Dream come true: playing at Augusta

AUGUSTA, GA.

It has to be the dream of nearly every golfer to play at Augusta National Golf Club, site of The Masters each April. I realized that dream Thursday.
In my lifetime, I have experienced the ultimate in sports: The Super Bowl, the seventh game of the World Series, NCAA championship basketball games, The Masters — the list can go on.
But having the opportunity to play at Augusta National was nothing short of the most fabulous sporting experience of my life.
I was at Augusta because of Gene Howerrd and the PGA of America.
Howerrd, who is celebrating his 50th year as a member of Augusta National, was kind enough to host officers from the PGA. I joined Jim Remy, president of the PGA; Brian Whitcomb, honorary president; and Howerrd for one of the most wonderful experiences of my life.
Howerrd epitomizes Augusta National. He is a true Southern gentleman who has an appreciation for the game of golf that is rarely found anywhere but in the core of this prestigious group who call themselves members at Augusta National.
Howerrd served on the U.S. Golf Association executive committee from 1984-92. He became a member at Augusta National in 1959, following in the footsteps of his father, who joined in 1941.
His low round at Augusta National is 66. He also is an astute historian of the most famous golf course in the world, which made him the perfect host.
Our Augusta experience started Thursday with a trip down

Magnolia Lane

. The driver slowed to a crawl as we peered out the windows of The Masters van, which picked us up at the airport.
As you drive down this fabled lane lined with live oaks, you see the practice area on both sides. Magnolia Lane heads straight to the club house, which is accented by a bright yellow flower bed in the shape of the United States with a flag denoting the location of Augusta, Ga. This is the logo for Augusta National.
We quickly warmed up and headed
to the back nine for a late afternoon nine-role round. This nine at Augusta commonly is referred to as “where the
tournament starts at Sunday’s final round of the Masters.”
I am proud to say that I opened with a par on the tough 10th hole.
As we wound our way through the fabled Amen Corner, it was hard not to get caught up in the surroundings. You see, the history of this place almost surpasses its beauty. All of the famous spots on this back nine were more impressive in real time. The greens are more severe. The elevations are greater than depicted on TV.
To make things even more dramatic, the tournament leader boards were up for this year’s Masters, and the bleachers were being installed as we played.
But the walks across The Hogan bridge on No. 12, the Nelson bridge on No. 13 and the Sarazen’s bridge on No. 15 were like floating on air. Nowhere in the world of golf is there a more storied stretch than Augusta’s Amen Corner.
Following the round, Howerrd entertained us for dinner in the Augusta National clubhouse. I chose the house specialty of southern fried chicken with turnip greens and macaroni and cheese. Joining us in the dining room were Raymond Floyd, the 1976 Masters champion, and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who has a pretty famous father and brother.
After dinner, Howerrd took us on a personal tour of the Augusta National clubhouse.
It started with a trip to the wine cellar, where 14,000 bottles of wine are stored.
The oldest is vintage 1907, and the most expensive is $5,000. In the wine cellar still scrolled in pencil on several shelves were the inscriptions: Do Not Sell — Mr. Roberts Personal (longtime tournament chairman of the Masters). Also scrolled was DDE, as in Dwight David Eisenhower, who also stored wine in the cellar.
Next it was upstairs to the champions locker room. This is reserved for Masters champions. It was a small room with brass plates on the lockers commemorating the champion and year won. In a case was the green jacket worn by Trevor Immelman, last year’s champion.
Then it was to the top floor of the clubhouse to the Crow’s Nest, which houses the U.S. amateur champion and others during Masters week. This area had a high ceiling with a widow’s watch window and five twin beds in tiny rooms. Modest accommodations, but the ultimate in location.
At the end of the evening it was back to the Firestone cabin for a night of sleep and 18 holes at Augusta National on Friday.
We awoke at dawn and made the trek past the Butler and Eisen-hower cabins to the clubhouse for breakfast. It was another quick warmup and then to the first tee. Floyd played in a group behind us.
All I can say is, wow, you can’t have a bad day at Augusta.
I hit a lot of good shots in 27 holes. Never lost a ball. Success-fully navigated across Rae’s Creek on all occasions. Three-putted numerous times.
And the score I shot? Well, does it really matter? After all, this is Augusta National.
Ted Bishop is secretary of the PGA of America and director of golf for The Legends of Indiana Golf Course in Franklin.

Photo Caption: AUGUSTA, GA.
It has to be the dream of nearly every golfer to play at Augusta National Golf Club, site of The Masters each April. I realized that dream Thursday.

‘Captain America’ tells tales of Ryder triumph

They say that a man’s life can be summed up by one line on his tombstone.

In Paul Azinger’s case, that legacy might be pretty simple for someone who has had a fairly illustrious professional golf career: “He was known as Captain America.”
Ask Azinger today about his proudest achievement in professional golf, and no doubt he would say it was being the captain of the victorious 2008 U.S. Ryder Cup team at Valhalla Country Club in Louisville, Ky.
This week, it was my privilege to sit down and listen to “Zinger” reveal some first-time stories from the recent U.S. Ryder Cup win as we both attended the Golf Industry Show in New Orleans.
“I am all about cash and prestige,” Azinger said. “That’s why I thought it was critical to have the PGA of America reward those two things when it came to Ryder Cup points.
“It’s pretty simple. You only get points for the money you win in the four majors in the year before the Ryder Cup. The year of the competition, all events count, and the majors are double.”
This week, Azinger revealed the compelling strategy behind the selection of his team.
He admitted that leading up to the early-September deadline to make his four captain’s picks, even he had doubts about the ability of the U.S. team to win the Ryder Cup.
“Let’s face it, the United States
had won just three Ryder Cups since 1983,” he said. “One of those was the miracle comeback at Brookline (Mass.). Another was when Bernhard Langer missed a 5-foot putt on the 18th hole of the final match at Kiawah (S.C.). Those two things don’t happen, and we win once in the last 25 years.
“This year, the final six winners of the PGA Tour events leading up to the captain’s picks were all foreign players. I had this list of 20 to 25 candidates, and I didn’t like the looks of any of them. But when I profiled the personality traits of the players and matched them with the pods I established for the players that automatically made the team, I liked them all.”
Azinger implemented what he calls a “militaristic approach” used by Navy SEALS to place his 12 players into three groups called pods. He matched players with similar personality traits into the same pod. The aggressive pod consisted of Phil Mickelson, Anthony Kim, Justin Leonard and Hunter Mahan. The steady, supportive Pod was filled by Stewart Cink, Ben Curtis, Steve Stricker and Chad Campbell. The compliant pod featured Jim Furyk, Kenny Perry, Boo Weekley and J.B. Holmes.
“Furyk could have fit into any of the pods,” Azinger said. “Kenny and J.B. had lots of pressure to deal with because they were from Kentucky. Those two and Boo can kind of get down on themselves when things go bad, so I told Furyk that he needed to be the encourager. Then, Jim and I renamed this pod the ‘redneck pod.’”
The rest was history, and the United States charged to a victory. And here are some Ryder Cup anecdotes from Azinger.
On Kim:
“He comes up to me on Wednesday night and says, ‘Cap, you have to call Faldo right now and tell him that Phil and I want a piece of Sergio. We want to kick his butt.’
“When Anthony and Phil were three down after five in the opening match against Karlssen and Harrington, I walked up to Anthony and said, ‘You said you were going to show off, and you ain’t showed me squat.’ To which Kim replied, ‘Relax we’re gonna win this match two up.’”
On Weekley:
“You know this guy is crazy. He got paid $50 to get into a boxing ring with an orangutan in college. Boo got knocked out with one punch.
“We are walking to the first tee on Sunday and he says, ‘Mr. Zing, I am nervous.’ I looked at him and said, ‘See all of these fans? They are your people. Embrace the crowd. Just have fun.’
“Five minutes later he has that driver between his legs and he is galloping off the first tee.”
On Holmes:
“Early in the week, J.B. says that he hopes somebody makes him mad because that is when he plays his best.
“He goes out for the first time on Friday afternoon and is hitting it all over the place. I am in the clubhouse watching it on TV. I head out the door and hear Dan Hicks from NBC say something about Lee Westwood getting peeved about the crowd reaction to J.B. and Boo.
“As I am driving out to Hole 8 to find J.B., I call his swing coach on my cell phone. He says to tell J.B. to bring it down from the inside. I get out there and tell J.B. what his swing coach said.
“As I am walking away, I say they just said on TV that Westwood is accusing you and Boo of distracting him with the crowd. To which J.B. says, ‘He really said that?’ And he played the next 11 holes 6-under par.”
There’s plenty more. Azinger is working on a “tell-all” book about the Ryder Cup that promises to be entertaining.
Tiger ready to roar?
According to Casey Bierder from the Golf Channel, Tiger Woods could be opting for a return to the PGA Tour at Bay Hill on March 26-29. Bierder said this will be the most publicized sporting event of the year.
Golf Channel’s analyst also said the LPGA Tour has 16 sponsor agreements that will expire at the end of the year. Many fear it could be the end of the women’s professional golf tour given the current economic crisis and the uncertainty of obtaining new sponsors.
And surely, spring is just around the corner.
Ted Bishop is director of golf for The Legends of Indiana Golf Course and secretary of the PGA of America.
Photo Caption: They say that a man’s life can be summed up by one line on his tombstone.
In Paul Azinger’s case, that legacy might be pretty simple for someone who has had a fairly illustrious professional golf career: “He was known as Captain America.”
Ask Azinger today about his proudest achievement in professional golf, and no doubt he would say it was being the captain of the victorious 2008 U.S. Ryder Cup team at Valhalla Country Club in Louisville, Ky.