Situated just a few hundred yards beyond a relatively nondescript road to the north west of Augusta, Georgia, the hallowed turf of Augusta National Golf Club has been the venue for The Masters since 1934 and is the only Major to be played at the same course every year.
Because of its permanent location and a legacy that has grown over the decades, the course’s familiarity for the watching crowds and the multitude of TV viewers around the world, enhances the tournament’s lustre. Add to that the fact that it has been eight months since the last piece of Major Championship action and The Masters is always essential viewing – either for die-hard golf fans or the passing sports enthusiast.
Built on a former nursery under the watchful eye of golfing great Bobby Jones and legendary British architect Alister MacKenzie, the land slopes away from the clubhouse, lending itself to MacKenzie’s philosophy of using the natural contours to provide the distinctive characteristics of a golf course. The rolling beauty at the far reaches of the course, known as Amen Corner, certainly delivers a memorable stretch of iconic holes, with Rae’s Creek coming into play on every shot from the approach to 11 through to the approach to 13.
Augusta National was the final design MacKenzie created. He passed away in 1934 shortly before the first tournament took place, ahead of the completion of the course. Over the next 80 years the course has evolved as the towering pines have grown. Tweaks and changes were applied (the front and back nines were switched in 1935 because the start was deemed to be too difficult a stretch of holes), bunkers were added, greens and tee-boxes reshaped and, in recent years, length has been added to accommodate the advancements in technology.
Yet the aura that surrounds the course and the event has been maintained over the years as the best players in the world compete over four memorable days for one of the most prized possessions in sport – the famed Green Jacket.
