and Bobby Jones on the 365-acre land that held Fruitland Nursery. The idea was to create a world-class winter golf course in Georgia. It suffered several setbacks in the first decade, such as low membership due to its remote location. Their first professional was Ed Dudley until 1957.

In an attempt to attract crowds and players, they held their first Masters in 1934.

In 1948, Roberts invited President Dwight D Eisenhower and his wife to Augusta, which led to Roberts being appointed as the financial advisor to the President. This led Roberts to build the President a house on the course which the President only visited 29 times during his reign.

Facilities and grounds

Augusta National Golf Club features imported pine straws, bird sounds that are played in speakers, and ponds that were once dyed blue. The club has special, strict rules like no cell phones, no running, no talking loudly, no cheering, no electronic devices, etc. When you break any of this, there are chances of being permanently banned or even prosecuted.

It also features;

  • Butler Cabin near hole 18- this is where tournament winners are awarded the green jacket.
  • The clubhouse- It is near hole 1. It has a wine cellar and a practice range
  • Three large cabins are reserved for the sponsors who are Mercedes, AT&T, and IBM.
  • There are cameras throughout the course and connected to the studios through underground cables.

Amen corner

This refers to the 2nd shot on the 11th, all shots on the 12th, and the first two shots on the 13th. This term was first used in 1958 by Herbert Warren Wind in his Sports article when he was writing about the Masters of that year.

The Big Oak Tree

It was planted in the 1850s. It is situated on the course side of the clubhouse.

Eisenhower tree

It was named after Eisenhower because he used to hit the tree so much that he wanted it cut. It was finally removed after being damaged in an ice storm in 2014.

Ike’s Pond

This pond was made for Eisenhower to fish in as he was the one who came up with the idea.

Membership

In Augusta, membership is strictly by invitation, as there is no application. It was speculated that membership costs between $10,000 and $30,000 per year. No African Americans could join the club until 1990 when Ron Townsend was invited.

To know more about Augusta visit Wikipedia.