In 1934 Bobby Jones requested the USGA to host the US Open at Augusta. USGA said no. Angry at the rebuff. Bobby Jones and Clifford Roberts decided to have their own event, which became the Masters. The Masters is not a Championship of anything.
“You are the winner of the Masters”.
The Masters is one of the most unusual events in sports. It’s all about tradition, and it’s defined by a set of odd rules and customs that just don’t exist outside of Augusta National. It’s great. We compiled the oddest traditions that make the Masters and Augusta one of a kind.
Food prices are ridiculously low…
Tipping is banned.
Cell phones are prohibited at all times and cameras are not permitted during the tournament.
It’s one of the only places in the U.S. where there are long lines for pay phones.
There’s a huge fence around the course to keep out animals. There has been one deer sighting in the last 65 years.
Only four minutes of commercials per hour are allowed during the broadcast and no blimps are allowed. TV commentators are not allowed to refer to fans as “fans” or “spectators” They are to be called “patrons” (Spare me…)
And the rough is to be referred to as the “second cut.”
The Masters banned CBS broadcaster Gary McCord in 1995 for saying, “They don’t cut the greens here at Augusta, they use bikini wax.”
Players had to use local caddies provided by Augusta until 1983. Players are allowed to use their own caddies now, but they have to wear the Augusta uniform — green hat, white jumpsuit.
Fans, oops, we mean patrons, aren’t allowed to wear their hats backwards (Spare me again…)
Patrons can bring collapsible chairs to sit on, but those chairs are not allowed to have armrests (And again…)
Running is not allowed, unless you are a player (And again…)
Grounds crew members used to wear hard hats.
There is an odd myth that the grounds crew at Augusta packs the azalea plants with ice if spring comes early. The idea is that this will keep the plants from flowering too soon before the tournament.
There is a house located in the middle of the Augusta National parking lot because the owners refuse to sell it. The family has reportedly turned down “millions.”
You can’t apply to become a member. It’s nearly impossible to become a member at Augusta. You have to be nominated by a current Augusta member, and new initiations generally aren’t accepted unless someone quits or dies. The total membership hovers around 300 members (Don’t call, I’m not interested…not my kind of people.)
Augusta National is closed in the summer to keep the course in pristine shape.
Even the press conference podium is immaculate.
Players are given a brand new Mercedes for use during the week. Golf cart drivers who are hired to drive the players around Augusta National also pick up the golfers at the airport in the Mercedes they will be using. The cars also have a number in the back window so that employees can always identify the players by which car they are in.
You can go to jail for selling tickets.
Twenty-four people were arrested outside Augusta in 2012 for trying to scalp tickets. The course is insane about who it lets into the tournament and it’s illegal to sell tickets within 2,700 feet of the gates.
You can only ask for autographs in one part of the course. Fans always line the ropes at big tournaments in hopes of getting a signature. But this is tougher to do at Augusta. You can only try and solicit an autograph on the Washington Road side of the clubhouse, near the practice facilities (Gag me…).
The bunkers at Augusta are filled with mining waste. You know those pristine white bunkers? They’re actually composed of waste product from the mining of aluminum, according to Golf.com. Basically, there’s this company that mines feldspar (rocks) for aluminum. This process produces waste in the form of really bright, pure quartz — that’s what Augusta uses.
OK, that’s all Folks!
Enjoy The Masters! (But DON’T RUN!!) 🙂
The Head Nut
#0001
Dear Head Nut,