This week is by far and away my favorite week in golf – the Masters. It represents the ”new season.” Even though we have enjoyed the West Coast Swing, sorry, the Hawaiian Open doesn’t quite do it for me. Bring on Augusta.

My home has at least five pretty cool Augusta/Bobby Jones/Masters artifacts. I have a golf library with about 2,500 pieces. Trust me, Augusta is well represented in that collection.
As a little boy practicing my putting on the practice green, the putt was always to win the Masters. If you have never been there and you consider yourself a “golfer,” it is a must trip. Augusta is a sleepy, little, normal, working southern town, except this week it
is cooking! You can go up there and find a ticket. Yes, you will pay dearly for it. You’ll never experience a golf event like Masters week in Augusta. The only thing that may be a close second is the British Open at St. Andrews.

Whether you ever make it to Augusta this year or ever, if you would like to better enjoy next week watching the event, try the following prep: Go online and search Masters or Bobby Jones. The amount
of historical information available is crazy, maybe the most-written-
about sports event ever! One of my favorites is “The Boys Life of Bobby Jones,” by O.B. Keeler. Great stuff. Sarazen’s double eagle, Ken Venturi and Billy Joe Patton’s run at it as amateurs, all of Arnie’s antics, the Hogan, Snead and Nelson years, Jack’s many great moments, the Par 3 tournament, and of course the influence of the late, great Bobby Jones! How much have I missed? Tons, you could go on forever, great golf moments, the best.

Can you tell I’m pumped about this coming week? As far as who is going to win the Green Jacket this year … the favorites are of course easy to state: Tiger, Ernie, Phil, Vijay. But wouldn’t it be great as always if we took
a walk down memory lane? If someone from yesteryear could make a run? Freddie, Stadler, Faldo. These are the things that make Augusta a little slice of heaven. God bless Bobby Jones! Happy viewing, I’m off to practice my putting.
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