I’m not a golfer and not great at long form posts but when people say that nothing can prepare you for Augusta National it’s 1000% the truth and lives up to its bucket list status.
Coolest thing was once we got done in the pro shop and eating a quick breakfast we entered the course to see Tiger coming up the hill on the 18th with a gallery following him. Watching him practice the 18th green and was about 5 feet away when he headed out.
Walked most of the course before lunch and the hills, the depth of the bunkers, the break of the greens, how some holes are right on top of each other can’t be comprehended from pictures and on TV. Every time we turned around we were with Scottie Scheffler and an amateur and the amateur was killing it.
Food is good but it’s still just cheap sandwiches on white bread. Pimento cheese is distinct but not my favorite ever. Best thing I had was the chicken salad. Funny to see things like “Diet Cola” “Sports Drink” “Caffiene Free Lemon Lime” “Light Domestic” and the Moon Pies of all things gets full advertisement.
Spent a while sitting around the 16th watching players skip it. Probably the best place to park it on a practice day, get to see people have fun as much Augusta allows.
Finished the day following Phil and Bubba for a few holes since my FIL is a Phil fan.
It’s pretty amazing how efficient everything is run. Besides going to the Pro Shop first thing and waiting over an hour in line everything kept people moving constantly. There’s thousands of checked merchandise bags and once they scanned my tag they had my bag to me within 30 seconds.
The first trip is definitely special but you’ll immediately want to go back make the next trip better with everything you’ve learned.