A Day at the Masters (Brief Summary)

[Ryan Smither]

4:10 am - Awaken in Atlanta, GA
5:00 am - Hop on I-85 with my brother, bound for Augusta National
7:45 am - Arrive on Washington and parked for free!
7:47 am - Leave the jackets in the car
7:50 am - Search for tickets
8:00 am - Almost buy 2 tickets for $150 a piece
8:20 am - Buy 2 tickets from 2 fellow patrons for $91 total
8:21 am - High-five my brother as we expected to spend atleast $100 per
8:40 am - Immediately regret the decision to leave jackets in car
8:50 am - Stroll across #1 fairway, marvelling at the "green carpet"
9:30 am - Watch El Tigre hit shots into #15, "tour pitch" shots, bunker shots, some putts, full wedges...this guy is rediculous
9:42 am - Watch El Tigre "skip-it" on #16
10:45 am - Buy a nice Masters sweatshirt for survival purposes
...timeline begins to fade away...
1:00ish - Bubba Watson hits the golf ball harder than these eyes have seen
2:00ish - It becomes apparent Henrik Stenson is a brutal putter
2:30ish - Weather takes a turn for the better
3:00ish - I ask myself, "How is Ben Curtis playing this game for a living?"
4:00ish - JB Holmes is hitting it well looking to bring a Jacket back to the K-Y
5:00ish - Inhale my 4th $1.00 Sandwich of the Day
5:30ish - How did Justin Leonard score this hot wife?
5:45 pm - Watch as workers RAKE the divots off the range tee...HINT...HINT
6:30 pm - No doubt in my mind, Augusta National is a SPECIAL place
9:15 pm - Safe and sound back in the ATL
*THIS WAS MY 2nd TRIP...IF YOU HAVE NOT BEEN, YOU MUST GO!*

 

[bendet3]

Ryan,
That's awesome. Do you know, is your "good luck" at scoring tickets typical of being able to buy tickets to get in? I was thinking of making the trek down next year from the Great White North but I assumed that I would never be able to score tickets without "knowing someone".

 

[niblick1]

I've been a couple times, and it is a pilgrimage every golf nut has to make at least once. The firs time I went we were there for the weekend and we watched Watson and Nicklaus duel down the stretch. It was a 7-hour car drive home Sunday night and my dad had me drive the last two hours even though I had just gotten my learner's permit because he was so tired he couldn't stay awake. Talk about pressure!

 

[Ryan Smither]

You cannot get tickets through any process for Thurs-Sunday (PGA members do get in free all 7 days). However, below is the information I used to get 4 practice round tickets last year. You send them your information to get on the list. They will send you an application in June where you pick which day or days (M,T,W) and how many tickets (up to 4 per day). Every applicant does not receive tickets (as I learned this year). I have a feeling that they offer tickets to first time applicants and then go from there.

Applications will be sent in June:

Send your request, including your name, address, daytime telephone number and Social Security Number, to:

Masters Tournament
Practice Rounds
PO Box 2047
Augusta, GA 30903-2047

 

[bergsey]

I've had my name down for Practice round tickets for 3 years now without success...maybe next year! I would have to travel pretty much from the opposite side of the globe to get there, so you guys in the US take the opportunity if you get it... you don't realise how lucky you are !!

 

[dcg1952]

My friend applied for 1996 practice round tickets (the first year they did this system) and hit! Then didn't hit again until this year. I started applying in 1997 and hit in 2004. It's actaully pretty cool to receive the letter every June from Augusta National. Can't wait for the application to arrive again--it's like playing the lottery----you have this incredible hope that somehow you will win.

 

[birdie_man]

$1 sandwich........how great is that.