Jack Nicklaus says that he will get chills when he drives up Magnolia Lane on the Augusta National Golf Club, and I do know precisely how he feels in regards to the hallowed grounds the place The Masters is played every April. Like a lot of the guests to Augusta, I’m right here for the golf, however the tightly manicured panorama, bursting with vibrant colours resembling a Vincent Van Gogh palette, all the time take my breath away.
If I’m ever fortunate sufficient to play it, this is a golf course the place I wouldn’t thoughts dropping my ball sometimes – I’d wish to discover each final piece of it.
Stepping away from the hustle and bustle of modern-day life and getting into by way of the primary gates simply off Washington Road is like strolling by way of the wardrobe into Narnia. Etched into the grounds of a former horticultural nursery, Augusta National has by no means forgotten its roots.
Back within the Thirties, the founders of the membership labored with Louis Alphonse Berckmans, son of the nursery’s late proprietor, to adorn every of the 18 holes with a distinctive species and since then some 80,000 vegetation and 350 totally different varieties have been added.
Walking the course is now a botanist’s dream, virtually a century within the making. If you’ll be able to catch it within the air, the apricot scent of the tea olives on the opening gap is seductive, and in the event that they’re flowering, the dogwoods, peaches, crab apples, magnolias and camelias are a feast for the eyes.
By the time you attain the thirteenth gap, the place many a participant’s journey in direction of the inexperienced jacket goes off the rails, there is one thing to assist preserve all the things in perspective: a breathtaking financial institution of some 1,600 flowering azalea shrubs splashed all the way in which from tee to inexperienced – it’s a gorgeous reminder of the world’s pure magnificence.
Photojournalist John McAfee lined 33 Masters tournaments, however on one event, he was assigned to cowl the Final Four as an alternative. In a cellphone name that’s since change into NCS Sports lore, he rang the crew at Augusta, lowered his voice to a hush in case he was overheard, and enquired, “Are the azaleas pretty?”
It’s a story that all the time will get a snort, however I now really feel that very same attraction to the majesty of the course as he did. During my years at Augusta, I’ve overheard many conversations among the many patrons and located myself silently agreeing with their sentiment, “I wish I could get the azaleas in my yard to look like that.”
This yr, I mentioned it out loud, and a patron subsequent to me provided a response: “Because you don’t have an undersoil heating system warming the roots of your plants.” Augusta National Golf Club has by no means spoken about the way it is seemingly capable of manipulate the flowering of the buds on its property, however for a lot of – irrespective of how far-fetched the notion could be – some type of botanical sorcery is assumed.
Despite bearing a title that will be completely suited to Augusta National, Justin Rose admits that he’s not a lot of a gardener. The three-time runner-up advised NCS Sports that he’s hardly ever residence sufficient to deal with something he may need planted.
“It would not be the greatest looking garden if I was in full charge,” he mentioned. However, he notes he all the time thinks of his mother when he sees all of the flowers, and he can’t assist noticing the wonder.
“Whenever I come back here, I think of her,” Rose mentioned. “It’s a spectacle, right? The whole place and the whole environment and the whole week, the whole thing is a pretty, beautiful show.”
At Augusta National, the patrons are strolling among the many legends of the sport, however they’re additionally standing within the shadows of giants.
Georgia-native, 70-foot-tall Loblolly Pine Trees line lots of the fairways, and an unlimited oak tree stands like a beacon outdoors of the clubhouse. Planted within the 1850s, it’s now round 170 years outdated and I’ll typically discover myself gazing up into its magnificent construction with a sense of awe.
Its octopus-like horizontal limbs seemingly defy gravity, though some are held up with suspension cables, and the tree is rigged with a lightning rod. The Masters desires to guard its centerpiece specimen, though three-time champion Nick Faldo as soon as advised me that he’d heard they may crane in a substitute if it ever misplaced its steadiness, and the patrons would possible by no means discover.
The great timber and the wonderful petals will all the time be the showstoppers at Augusta, however skilled eyes will discover the tiniest of particulars, too. New buildings at Augusta are offered as in the event that they’ve been there for years and the flora helps create the phantasm.
When the brand new media middle opened in 2017, my consideration was drawn to the ivy rising across the façade in the back of the constructing. As avid gardeners will know, ivy is a famously sluggish grower: It ‘sleeps’ in its first season, then it ‘creeps’ in yr two and it solely ‘leaps’ in its third yr. But these vines had been already properly established on a construction that had solely simply opened its doorways.
And for a lot of the time at Augusta, there is solely the character to marvel at. Groups of gamers will go by way of each 10 minutes or so, and since cell telephones are prohibited, there are not any distractions – nothing can spoil the view.
It’s the one main sporting occasion on the planet that isn’t plagued by gaudy promoting panels and look-at-me branding. You gained’t be tempted by any smooth soda slogans on the concession stands and also you actually gained’t discover a sponsor’s automobile parked behind the sixteenth inexperienced. For a lot of the day, you’re at one with nature’s magnificence.
Golf is a good stroll spoiled, Mark Twain was presupposed to have mentioned, however absolutely no one may ever say that about a day at The Masters – and particularly the greenest of thumbs are assured to depart Augusta National resentful.