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<p>A steady diet of those greens would make you quit playing golf. At least the way it’s set up for the tournament, that course is basically unplayable for the average duffer.</p>
<p>Yes, on Masters week they are super slick. But for the members on the weeks they can play… And they could be the slickest, fastest, greens, and I would keep coming back 
Those greens are part of the attraction to the place.</p>
<p>My in laws live in Augusta, and we spend every Masters week in Augusta. I love it!! We often get to go for a day or two, because the in laws’ friends are too old to go every day - or at all - don’t want to give up those tickets - and don’t always have family to give them to. We went to the final round last year (and drove through the night so I could get to work the next day). </p>
<p>The course is great. It’s hilly but not overwhelming. Make sure to take sunscreen, because there isn’t much shade. The food is very reasonably priced and quite good - even beer is not too expensive. DO NOT EVEN THINK OF TAKING A CELL PHONE!!! </p>
<p>If anyone is going, H and I will be hanging out at Reinhardt’s on Washington Road … we have a great time chatting with everyone there. PM me!!</p>
<p>^^^ Do you have a few favorite places to hang out? I imagine during the practice rounds I would be near amen corner. And 16 during the practice rounds as they try to skip the ball onto the green.</p>
<p>We like to go to the driving range early. #10 is a great place to see the elevation change. Our favorite afternoon hangout is the hill at #16, where you can see both #6 and #16 - and the crowd is a bit animated (by Masters standards).</p>
<p>Growing up in the South, I never realized pimento cheese was a regional thing until H and I went to masters one year and I overheard northerners (by accent) wondering about “cheese salad”. Augusta may not be hilly, but it is more so than you would think.</p>
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<p>I don’t know how anyone hits an iron to 10 green. Downhill hook lie in the fairway to a green that requires hitting a high fade to have any prayer of stopping a ball on the green (elevated and canted steeply to the left). Miss short or to the left and the ball rolls down banks making it nearly impossible to get up and down. TV doesn’t do justice to how hard that hole is. Amen Corner gets the attention, but putting a par on the card on 10 on Sunday afternoon is where a winning back nine charge has to start. </p>
<p>Likewise, it’s hard to believe how uphill the second shot on 18 is.</p>
<p>kelsmom - Thanks for the memory jog about Rhineharts! So much fun there. We lived in Augusta for many years. I also miss French Market Grille. Friends tell us that the traffic has become insane in recent years, especially near Bobby Jones/ Washington Rd. </p>
<p>We went to tournament each year because DH worked in Augusta media and he always got badges. The club opens the course to media and vendors in the days immediately following the tournament so he was able to play the course too. </p>
<p>After we moved away I got a letter from the Augusta National saying that I was randomly chosen to receive tournament badges because they had gone through the original waiting list and held a lottery with previous attendees to add the the badge list. WHAT??? It was like winning the lottery.</p>
<p>We enter the lottery annually, but we haven’t scored any tickets that way yet. </p>
<p>We are able to keep away from the worst traffic jams. In laws live in West Lake, and there are some relatively new roads that allow us to bypass going down to Washington Road a lot of the time. Plus, there are now businesses out their way - again, allowing us to stay away from the traffic. Of course, we do venture out that way - but we can minimize the time spent on Washington Road. </p>
<p>There is a new parking lot off Washington Road on the 1-20 side, and it’s a great addition.</p>
<p>A good point by interesteddad about the elevation. I’ve never been to Augusta but from friends that have, that is usually a comment. The elevation changes aren’t as noticeable on TV. Lots of hills.</p>
<p>H and I were invited on a Master’s trip courtesy of a company that had done lots of business with my H’s company. We were there for the last two days of the tournament in 2005. The company put us and its other guests up in a very lovely private home that the owners rent out for the Masters each year. There was a cook and a driver at the house who took care of everything that we wanted. </p>
<p>Other than going to the golf course, we never ventured into Augusta, except to buy a pair of shoes–no one told me that it was a really stupid move to wear sandals to walk around a golf course that was really muddy in some parts. I learned quite a bit about golf that weekend and almost considered taking lessons (which would have made my H very happy). I had never had the cream cheese/pimento sandwiches and got one because one of the hosts insisted that it was the best. I was surprised that the concession stand food was so reasonable. Also, I was really amazed at the large souvenir selection. I still have Masters coasters and golf shirts. All in all it was a fun experience even for someone who isn’t a golf fan.</p>
<p>I have a beat up old Augusta National/Masters golf towel strewn across the seat of my Airdyne exercise bike. It was on my golf bag for years, now it’s a wipe the brow workout towel.</p>
<p>Judging from the practice round photos today, looks like it’s going to be a great year for the azaleas and dogwoods:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.masters.com/images/pics/large/b_beauty_20130407a1883.jpg[/url]”>http://www.masters.com/images/pics/large/b_beauty_20130407a1883.jpg</a></p>
![http://www.masters.com/images/pics/large/b_beauty_20130407a1883.jpg[/url]](http://www.masters.com/images/pics/large/b_beauty_20130407a1883.jpg%5B/url%5D){kind=link}
<p>Looks like they are just coming into bloom with a week to go.</p>
<p>The Augusta National hauls in ice to pack around the azaleas if they need to delay the blooming for the tournament…</p>
<p>Forecast is dry every day this week except thunderstorms on Friday. If that holds, the course should be like concrete. Fairways tough to hit and balls richocheting off the greens in every direction. Now, let’s add some gusty winds and make these guys suffer…</p>
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<p>Well, I would say reports of Rory McElroy’s demise were premature. He appears to have found his game at the right time. Looks like he’s still spraying the ball all over the place, but that’s not necessarily deal killer at Augusta (see Watson, Bubba).</p>
<p>Sleeper pick – although he would add to the list of recent one-hit wonders in the Masters – is KJ Choi. He hangs around the leader board at Augusta and played well in Texas this week.</p>
<p>Tiger played a practice round on Easter Sunday and was back today for a practice round with Steve Stricker. God help the field if Stricker gave him any more putting tips.</p>
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<p>I think they must be doing that this year, interesteddad. Our azaleas in HH started blooming in late February and were pretty much finished when we left there a week ago.</p>
<p>The azaleas in my GA neighborhood are just starting to bloom, so I doubt they had to do much to delay them, as far as ice, etc. It has been a chilly spring so far and just started to really warm up during the day the last week or so.</p>
<p>Got the android Masters App successfully installed on my Kindle Fire HD tablet. What a hassle. Kindle and Google apps are the same thing and seem to work interchangeably, but you can’t download free apps from the Google Play store to a Kindle or vice versa. You can, however, download the app to an Android phone/tablet, copy the APK installation file to a computer, drag it to the Kindle, click it, and it installs on the Kindle just like any other app.</p>
<p>So, now I’ve got my scoreboard, streaming HD videos and so on and so forth all ready for Thursday.</p>
<p>Actually, the azaleas began blooming weeks ago - but then the mornings got cool and so the azaleas are just now reaching their peak. The dogwoods just started blooming. I know this because I am sitting in Augusta as we speak, and my MIL told me - and I am looking at her beautiful azaleas we I type this! No ice needed this year.</p>
<p>BTW, a golfer with the initials PH is staying next door! :)</p>
<p>Azalea’s in my columbia sc neighborhood are still in full bloom. It has actually been colder here a number to time than in HH. Should be a nice week in Augusta.</p>
<p>kelsmom…Swede Peter Hanson…or Irish Padraig Harrington? jealous!</p>
<p>If it’s Padraig Harrington, stroll over, knock on the door, and plead with him to play a little faster! He’s on my list of players too insufferably slow to watch. If I can hit the skip 5 minutes button on the DVR when they start lining up a shot and come back and they STILL haven’t hit the ball, it’s just too slow!</p>