The Masters

This is one of my favorite weekends of the year. The Masters golf tournament takes place in Augusta, GA. I have never been to watch in person but hope to one of these days. Watching on TV is still pretty great. The course looks perfect and the golf is always very competitive. August is only two hours away from Charlotte but it is kind of off the beaten path. I've heard that Augusta National Golf Club is right in the middle of a bunch of strip malls. It is like an oasis. You could not tell by watching the telecast the the club is not in the best part of town. The tress are beautiful, the fairways and greens are perfect, and the azaleas are always in bloom for the tournament. The grounds keepers do an incredible job of getting the course ready and it really shows. I have been watching the tournament for many years. My first memory is watching the 1982 tournament from my grandparent's house just outside Chicago. We must have been there for Easter and Craig Stadler won that year. Augusta is also home of my favorite golf hole. The thirteenth hole is a short dogleg left par five. It is a big risk/reward hole that always adds an element of drama to the weekend. I hope to play it one day or at least watch someone play it. I should add that Augusta National isn't perfect. There has been issues over the past decade about their refusal to allow women and minorities membership. Both have been addressed but they took too long. So I look forward to sitting down on Sunday afternoon and watching the leaders play the last few holes. It is the official start of Spring for me.

Until tomorrow,

Dave