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The sleepy and relatively small town of Augusta, Georgia doesn’t seem like the kind of place that would draw world-class athletes of any sport, but for eighty years now, the Augusta National Golf Club has been one of the best (and most exclusive) places in the world for the legends of golf to come to play. Since 1934, this club has been the proud host of the Masters Tournament, one of the most famous championships in all of men’s professional golf.

A History of the Course

Before becoming the iconic golf course it is today, the land that houses the Augusta National Golf Club was home to a plant nursery, and because of this, each of the course’s eighteen holes is named after a different shrub or tree, such as the “Magnolia” fifth hole or the “Azalea” thirteenth. The longest hole is the “Pink Dogwood” second hole, coming in at 575 yards, while the shortest, the “Golden Bell” twelfth hole is a mere 155 yards.

The course at Augusta National is unique in that, unlike the majority of golf courses in America, it has never been officially rated. However, at multiple times in its history, USGA raters have given it an unofficial score – 76.2 in 1990, which was then adjusted to 78.1 in 2009.

Despite it being an unusual practice for a world-premiere golf course, Augusta National has undergone many different renovations and changes over its eight year lifespan. Over fifteen golf course architects have tweaked it over the years, and when comparing early photographs of Augusta’s layout with photos of its current incarnation, there are some places where the course is scarcely recognizable.

Famous Augusta National Golf Club Members

Through the years, lots of big-name celebrities and politicians have become members of the Augusta National Golf Club. These include millionaires such as Warren Buffett and Bill Gates, as well as sports superstars like college football coach Lou Holtz and former NFL player Lynn Swann.

However, Augusta’s most iconic member has to be former U.S. president Dwight D. Eisenhower. In holes eight (“Yellow Jasmine”) and nine (“Carolina Cherry”), players must successfully maneuver around “Ike’s Pond” – named for him, after President Eisenhower suggested building a dam and creating a fish pond for the course. 200 yards into the seventeenth hole (“Nandina”), there is an old loblolly pine tree, affectionately referred to as the “Eisenhower Tree” due to the president’s bad luck of striking it with his ball on several occasions. When Eisenhower suggested Augusta cut the tree down in a 1956 club meeting, the chairmen immediately dismissed the meeting instead of embarrassing the president by denying the request.

The Masters Tournament

Since 1934, Augusta National Golf Club has been home to one of golf’s most memorable competitions, the Masters Tournament; however, from 1934 to 1939, the tournament was referred to as the Augusta National Invitational. The Masters Tournament is unique among professional golf tournaments because it’s held on the same course every year and because participation is by invitation from the Augusta National Golf Club only. Because of this, the pool of participants is markedly smaller than that of other equally-reputable competitions.

While most people know that the winner of the Masters Tournament is awarded the iconic green jacket given to all Augusta National members, many people don’t realize that the title of champion also comes with a rather hefty cash prize. The original winner, Horton Smith, received a $1,500 prize; however, more recently, winners have received upwards of one million dollars.

Controversy

The Augusta National Golf Club has not been without its detractors over the years. Since its founding during the segregationist Jim Crow Era of the southern United States, critics have pointed out some of the club’s policies that they consider both racist and sexist. For example, until 1983 all staff caddies were required to be black, and Augusta’s first African-American member was not accepted until 1990. Similarly, no female members were admitted into Augusta until 2012 when both Condoleezza Rice and Darla Moore were offered membership.

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Source by Jimmy Leong

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