Masters Travel are still booking people to see this years tournament. don’t wait contact us and you will amazed at the package we can put together.

Join us and hopefully watch Woods try to capture this years Masters Title.

What a fantastic experience. 

Wow!!! was my first impression as I stepped through the gates onto the course at Augusta on day one of the  2009 Masters. From seeing the first player to tee off to the last putt of the day you had no problems following any of the groups around one of the great golf courses in the world. The reception you received from everyone, security, catering, green staff, cleaners shop attendants made you feel welcome. Augusta is well organised no queuing for souvenirs or food and drink at what can only be described as very reasonable prices.

What a week – one I will always remember, a visit to The Masters which was unforgettable, and the chance to play some excellent courses close to our hotel in Columbia which is about an hour away from Augusta.

I have to mention the South Carolina Ale House for its great atmosphere, good food, and a wonderful pint of Guinness, once we taught them how to pour it.

Robin Coles

Royston Golf Club Captain 2005

The day at Augusta for the practice day was sunny with a biting cold wind, with the temperature being in the mid-Forties. Our first glimpse of the course after passing through the inevitable security searches was breathtaking- thousands of azaleas and dogwoods in full bloom and the dark green of the fairways set amongst towering pines contrasting with the white bunker sand. After having our picture taken in front of the Clubhouse, wearing our special edition shirts, walking the course was the principal aim of the day and our first impression was how undulating the course was, something hard to envisage from the TV coverage.Whilst the inclines are both steep and inviting fror spectators (or patrons as they are known at Augusta) and Amen corner (11th, 12th, 13th and the Par 3 16th are perhaps the two most’ must visit’ viewing places.

A practice day party piece for the players is on the 16th, where after having hit their tee shots over the lake onto the green, they walk forward to the edge of the water, drop another ball and try to thin the ball so that it will skim about 130 yards across the water onto the green again. This is tremendous entertainment with about half of the players achieving it. Two of our group witnessed Vijay Singh actually hole his attempt, to be greeted by a distinctive roar from the crowd.

The weather was glorious for all four tournament days with temperatures in the seventies, little wind, and with 10 hours plus of play each day there was much to savour.The Augusta tournament is renowned for its ettiquette- no running from patrons, none of the ‘ your the man’ hullaballo (except for the usual berk!) All this contributed to enhancing the viewing and overall enjoyment of the day.

The refreshment and merchandising areas are first class in terms of organisation, availability and being reasonably priced. Believe me, you’ll never see 8 guys enjoy shopping so much!When not at Augusta, we played golf at Cobblestone Park, Crickentree, The country Club of Lexington, OakHills, Timberlakes and Woodlands Golf & Country Club, all within easy driving distance of our Hotel.

All of these courses were picturesque with a lot of water hazards, (We did attempt a Vijay across the water, unsuccessfully!) They were in great condition and all had lightning fast greens, Timberlakes having the most spectacular setting, being situated on a peninsula jutting out into lake Murray, allowing many glimpses of the lake itself, 5 star houses on the perimeter of the course, ospreys and fishermen catching striped bass.The Green masters chairs we bought and shared to use at Augusta became overall prizes. Overall a brilliant trip and already the beginnings of sneaky thoughts about 2010!

As a spectator it gives you everything you need,

• Walk the course and take photo’s of this amazing golf course
• Watch some players practice around the course
• Enjoy the specticle of watching the pro’s skim the ball across the water on the 16th
• Tiger always seems to practice between 12-2pm it’s amazing to watch
• Then in the afternoon relax as you watch the old Masters go around the par 3 competition, 5 holes in one the year I watched

Well you know what they say ‘it’s not what you know it’s who you know’ Well that was true for me to be able to take people to the Master’s. A very good friend of mine who I played golf with in Columbia knew the right people at Augusta, he knew the courses around Columbia, the Hotels and that made it possible for me to send some of my clients to enjoy what I had seen and enjoyed.

He not only helped me to arrange the packages, he also introduced me to the Augusta course itself and we had the pleasure of playing it three times over the past 20 years. My  best round was level par tee to green but finished fourteen over, the greens just killed me and I have a reputation of being a very good putter, those three games will live with me for the rest of my life.

Tournaments I will remember attending are when Sandy Lyle won with the greatest bunker shot I have ever seen, when you think of the pressure he was under at the time, another was when Nick Faldo (Britains greatest golfer) came from behind to beat Greg Norman and the other was when Tiger Woods won in 1997, he is just the greatest present day player and a joy to watch. My wife and I sat on two consecutive years (06 &07) on the practice area and watched Tiger both times for well over an hour, hitting golf balls like I never thought I would ever see a golf ball hit so hard and with so much control he is just great.

Now because of bad health and being unable to fly I shall miss the Masters but for me I have some great memories and I am extremely pleased Gary has now continued the 25 year old company and take many more people to enjoy ‘The Master’s’

A-1 Bentgrass was developed at Penn state, but it was first used on the greens at Augusta National. It was first tested on the Par 3 course in 1980 before being planted on the Championship course. It has a dark green fine leaf that is very tolerant to hot and cold temperatures, and is excellent for colour in the winter and spring. Before it was developed, courses in the South depended on Bermuda grass, which tolerated heat well but went dormant in the winter and had a grainy texture that affected the roll of the ball on putts.

Underneath the grass are two developments that enable the greens to remain relatively constant despite changes in weather condition. The first is a water circulation system first used in 1981 on the 12^th green. Warm or cool water can be pumped under the green to heat it in the winter or cool it during the spring and summer. Also an air circulation machine is used to draw water out of the greens or push air through them, depending on the weather conditions.

This year’s Masters saw the golfing legend play his final competitive rounds at Augusta. I was there at the 18^th Green as he bowed out of his 52^nd Masters Tournament. It was very emotional with not many dry eyes amongst the patron’s at Augusta.

Gary was one of only 7 other players to win the Masters 3 or more times. It took him 5 attempts to win his first Masters in 1961. 17 attempts to win for the second time in 1974, on his 21^st attempt he won the Green Jacket for a third time, in 1978.

This victory made him the oldest third time winner at 42 years 5 months and 8 days.

The trophy, like his jacket, must stay in the Augusta National clubhouse, but the winner gets to take a replica home. First given to Bernhard Langer in 1993, it took the place of the bas- relief plaque that had been awarded to the champions since 1961. The replica, 10 inches across, weighs 12 pounds (5.45kgs). The gold medallion features a view of the Founders Circle in front of the Clubhouse. The runner-up, like the Champion, gets his name engraved on the Masters Trophy, and also receives a silver salver and a silver medallion, which like the Champion’s features a view of the Founders Circle in front of the Clubhouse.

As well as the Winners and Runners up Trophies there are other prizes to be won too.

Day’s Low Score- Crystal Vase

Hole-in-one- Large Crystal Bowl

Eagle- Pair of Crystal Goblets

Double Eagle- Large crystal Bowl

The drop from the highest point on the course- the back right of the green on the first hole- to the lowest- Rae’s Creek guarding the 12^th hole- is 175 feet. To think that Niagara falls, where the Horseshoe Falls there drops 173 feet!

The principle elevation changes can be found on the par-4 10^th, where the drop is more than 100 feet from tee to green, including a plunge of 80 feet from the tee box to the flattest part of the fairway. The par-5 2^nd plummets 90 feet from tee to green. The par 4 11^th the drop is 65 feet  from tee to green and the par-4 18^th the hole climbs 40 feet from the middle of the fairway to the green.

That means aces on all four par-3s and hole-outs from the fairway on all 10 par-4s. Eagles on the par-5s are not unusual but there have been 3 albatrosses over the years. One on the 8th hole (Bruce Devlin in 1967), one on the 13th (Jeff Maggert in 1994) and one on the 15th hole (Gene Sarazen in 1935). Sarazens albatross “the shot heard round the world”, helped launch the tournament on its way to greatness.