Choosing a favorite The tradition of the masters it can feel a bit like having to pick a favorite child.
Pimento cheese sammies? Par-3 Contest? Ball bounce at age 16? Magnificent rituals all! However, for the fourth installment, there is a clear winner in the Bracket Traditions Masters Challenge: media lottery during the week of the Masters that gives some unfortunate, inked-up photographers and creators of all such the opportunity to play Augusta National the Monday after the Masters. Breakfast at the club. Real estate in Champions’ dressing room. Range session. Sunday pins. A trio at 12. Stories of a lifetime.
So rest assured, when an email from the Augusta National Communications office hit inboxes around 1:15 pm ET Thursday — with “Press Sweepstakes” in the subject line — the release enjoyed a high open rate.
Then came the curve ball.
“This April,” the note began, “in addition to our traditional media sweepstakes to play Augusta National Golf Club the Monday after the Masters, we are pleased to offer another sweepstakes for an opportunity to play Augusta Municipal Golf Course.”
A lottery to play a muni may sound oxymoronic – but AMGC is no ordinary muni. If you’re a regular on this site, you’ll know that Augusta National has pumped millions into beloved city propertyaffectionately known as Patch. Designers Tom Fazio and Beau Welling oversaw a route change and course improvement, and Tiger Woods contributed to a nine-hole par-3 course. Among the other additions are a Trackman-equipped range, a putting course (coming soon!) and even a clever new logo depicting a head of cabbage on a top. “We are keen on the Patch nickname,” said the Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley.
There is also a new (and newly positioned) clubhouse.
According to Patch’s great new website: “The most significant decision came early in the project when the clubhouse was moved from its old location at the south end of Daniel Field’s 5/23 course to the highest point on the property… From this new vantage point, the first swath of the golf course and clubhouse offer incredible views of the property’s 150-foot course, providing a stunning view of the elevation.”
Sounds like another course in town, right?
That’s not to say anyone will confuse the new-look Patch with Augusta National, but, my, do they share some similarities, from the wide fairways to the pine needle beds that line the holes to the dazzling white bunker sand. Browse the course home page and you’ll find another sign for ANGC: a Masters logo under “Project Partners”.
The course is set to open to the public on April 15, but two days before that the press will descend for a sneak preview.
Fret not, fellow doodlers! According to Thursday’s dispatch, “entering/winning the Patch Sweepstakes does not make you ineligible to enter/win the Augusta National Sweepstakes.”
good luck!
