From 'I Gotta Go Some Day' to 'I Can't Believe I'm Here'
Tour Backspin editor describes being on the ground at Augusta National on the Wednesday before the 2025 Masters
It’s very rare to check an item off your bucket list and have the experience far exceed your expectations. But that is exactly what happened to me on Wednesday at the Masters this year. I was able to attend because of my membership in the Golf Writers Association of America, and the support of you premium subscribers.
I not only received the one-day pass, I attended the GWAA annual meeting in the Press Building located at the end of the practice range. Opened in 2017, this building is the Taj Mahal of media centers. The GWAA annual meeting was held in the interview room where you see players give their press conferences, and we voted to accept the nomination of Rex Hoggard as the new president of the association.
I spent more than half an hour exploring the building and sitting in the main room and gawking at some of my heroes, the writers I’ve admired for many years as well as many of the new breed of golf writers that are doing such a fantastic job of covering the game.
Augusta National is so good about making the patron experience as notable and easy as it can be. From parking to waiting on line, to the restrooms, everything is done to maximize your experience and move crowds efficiently.
I did a massive amount of research before I went, so I had a plan of action once on the grounds. I also researched if there were any prohibitions on bringing in a backpack, and I didn’t find any. My walk from the parking lot to the North Gate took me past a prohibited items list and I discovered that my Titleist backpack might be a little too large. Sure enough, a kind security guard told me it was probably too big and directed me over to the building where I could check it. I took my camera out of the backpack (cameras are allowed on practice round days, though cell phones are prohibited), checked the backpack, and entered the grounds, with a wide smile on my face.
The research I did (h/t to mygolfspy.com), gave me a plan for the day, so after the GWAA meeting, where I turned in my association pass for a one-day patron pass, (and lost all access to the Press Building), I set my plan into motion. The key to the plan was to get the waiting in lines part out of the way so that I could spend the rest of the day exploring the course.
While the Masters does an incredible job of moving the masses of people around the property, the day can still entail a lot of waiting in lines. First stop was the Founders Circle where every patron who wants a picture of themselves in front of the iconic garden featuring the Augusta logo in flowers, and the front of the clubhouse, can get one for free. Well, it’s almost free—the cost is limited to your time in line. The long line snaked along, with great views of the par-3 course, and took about 30 minutes to make it to the cameras. As you can see, the wide smile is still on my face.
After checking off the first item on my list, I headed over to the concession building, located right next to the merchandise center, and got myself an egg salad sandwich and a Crow’s Nest beer. Although I’m not the biggest fan of wheat beers, this one hit the spot and only cost $6. You can’t really call it “waiting in line” in the concession buildings as you are moved through a grab-and-go system, including picking up a freshly poured beer, and the experience is augmented by the latest in POS technology to make payments easy. I spent less than 10 minutes checking this item off the list.
I took my sandwich and beer and headed for the line into the merchandise center. An Augusta staff member at the end of the line held a sign that said, “Merchandise Line 40 Minutes.” Before I knew it, the sandwich was eaten, the beer was gone leaving me with the souvenir green cup going into my pocket, and I had made it from the outside sidewalk into the building. After snaking through a line system that the TSA would be proud of, I was provided access to the crowded shopping floor.
I had seen some Masters backpacks worn by other patrons, so that was the first thing I went searching for and found them very easily. This meant I would have something to carry my camera, as well as the other items I subsequently purchased for myself and my family. The checkout was extremely fast and easy, and the cashiers were very friendly. With the final standing-in-line item checked off, it was time to head to the course. That being said, I fully expected to wait in line for the restroom in the near future after having that beer.
“Number ones to right, number twos to the left. Front nine straight ahead, back nine to the left.”
My plan was to walk the course backwards, starting at the 18th hole, and as luck would have it, Scottie Scheffler was playing a practice round and he was on the 18th hole. I stopped to watch his group hit their approach shots. I already had an appreciation of what many people told me about the elevation changes at Augusta National. Television doesn’t do justice to the uphill walk of both the 9th and 18th holes.
Despite stormy weather on Monday, the turf was in fantastic shape, a testament to the sub-air system installed at Augusta. Outside the ropes where patrons walked, the ground was treated with a material that looked like it was part fine gravel and part kitty litter. Of course, it was green. The material made walking in the areas safe and did not distract from the beauty of the course.
I made it to the 18th tee and sidled up to the rope and leaned out to get a view of the tee shot. The group of Jhonattan Vegas, J.J. Spaun, and Mathew Pavon was teeing off and I watched as they hit shots that launched out of the chute and carved left-to-right into the fairway. The chute looks much tighter in person than it does on television.
After walking the 17th, I headed for the 16th hole passing behind the 8th hole. Restrooms and a concession stand are located here, and I decided to take advantage of the restroom. There were no lines, and attendants inside directed traffic to the stalls or urinals in a most amusing manner.
“Number ones to right, number twos to the left.”
“Front nine straight ahead, back nine to the left.”
There were no lines at the stalls or urinals and an attendant cleaned each stall after use. Pretty amazing restroom system, but I’m sure there was more traffic through the system once the tournament started.
With that task out of the way I went over to check out what in Masters parlance is called the “observation stand” left of the 16th tee. Once I sat down, I found that I had gotten lucky again as Fred Couples, playing with Joe Highsmith, Xander Schaufflele, and Patrick Cantlay were putting to different locations on the 15th green. I stayed to watch them play the 16th and also shout out some support to the boys who grew up in the Puget Sound region of Washington State, as I did.
Freddie was the last one to tee off on the 16th and used one of the hybrids that is helping him by taking pressure off his bad back, and extending his playing days. He hit a high soft draw to about three feet from the flagstick. The group walked to the edge of the pond and entertained the crowd by skipping balls across the water. The younger players in the group either left their shots in the water or barely got out and onto the bank. Freddie, though, hit a low sniping hook that seemed to pick up speed as it hit the water and then bounced up the bank and onto the front of the green. Chalk one up for the old guy team.
I thought that Freddie looked very comfortable, especially the way he moved with the back issues he has, and he was clearly having a lot of fun. I thought to myself that maybe something special would happen for him this week. I’m usually not this good at predictions, but he proved me right in the first round shooting a one-over 73.
Since there were no lines at the concession building, I decided it was time to try the pimento cheese sandwich and get another Crow’s Nest to wash it down. With those in hand, I headed to the observation stand on the 13th fairway and watched players play their second and third shots into the green.
The 13th hole is another hole that you need to see in person as television does not do it justice. The bend in the dogleg is so much more severe when you see it in person. Also, Rae’s Creek is much more terrifying in person. The severely sloped bank on the 13th is shaved and players attempting to get home in two must be sure to hit it far enough past the bank, and control the spin on the ball, to ensure that their ball stays dry.
After finishing my sandwich and beer, I shot a few photographs before I headed down the 13th hole towards the tee and the rest of Amen Corner. This was the part of the course I was looking forward to the most, and it did not disappoint. Standing just to the right of the tee, the view of the short shot at the 12th looked terrifying, yet beautiful.
By this time, the par-3 contest was in full swing and most of the patrons were on the other side of the property watching it. That left Amen Corner almost deserted and watching the tournament on Sunday with the huge crowd around the tee at the 12th hole made me thankful that I had forsaken the par-3 contest to have this quiet time at Amen Corner.
I headed up the 11th fairway from right of the green, not far from where Larry Mize chipped in to defeat Greg Norman and Seve Ballesteros (who bogeyed the 10th hole) in the playoff in 1987. The 11th is one of the holes that surprised me by how long it is.
I moved over to the 10th and stopped at the spot where Bubba Watson hit his hooking wedge shot from the bushes in the playoff against Louis Oosthuizen in 2012. When you view it, it is unthinkable that he could envision that shot. He had to aim so far left of the green that if that shot hadn’t hooked as much as it did, he would have been deep in the trees.
“Thanks, mate. You, too.”
Walking up the 10th to the tee is an extremely uphill walk and I had to stop to catch my breath.
When I walked down the par-5 8th hole, the three players playing the hole in their practice rounds hit drives that ended up right next to each other. I saw the last drive and it bounced off the trees lining the left side of the fairway and back into the fairway. This group consisted of LIV golfer Brooks Koepka, Rafa Campo who plays on the PGA TOUR, and An Byeong-hun, who is also a PGA TOUR member. The three balls were so close to the patron ropes that I had a close-up view of the players as they waited for the forecaddie at the top of the hill to let them know the green was clear. I wondered where Campo would dispose of his cigarette butt. He wouldn’t just flick it down on the pristine fairway, would he? He pinched the hot embers out and tucked the butt away to dispose of later.
After walking a few more holes I came upon the 4th green and stood next to a cart that was parked inside the ropes. A member of the CBS crew came walking from the green to the cart carrying a putter and a couple of balls. I then noticed Ian Baker-Finch was talking with the few patrons that were in the observation stands. Soon, he was walking straight at me, and I snapped a photo. He gave me a peculiar look.
“Hi, Ian,” I said. “Have a great week.”
He smiled back at me and said, “Thanks, mate. You, too.”
My energy level was starting to get low, and I knew the perfect boost; one of the peach ice cream sandwiches. It hit the spot and got me going again. The ice cream is sandwiched between two sugar cookies and is delicious. The sugar buzz kept me going for the rest of the afternoon.
I finally made my way to the first tee having walked the entire course in reverse. I then hung around, outside the velvet ropes, under the big tree by the clubhouse where I saw a few familiar faces hobnobbing in the area.
It was then off to the GWAA award dinner where Scottie Scheffler accepted the Player of the Year award and Billy Horshel, and his wife Brittany, were awarded the Charlie Bartlett Award for unselfish contributions to the betterment of society. It was wonderful to meet the other golf writers and listen to some of their stories.
It was a long day, a day to check off an item on my bucket list, and one that did not contain even one disappointment. When I got back to Seattle, I had so much fun watching the tournament on TV and seeing the massive crowds in the spots that I walked around so freely just days before. With the fantastic finish on Sunday, and with my experience on Wednesday, this year’s Masters will be a most cherished memory for the rest of my life.
Thank you for reading this far—your a golf sicko. Thank you also, for your support as a premium subscriber. Your support helps fund special long-form articles like this one.
All photos by Larry Baush unless otherwise noted.
Thank you Larry!