Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox golf facility

Augusta National Golf Club, sometimes referred to as Augusta National, Augusta, or the National, is a golf club in Augusta, Georgia, United States. It is known for hosting the annual Masters Tournament.

Founded by Bobby Jones and Clifford Roberts, the course was designed by Jones and Alister MacKenzie<ref name="itcpgat11" /> and opened for play in 1932.<ref name="new-yorker-june-19" /> Unlike most private clubs which operate as non-profits,<ref name="tolve-2007">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Augusta National is a for-profit corporation, and it does not disclose its income, holdings, membership list, or ticket sales.<ref name="new-yorker-june-19">Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Since 1934, the club has played host to the Masters Tournament, one of the four men's major championships in professional golf, and the only major played each year at the same course. It was the top-ranked course in Golf DigestTemplate:'s 2009 list of America's 100 greatest courses<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and was the number ten-ranked course based on course architecture on Golfweek MagazineTemplate:'s 2011 list of best classic courses in the United States.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 2019, the course began co-hosting the Augusta National Women's Amateur with Champions Retreat Golf Club.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

HistoryEdit

Augusta National was founded in 1932 by Bobby Jones and Clifford Roberts on the 365-acre site of a former nursery/antebellum plantation called Fruitland (later Fruitlands).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Jones sought to create a world-class winter golf course in his native state of Georgia. During the first decade of the club's existence, membership was low and finances were short due to the Great Depression and the relatively remote location of Augusta, forcing the duo to scrap future plans for a "ladies' course", squash and tennis courts, and various estates.<ref name="new-yorker-june-19"/>

Its first club professional was Ed Dudley, who served in the role until 1957; Dudley was one of the top tournament professionals of his era, with 15 wins on the PGA Tour.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The Masters was first held in 1934 in an attempt to attract crowds and players. Roberts persuaded Jones, then retired, to return to play in the tournament. Jones was initially against the name Masters.<ref name="new-yorker-june-19"/>

In 1948, Dwight D. Eisenhower and his wife Mamie were personally invited to Augusta by Roberts. Eisenhower took a liking to the club, becoming a member, and hired Roberts as his executor and financial advisor; Roberts had a house (Eisenhower Cabin) constructed for Eisenhower on the grounds. During his presidency, Eisenhower visited Augusta National 29 times.<ref name="new-yorker-june-19"/>

Facilities and groundsEdit

Augusta is renowned for its well-maintained impeccable appearance: pine needles are imported, bird sounds are played on inconspicuous speakers, and even the ponds were once dyed blue.<ref name="new-yorker-june-19"/> The club is famed for its azaleas and dogwoods.<ref name="tolve-2007"/>

Rules and policies imposed on employees, club members, and visitors (referred to internally as "patrons") are notoriously strict. No cell phones or other electronic devices are permitted (except in the press building—spot checks are performed elsewhere); no running or loud talking is allowed; and spectators are not allowed to cheer when a player makes a mistake.<ref name="new-yorker-june-19"/> Security guards enforce these rules, and are traditionally provided by Pinkerton.<ref name="new-yorker-june-19"/> Rule-breakers are permanently banned, if not prosecuted when possible.<ref name="tolve-2007"/>

Other notable facilities include Butler Cabin, near hole 18, where tournament winners are presented with a green jacket; the clubhouse, near hole 1, which dates to the 1850s and has a well-stocked wine cellar; and a practice range.<ref name="new-yorker-june-19"/> Three large cabins on the property are reserved for tournament sponsors—as of 2020, Mercedes-Benz, IBM, and AT&T.

The club's on-site press building has television studios, a complimentary restaurant and snack options, staffed bathrooms, and leather chairs.<ref name="new-yorker-june-19"/> Cameras placed throughout the course are directly connected to the press building's studios via underground cables.<ref name="tolve-2007"/>

Berckmans PlaceEdit

Berckmans Place, sometimes called Berckmans or BP,<ref name="van-sickle-13">Template:Cite magazine</ref> is a 90,000-sq.-ft. non-public shopping and dining complex built in 2012. It operates for one week each year, during the Masters. Entry passes for the week cost $10,000 (up from $6,000)<ref name="mayo-ashley">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> are sold only to corporations, and require Augusta National's approval; there is a 10-ticket limit per pass.<ref name="van-sickle-13"/> As in the rest of the club, neither cell phones nor photography are allowed. The price includes free dining at Berckmans' five full-service restaurants, each of which can seat hundreds of guests: Augusta's Seafood,<ref name="chi-trib-2016"/> Calamity Jane's, Ike's Place, MacKenzie's Pub, and the Pavilion. Bathroom stalls are attended and cleaned after each use.<ref name="new-yorker-june-19"/> There is a pro shop<ref name="mayo-ashley"/> and four putting greens dubbed the "Putting Experience": three slightly smaller replicas of holes 7, 14, and 16; and a "composite course".<ref name="van-sickle-13"/><ref name="mayo-ashley"/><ref name="chi-trib-2016">Template:Cite news</ref> BP customers can use an exclusive parking lot and entryway (Gate 9).<ref name="van-sickle-13"/> The complex is located near hole 5.<ref name="costa-wsj-2019"/>

Berckmans Place is named after Belgian Louis Mathieu Berckmans, whose family owned the land the club is built on from 1858 to 1910.<ref name="kingdom-barwick">Template:Cite magazine</ref>

CourseEdit

The course was formerly a plant nursery,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and each hole on the course is named after the tree or shrub with which it has become associated. Several of the holes on the first nine have been renamed, as well as hole #11.<ref name="nursbeaut">Template:Cite news</ref>

Hole Name Yards Par Hole Name Yards Par
1 Tea Olive 445 4 10 Camellia 495 4
2 Pink Dogwood 585 5 11 White Dogwood 520 4
3 Flowering Peach 350 4 12 Golden Bell 155 3
4 Flowering Crab Apple 240 3 13 Azalea 545 5
5 Magnolia 495 4 14 Chinese Fir 440 4
6 Juniper 180 3 15 Firethorn 550 5
7 Pampas 450 4 16 Redbud 170 3
8 Yellow Jasmine 570 5 17 Nandina 440 4
9 Carolina Cherry 460 4 18 Holly 465 4
Front 3,775 36 Back 3,780 36
Source:<ref name=itcpgat11/><ref name=2012cstour>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>||colspan=2|Total||7,555||72

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Lengths of the course for the Masters at the start of each decade:

Unlike most other private or public golf courses in the United States, Augusta National has never been rated. During the 1990 Masters Tournament, a team of USGA raters, organized by Golf Digest, evaluated the course and gave it an unofficial rating of 76.2. It was re-evaluated in 2009 and given an unofficial rating of 78.1.<ref name=rating>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

The course's greens are meticulously maintained to provide a fast and hard golfing surface.<ref name="new-yorker-june-19"/> This firmness is assisted by an underground irrigation and ventilation system known as the SubAir System, developed and installed in 1994<ref name="matuszewski-2019"/> by course superintendent Marsh Benson.<ref name="new-yorker-june-19"/> SubAir soon evolved into its own company in nearby Graniteville, South Carolina, designing and installing similar automatic water suction systems in venues such as Pebble Beach, East Lake, Citi Field, and Citizens Bank Park.<ref name="tolve-2007"/><ref name="matuszewski-2019">Template:Cite magazine</ref>

The bunkers are filled not with traditional sand but with granulated quartz (known as "Spruce Pine sand" and SP55<ref name="la-times-farmer-2020"/>) which is produced as a byproduct during work at feldspar mines in the Spruce Pine Mining District in and around Spruce Pine, North Carolina.<ref name="new-yorker-june-19"/> Augusta has been using Spruce Pine sand to fill its bunkers since the early 1970s, when Clifford Roberts visited Linville Golf Club in Linville, North Carolina, which used the material. Since the mining company providing the sand refused payment, in exchange Roberts offered to host the company owner at Augusta at any time, and later gifted him six Masters passes.<ref name="la-times-farmer-2020">Template:Cite news</ref>

The golf course architecture website GolfClubAtlas.com has said, "Augusta National has gone through more changes since its inception than any of the world's twenty or so greatest courses. To call it a MacKenzie course is false advertising as his features are essentially long gone and his routing is all that is left." The authors of the site also add that MacKenzie and Jones were heavily influenced by the Old Course at St Andrews, and intended that the ground game be central to the course. Almost from Augusta's opening, Roberts sought to make changes to minimize the ground game, and effectively got free rein to do so because MacKenzie died shortly after the course's opening and Jones went into inactivity due to World War II and then a crippling illness. The authors add that "[w]ith the ground game gone, the course was especially vulnerable to changes in technology, and this brought on a slew of changes from at least 15 different 'architects'."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Golf Course Histories has an aerial comparison of the course's architectural changes between 1938 and 2013.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Among the changes to the course were several made by architect Perry Maxwell in 1937, including an alteration involving the current 10th hole. When Augusta National originally opened for play in January 1933, the opening hole (now the 10th) was a relatively benign par 4 that played just in excess of 400 yards. From an elevated tee, the hole required little more than a short iron or wedge for the approach. Maxwell moved the green in 1937 to its present location—on top of the hill, about 50 yards back from the old site—and transformed it into the toughest hole in Masters Tournament history. Ben Crenshaw referred to Maxwell's work on the 10th hole as "one of the great strokes in golf architecture".<ref name="Augusta">Template:Cite news</ref>

For the 1999 tournament, a short rough was instated around the fairways. Referred to as the "second cut",<ref name="new-yorker-june-19"/> it is substantially shorter than the comparable primary rough at other courses, with an average length of Template:Cvt. It is meant to reduce a player's ability to control the ball coming out of this lie, and encourage better accuracy for driving onto the fairway.<ref name="lat-secondcut">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="wsj-secondcut">Template:Cite news</ref>

Amen CornerEdit

The second shot at the 11th, all of the 12th, and the first two shots at the 13th hole at Augusta are nicknamed "Amen Corner". This term was first used in print by author Herbert Warren Wind<ref name="new-yorker-june-19"/> in his April 21, 1958, Sports Illustrated article about the Masters that year.<ref name="siap58">Template:Cite magazine</ref> In a Golf Digest article in April 1984, 26 years later, Wind told about its origin. He said he wanted a catchy phrase like baseball's "hot-corner" or American football's "coffin-corner" to explain where some of the most exciting golf had taken place (the Palmer-Venturi rules issue at twelve, over an embedded ball ruling and how it was handled,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> in particular). Thus "Amen Corner" was born. He said it came from the title of a jazz record he had heard in the mid-1930s by a group led by Chicago's Mezz Mezzrow, Shouting in that Amen Corner.Template:Sfn

In a Golf Digest article in April 2008, writer Bill Fields offered new information about the origin of the name. He wrote that Richard Moore, a golf and jazz historian from South Carolina, tried to purchase a copy of the old Mezzrow 78 RPM disc for an "Amen Corner" exhibit he was putting together for his Golf Museum at Ahmic Lake, Ontario. After extensive research, Moore found that the record never existed. As Moore put it, Wind, himself a jazz buff, must have "unfortunately bogeyed his mind, 26 years later". While at Yale, he was no doubt familiar with, and meant all along, the popular version of the song (with the correct title, "Shoutin' in that Amen Corner" written by Andy Razaf), which was recorded by the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra, vocal by Mildred Bailey (Brunswick label No. 6655) in 1935. Moore told Fields that, being a great admirer of Wind's work over the years, he was reluctant, for months, to come forth with his discovery that contradicted Wind's memory. Moore's discovery was first reported in Golf World magazine in 2007, before Fields' longer article in Golf Digest in 2008.

In 1958, Arnold Palmer outlasted Ken Venturi to win the tournament with heroic escapes at Amen Corner. Amen Corner also played host to Masters moments such as Byron Nelson's birdie-eagle at 12 and 13 in 1937, and Sam Snead's water save at 12 in 1949 that sparked him to victory. On the less positive side, Jordan Spieth's quadruple bogey on 12 during Sunday's final round in 2016 cost him his 2-stroke lead and ultimately the championship.

"The Big Oak Tree"Edit

"The Big Oak Tree" is on the golf course side of the clubhouse and was planted in the 1850s.<ref name="augusta.com">Template:Cite news</ref>

Eisenhower TreeEdit

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Also known as the "Eisenhower Pine", a loblolly pine was located on the 17th hole, about Template:Convert from the Masters tee. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, an Augusta National member, hit the tree so many times that, at a 1956 club meeting, he proposed that it be cut down.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Not wanting to offend the president, the club's chairman, Clifford Roberts, immediately adjourned the meeting rather than reject the request. In February 2014, the Eisenhower Tree was removed after suffering extensive damage during an ice storm.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Ike's PondEdit

During a visit to Augusta National, then-General Eisenhower returned from a walk through the woods on the eastern part of the grounds and informed Clifford Roberts that he had found a perfect place to build a dam if the club would like a fish pond. Ike's Pond was built for Eisenhower to fish in and named after him; the dam is located just where Eisenhower said it should be.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Roberts died of suicide next to Ike's Pond on September 29, 1977.<ref name="new-yorker-june-19"/><ref name="telegraph">Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref>

Rae's CreekEdit

Rae's Creek cuts across the southeastern corner of the Augusta National property. Rae's Creek runs in front of No. 12 green, has a tributary evident at No. 13 tee, and flows at the back of No. 11 green. This is the lowest point in elevation of the course. The Hogan and Nelson Bridges cross the creek after the 12th and 13th tee boxes, respectively. The creek was named after former property owner John Rae, who died in 1789.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It was Rae's house which was the farthest fortress up the Savannah River from Fort Augusta. The house kept residents safe during Indian attacks when the fort was out of reach.

Sarazen BridgeEdit

The Sarazen Bridge was the first feature to be named for a player. It is a flat stone footbridge covering the dam to the left of the pond in front of the 15th green, the scene of Gene Sarazen's "shot heard round the world" in the 1935 Masters Tournament. There is a plaque on the bridge, that reads: "Erected to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the famous "double eagle" scored by Gene Sarazen on this hole, April 7, 1935, which gained him a tie for first place with Craig Wood and in the play-off won the second Masters Tournament. Dedicated April 6, 1955."<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Real estateEdit

Over the decades, Augusta National has bought and redeveloped nearby land. From 1999 to 2019, the club spent about $200 million to buy 100 separate properties totaling over 270 acres, some more than a mile distant from the club proper.<ref name="costa-wsj-2019">Template:Cite news</ref> Most purchases are arranged via LLCs connected to Augusta National in order to obfuscate the transaction's details.<ref name="aug-chron">Template:Cite news</ref> More than a dozen of these LLCs are known to exist, and up to five may be involved in a single purchase.<ref name="aug-chron"/> Augusta National ultimately purchases each LLC, acquiring its land holdings and keeping the real estate price away from public records. Non-disclosure agreements are also commonly employed.<ref name="costa-wsj-2019"/>

Augusta National has acquired, demolished, and redeveloped entire strip mall centers and residential blocks.<ref name="pingue-reuters">Template:Cite news</ref> The organization helped finance a project to re-route Berckmans Road.<ref name="aug-chron"/> The club also built a large tunnel underneath Washington Road connecting to a Global Communication Center that was first used in the 2021 Masters Tournament. The tunnel was built without ever impeding traffic on Washington Road above, and is large enough for an 18-wheeler to drive through.<ref name="costa-wsj-2019"/>

Because Augusta National has spent so much to acquire land, homeowners in Richmond County have had to apply for special property tax assessments in order to negate the effects of the club's activities.<ref name="costa-wsj-2019"/> Investors have also begun to purchase property and condos next to Augusta National.<ref name="aug-chron"/>

MembershipEdit

Augusta National Golf Club has about 300 members at any given time. Membership is strictly by invitation: there is no application process. In 2004, USA Today published a list of all the current members.<ref name="usat2004list">Template:Cite news</ref> Membership is believed to cost between $100,000 and $300,000 and annual dues were estimated in 2020 to be less than $30,000 per year.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Club members are sometimes referred to as "green jackets".<ref name="new-yorker-june-19"/>

For decades, the club barred membership to African Americans. Co-founder Roberts, who subsequently served as the club's chairman, said, "As long as I'm alive, all the golfers will be white and all the caddies will be black."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Augusta invited and accepted its first African-American member, television executive Ron Townsend,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> in 1990 after Shoal Creek Golf and Country Club,<ref name="usatoday">Template:Cite news</ref> an all-white golf club in Alabama, refused membership to African-Americans. The club also faced demands that the PGA Championship not be held there because of racist comments by the club's founder.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

In his 2012 pre-Masters press conference, Chairman Billy Payne declined to discuss the club's refusal to admit women.<ref name="woman">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He defended the club's position by noting that in 2011, more than 15% of the non-tournament rounds were played by women who were guests or spouses of active members.<ref name="woman"/> However, on August 20, 2012, Augusta National admitted its first two female members: Condoleezza Rice and Darla Moore.<ref name="usatwomen">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Notable membersEdit

Notable current members include:

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Deceased members include:

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ChairmenEdit

Chairmen serve for an indefinite amount of time. The chairman is the only person officially authorized to publicly discuss the Masters.<ref name="new-yorker-june-19"/>

In 1966, the governing board of Augusta National passed a resolution honoring founder Bobby Jones with the position of President in Perpetuity.

2002 membership controversyEdit

Augusta National and its then-Chairman Hootie Johnson are widely known for their disagreement, beginning in 2002, with Martha Burk, then chair of the Washington-based National Council of Women's Organizations; the dispute arose over Augusta National's refusal to admit female members to the club.<ref name="nyt2003">Template:Cite news</ref> Burk said she found out about the club's policies in a USA Today column published April 11, 2002. She then wrote a private letter to Johnson, saying that hosting the Masters Tournament at a male-only club constituted sexism.<ref name="MS">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Johnson characterized Burk's approach as "offensive and coercive".<ref name="USAtoday">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Golftoday">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The club hired consulting firm WomanTrend, which ran a survey and found that "Augusta National's membership policies were not topmost on the list of women's concerns"; the poll was called "unethical" by Burk.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Responding to efforts to link the issue to sexism and civil rights,<ref name="USAtoday"/> Johnson maintained that the issue had to do with the rights of any private club:<ref name="USAtoday"/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Template:Cquote

Burk, whose childhood nickname was also Hootie,<ref name="hootie">Template:Cite news</ref> claimed to have been "called a man hater, anti-family, lesbian, all the usual things."<ref name="MS"/> Johnson was portrayed as a Senator Claghorn type<ref name="USAtoday2">Template:Cite news</ref>—"a blustery defender of all things Southern".<ref name="USAtoday2"/>

Following the discord, two club members resigned: Thomas H. Wyman, a former CEO of CBS, and John Snow, when President George W. Bush nominated him to serve as Secretary of the Treasury.<ref name="MS"/> Pressure on corporate sponsors led the club to broadcast the 2003 and 2004 tournaments without commercials. The controversy was discussed by the International Olympic Committee when re-examining whether golf meets Olympic criteria of a "sport practiced without discrimination with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play".<ref name="nyt2009">Template:Cite news</ref> Augusta National extended membership to Condoleezza Rice and Darla Moore on August 20, 2012.<ref name="usatwomen"/>

In 2018, chairman Fred Ridley announced that the club would establish the Augusta National Women's Amateur Championship in 2019, a 54-hole event for the world's top amateur players.<ref name="womensam">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Green jacketEdit

Every member of Augusta National receives a green sport coat with the club's logo on the left breast. Members are required to wear them during the tournament, and the jackets are not allowed to be removed from the grounds.<ref name="new-yorker-june-19"/> The idea of the green jacket originated with club co-founder Clifford Roberts. Many believe it was because he wanted patrons visiting during the tournament to be able to readily identify members. Since Sam Snead's victory in 1949, the winner of each year's Masters Tournament has received a green jacket, although he does not receive membership. The jacket is presented to the new winner by the winner of the previous year's tournament. If the previous champion is either unavailable or has won consecutive tournaments, then the current chairman acts as the presenter. Until 1967, the jackets were manufactured by Brooks Brothers and since have been made by Hamilton of Cincinnati, Ohio, with the imp wool produced at the Victor Forstmann plant in Dublin, Georgia.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The current Masters champion is the only owner of a green jacket permitted to remove it from the grounds of Augusta National, and only for a period of one year. Before this time limit was in place, the jacket of a few long-past Masters champions had been sold, after their deaths, to collectors. Consequently, the members of Augusta National have gone to great lengths to secure the remaining examples. Now, two jackets remain outside the grounds of Augusta National with the club's permission. When Gary Player first won the Masters in 1961, he brought his jacket home to South Africa. For years the board insisted that Player return the jacket but Player kept "forgetting" or coming up with humorous creative excuses why he did not return the jacket. After becoming something of a running joke, Augusta National's members allowed him to keep it, where it is on display in his personal museum. The second jacket belongs to 1938 champion Henry Picard. Before the traditions were well established, the jacket was removed by Picard from Augusta National. It is now currently on display in the "Picard Lounge" at Canterbury Golf Club in Beachwood, Ohio. Along with Snead, the nine previous winners were also awarded green jackets in 1949, and these became known as the "original ten" jackets.<ref name=tcotmgj>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Horton Smith's jacket, awarded for his wins in 1934 and 1936, sold at auction in September 2013 for over $682,000; the highest price ever paid for a piece of golf memorabilia.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=gjcauc>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Smith died at age 55 in 1963 and it had been in the possession of his brother Ren's stepsons for decades.<ref name=tcotmgj/>

The trademarked green shade is specified as Pantone 342.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

CaddiesEdit

Augusta National employs a staff of caddies to assist members, guests, and professionals. Augusta's caddie staff wears trademark white jumpsuits year-round.

Before 1983,<ref name="alctrbgd">Template:Cite news</ref> staff caddies were assigned to players at the Masters.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> All four majors and some tour events required the use of the host club's caddies well into the 1970s<ref name="ccpocd">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="wcwmbype">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="tgprfocd">Template:Cite news</ref>—the U.S. Open had this policy through 1975<ref name="ogtpociss">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="bkfosm">Template:Cite news</ref>—but by 1980, only the Masters and the Western Open near Chicago retained the requirement.<ref name="westop">Template:Cite news</ref> Well-known caddies during this time period include Nathaniel "Iron Man" Avery, Carl Jackson, and Willie "Pappy" Stokes.

More unusually, Augusta employed only black men as caddies. Club co-founder Clifford Roberts once said, "As long as I'm alive, all the golfers will be white and all the caddies will be black."<ref name="caddies">Template:Cite news</ref> Roberts killed himself at Augusta in 1977; five years later, in November 1982, chairman Hord Hardin announced that players were henceforth permitted to use their regular caddies at the Masters.<ref name="trcdatag">Template:Cite news</ref> The announcement arrived seven months after the 1982 tournament, during which many caddies, confused by a Thursday rain delay, failed to show up at the proper time on Friday morning;<ref name="trbgdam">Template:Cite news</ref> Hardin received scathing complaint letters from two-time champion Tom Watson and others.<ref name="occot">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="eaeafam">Template:Cite news</ref> In 1983, 12 players employed club caddies, including then-five-time champion Jack Nicklaus, defending champion Craig Stadler, and future two-time champion Ben Crenshaw.<ref name=eaeafam/><ref name=wcbobmt>Template:Cite news</ref>

The first female caddie at Augusta was George Archer's daughter Elizabeth in 1983, her 21st event carrying the bag for her father.<ref name="eaeafam" /><ref name="pahdcbg">Template:Cite news</ref> Archer, the 1969 champion, tied for twelfth, one of his better finishes at Augusta. Today, female caddies remain rare at Augusta and on the PGA Tour; most of the women caddies are professional golfers' regular caddies, such as Fanny Sunesson, who has caddied for several players at the Masters, most notably three-time champion Nick Faldo, and in 2019, Henrik Stenson.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

During the pre-tournament events in 2007, Golf Channel's Kelly Tilghman caddied for Arnold Palmer in the par-3 contest. Fuzzy Zoeller's daughter Gretchen was his caddie for his last year as a competitor in the tournament in 2009. Tennis pro Caroline Wozniacki, then-fiancée of Rory McIlroy, caddied for him in the par-3 contests of 2013 and 2014.

Crenshaw won his 1984 and 1995 Masters titles with Augusta National caddie Carl Jackson.<ref name=occot/><ref name=calunpl>Template:Cite news</ref>

IncidentsEdit

On October 22, 1983, Charles Harris, an unemployed local man, crashed his Dodge pickup truck through Gate 3 while President Ronald Reagan was on the golf course. Armed with a .38 caliber revolver, Harris took six people hostage in the pro shop, four employees and two White House staffers. Police and Secret Service agents placed a phone call to Harris in the pro shop and put the president on the line, but Harris thought it was a trick and hung up. Once Reagan had been evacuated from the club, Harris surrendered. He was later convicted of false imprisonment and sentenced to five years in prison. He claimed he meant no harm to the president and had only wanted to speak with him about unemployment issues.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Appearances in video gamesEdit

Augusta National Golf Club is featured in the Japan-exclusive video game franchise Template:Ill, which started in 1989.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>List of Harukanaru Augusta video games at GameFAQs</ref> The games were produced by T&E Soft. One of its last titles Masters '98: Haruka Naru Augusta was released for the Nintendo 64.

Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters Tournament are also featured in the video game Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters, and has subsequently featured in later iterations of the game. This was the first time that the course has been officially used in the Tiger Woods franchise.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2021, EA Sports and Augusta National Golf Club announced plans to revive their PGA Tour series, which would once again feature Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters Tournament. In addition, EA also announced that the new game, EA Sports PGA Tour, will feature the other three majors—the PGA Championship, Open Championship, and the U.S. Open.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Augusta National was also previously used in the 1986 computer game Mean 18, published by Accolade.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

ReferencesEdit

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Further readingEdit

External linksEdit

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