An experience unlike any other

Locals get opportunity to view practice round at The Masters

By Gary VanderWerf

Special to the Press

There are a lot of sayings in the game of golf, such as “keep your head down”, or “be the ball” (for Caddyshack fans), or “fore!”, which is most commonly heard on our local courses.

But the one that most golf fanatics are anxious to hear, starting around the end of February through March, is “A tradition unlike any other”, voiced by CBS sports announcer Jim Nantz, a fixture at Augusta National.

The week of April 4 was filled with anticipation for players and spectators alike, stuff that dreams are made of kind of thing. For me, it was the chance to watch the world’s best play the game at one of the most heralded golf courses in the world.

Brian Lynch, his son Zach Lynch, brother Rick Lynch and myself became part of that tradition because of Brian winning tickets [to the Tuesday practice round] through the Masters’ lottery system.  Brian was notified last August that he had won, and we — Zach, Rick and myself — were going to complete his foursome.

So the planning began. Discussions were made on who would do the 17-hour-plus driving, and where we would stay, which ended up being in Columbia, SC., approximately one hour north of Augusta National.

It was decided to leave on Saturday morning (April 2). The first stop was Iowa City to pick up Brian’s son, Zach, a pharmacy student at the University of Iowa.

Fast forward a few days and a lot of miles to Tuesday in South Carolina.  As mentioned earlier, we were an hour north of Augusta National, so we headed out early in the morning on Tuesday onto I-20 towards Augusta.  Traffic was minimal along the way, then before you knew it you were in Augusta, Ga., traveling onto Washington Street and the dreaded slowing of cars.

It wasn’t long and we took a right onto Berckmans Road, wound around a while, and then — there it was.

The greatest site in the world: Augusta National Golf Course.

Rick quickly entered into the parking area, being escorted by — what it seemed to be — around 100 parking attendants, flagging directions at you.  We parked, got out, stretched, got our gear that we were only instructed to take in.  No cell phones were permitted, only bags that measured 10” x 10” x 12”, and cameras for still photography/personal use only.  So, I used my fanny pack from 1998 — or “thereabouts”, as my wife would say — and stuck my camera in there, along with my wallet.

Off we headed to Gate 6.

Now, just imagine security at an airport, but take that times 10, and you have security at this event.  We were greeted by a rather small, female security officer barking orders, and giving you the once over, from top to bottom.

“Take out everything in your pockets” … “Place them in a tray” … “Move along quickly and get through the line”.

Then you were greeted by another security officer, looking at everything you just placed in the tray, followed by a beautiful smile at the end, saying, “Welcome to Augusta National and the 2016 Masters Golf tournament”, as she was handing all of us a spectator guide and course map.

“Enjoy your day and please come back and see us again”.

Brian, Rick, and Zach were quickly through while I was fumbling with my loose change, Carmex, fingernail clippers, and my fanny pack.  It seemed to take forever to get through.

However, we got in, we got by the security and the drug/bomb dogs, local police and local sheriffs and deputies.  We first touched the grass as we looked up at the practice range.  Grabbing our cameras, we took a few photos just to get ourselves ready.

Brian and Rick suggested the night before that we quickly get to the gift shop and buy what we wanted, so we didn’t have that distraction down the road.  We got in line, which reminded me a line at the airport zig-zagging back and forth, but we were in, once again greeted by cheerful, young employees, directing us, answering ours and others’ questions.  We bought our items, then headed off to the concessions.  Pimento cheese, egg salad sandwiches, chicken salad wraps, cookies, chips, etc. You name it, it was there.  Coffee, sweet tea, cold beers, everything to enjoy a great experience.  The nice thing was you were able to keep your cups, so we loaded up.

I remember standing at a table, eating our food, looking back at the crowd, literally thousands and thousands of people. So I had to take pictures. First one was with the the Masters’ scoreboard in the background. Then another with the No. 1 tee box in the frame.

Brian pointed out Angel Cabrera on the box, then it was Ricky Fowler, then it was Bubba Watson.  We couldn’t take pictures fast enough.  We reminded ourselves that we had all day, and we had 18 holes to walk, and the thousands of golf aficionados to fight through.

The holes are aptly named after the tree or shrub that lines each hole.  We all watch on television and comment how beautiful it looks, so after being there, you can clearly see and understand why.  Simply breathtaking.

We went past No. 1, or known as Tea Olive, past the No. 9 and No. 18 greens, down to the No. 7 green, where we saw Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, and Keegan Bradley hitting approach shots. Rory McIlroy and his group followed, and then Ricky Fowler, Jimmy Walker, Brooks Koepka, and several others came through. Our cameras were on fire.

We took a break from being photographers and walked back up towards No. 1 tee box.  We wanted to see Magnolia Lane, the famous entrance into the golf course.  We got in line for a picture of the clubhouse in the background, standing at the Founders’ Circle, as some of the pros were coming in.  Paul Azinger was one, as he wove to the line of people.

Again, we quickly got through the line, had our picture taken as we were off again.  We headed towards the No. 18 tee box and I remember stopping to take a picture, then looking at the tee box again and thinking to myself, “How on earth could anyone hit a straight drive to the corner?”  On the television it looks so narrow, and it was.

We were near the No. 10 fairway, and walked by the spot where Bubba Watson hit that tremendous wedge out of the pine straws in 2012 to beat Louis Oosthuizen in a playoff, and eventually got to Amen Corner, and walked by the spot where Phil Mickelson hit a shot between two narrow pine trees and on the green at No. 13.

Probably the best part of our journey was on Hole No. 11, the long 505-yard par 4, made famous by Larry Mize’s chip in in 1987 to win his Masters trophy and green jacket; and No. 12, where Rae’s Creek comes into play on the narrow par 3, after you walk across the Ben Hogan Bridge to the green.

We quickly looked into the stands for four spots to sit, and as we were heading down the aisle we came to the end of one set of stands, and I looked down and noticed a gentleman wearing a bright, vibrant orange shirt that had the Legacy Golf Course decal on it.  Knowing where the Legacy Golf course is and having played it several times in Norwalk, Iowa, I crouched down to see who it might be, and — lo and behold — it was Bob Springer, a former Charles City resident who has recently relocated to Florida.

I simply called out “Bob Springer”, and he looked up and replied, “You never know who you’ll run into at Augusta”. The security official allowed us to visit for a few minutes, and even offered to take our pictures with the No. 11 and No. 12 greens in the background.  It was a great thrill for all of us and for Bob.

As the day went on we walked up and down the course, and found our way to No. 15 and No. 16.  Hole 16 is a par 3 over water, and the best part of that was the pros would hit their shots towards the green, then they would have a skipping contest to see if they could skip the ball on the water and onto the green. Rick Lynch said he wouldn’t even have to practice that shot.  The players were loose and the caddies were having fun as well as they attempted their shots as well.

We all ran around the 16th hole and up to No. 5 where no one was at all.  We sat and watched Martin Kaymer and Bernhard Langer (the 1985 and 1993 Masters champion) come in, followed by Davis Love III.  We visited with another security official, and noticed he was from Wisconsin.  We really never found out how he came down to do this, but if we ever do when we retire, we’re applying for that job.

After No. 5 we followed this same group on the 6th and 7th holes, and we were nearing the end of our journey and found ourselves by the No. 2 and No. 1 greens.  As we were walking down the No. 1 fairway, we noticed members of the press, Tom Rinaldi from ESPN, and even staff members from the Golf Channel interviewing Phil Mickelson.  I took one last photo of Phil and put my camera away.

We walked upon another smaller scoreboard, crossed over to the other side of a path when we heard someone say that “Jordan Spieth is coming on a golf cart.”  As we all turned around, Zach Lynch stuck his hand out and high fived the 2015 Masters champion as he passed by.  A fitting end to an unbelievable day, and an unbelievable journey.  I was trying to dig my camera out of my fanny pack, but my zipper got stuck. So, no pictures of Jordan Spieth, or even a picture of our local Iowa son, Zach Johnson, but the memories that were made that day will never be forgotten.

As we headed back towards Gate 6 and to where we were parked, we were once again reminded that Augusta National was a place to come and enjoy yourself, as the many, many patrons that worked there thanked us for coming.  Driving out of Augusta and heading back to Charles City offered many an opportunity to reminisce about the history, the professionals that have played there, the victories, and the heartbreaks.

That became very clear to all of us as we were heading north back home and I faintly remember hearing in my head, Jim Nantz saying “An experience unlike any other”.

And it truly was.