Augusta has always been really special

IT IS a familiar question at this time of year: can Augusta National really be that special? The answer is that it can indeed and apparently it was always that way, going back to 1946 and the reaction of leading professionals to the resumption of the event after World War II. In fact we are about to celebrate the golden jubilee of that fateful decision.

Fifty years ago, reigning Masters champion Byron Nelson saw fit to write a letter to the then chairman of Augusta, Clifford Roberts. It read: "Dear Cliff, I am indeed pleased to learn that the Masters Tournament is to be resumed. Professionals and amateurs alike are delighted with the good news concerning this most wonderful of tournaments.

It is not surprising that the Masters has established itself as a pattern for other tournaments to follow. The players are made to feel that they are not only invited contestants, but warmly welcomed guests. Still more important are the completely original conveniences provided for the patrons.

"The course itself is the most beautiful we play and it requires our best efforts as regards both skill and judgment. Each hole presents an entirely different picture - and a different problem.

"It seems the Masters always produces something unusual . . . Sarazen's double eagle and many ether notable high lights; and small wonder considering the perfect setting and the charged atmosphere. I made my principal contribution to the Augusta Record Book in 1942 (the last staging). At least it was the best golf, all things considered, of my career. I refer, of course, to the stretch of golf I played during the play off with Ben Hogan, beginning with the sixth hole and ending with the 17th.

"My New Year's wish is that I may become the first triple winner of the Masters. I also wish every lover of the game of golf might have the privilege of either playing or seeing this tournament. Sincerely, Byron Nelson.

The stretch of golf that Nelson referred to in the play off was, in fact, 11 holes which he covered in six under par, to gain five strokes on Hogan for a one stroke winning margin. But he was never to win a third Masters: the first player to achieve that honour was Jimmy Demaret, in 1950.

"My two favourite tournaments are the US Masters and the British Open. But in the British Open, you have 60 to 100 people walking on the fairways with you. The Masters is the only tournament where no one - I don't care if you're the president of the United States - can walk on the fairways. That's the only office we have." - Gary Player.

AFTER yet another cri de coeur, this time from a member of Killiney, it seems that quite a number of players, particularly those of senior status, are less than happy with the handicap allowance for fourballs. In fact I am informed that "all the fun has gone out of the game" for a certain 24 handicapper, now that he no longer has two strokes at low index holes.

Certain other players are under the erroneous impression that, somehow, the Royal and Ancient are to blame for it all. So, firstly let us make clear that the R and A have no input into regulating handicaps. In these islands, such matters are the responsibility of the Council of National Golf Unions (CONGU) for which the GUI legislates here.

So, why are golfers obliged to play off three quarters handicap in fourball competitions? Because the clubs want it that way. In fact the arrangement was made mandatory by the GUI only in response to the majority wish of clubs at provincial branch level. Which means that if members are unhappy, they should take the matter up with the GUI representatives in their own club.

Then, of course, there is the matter of why a 24 handicapper should lose six strokes while a five handicapper loses only one. Though there is no hard statistical evidence to support such an arrangement, it is believed that this is the most equitable system for handicapping players in fourballs, based on the assumption that there is greater scope for improvement in the performances of higher handicapped players.

The point gained some emphasis for me in January of this year when Padraig Harrington, playing as a professional in a Links Society outing at The Island, won the net prize. Remarkably, it was the first net prize he had ever won.

AT A TIME when most club golfers are looking forward to a new season, Augusta National will shortly be winding down its activities. In fact the pride of Georgia is folly operational for seven months of the year, from October 15th to May 15th. Two major social events are the Thanksgiving Party, which is an outing for members and their families, and the Jamboree, the closing event in May.

During the "season," members pop in and out for short visits. usually staying in guest cottages or clubhouse quarters in the grounds. All 275 of them hold memberships of other clubs, some of which they created themselves in the image of Augusta National. For instance, Hall Thompson developed Shoal Creek in Alabama; Jack Lupton launched The Honors Course in Tennessee and John Williams was instrumental in founding the Grandfather Mountain Club in North Carolina.

There are no female members, but members' wives have playing privileges and access to other club amenities. Meanwhile, a strict code of ethics is enforced, as three particular members discovered to their cost when they joined the club's second professional. Gene Stout, as partners in a pro am in England . . .

Having registered as the "Augusta National Golf Team," they proceeded to win the event and proudly returned home with an impressive silver trophy. Augusta's notoriously autocratic chairman, Clifford Roberts, was furious. "We don't have an Augusta National golf club team," he informed the three members. "Now return that trophy and let that be an end of the matter."

A few weeks later, Roberts asked one of the members if the trophy had been returned. "No," the member replied curtly. "In that case, you are no longer a member," said Roberts. And that was that.

LAUNCHED in 1986, the Sony World Rankings are now 10 years old. During that period, there have been seven players at number one, the most dominant being the current incumbent, Greg Norman, who has held the position for 251 out of the 520 weeks. The next longest was Nick Faldo who held it for 97 weeks.

I find it particularly interesting that five of the seven - Bernhard Langer, Seve Ballesteros, Faldo, Ian Woosnam and Fred Couples - have won the Masters. The odd men out are Norman and Nick Price. Langer, incidentally, was the first number one, albeit for only three weeks from April 6th to 20th, 1986.

Norman's remarkable consistency is reflected in the fact that he was the world's top player at some stage in eight of those 10 years, the exceptions being 1992 and 1993. Faldo, on the other hand, holds the record for having the longest tenure - an unbroken 81 weeks from July 19th 1992 to January 1st 1994.

IN BRIEF: In last week's reference to the J P McManus Invitational Pro-Am, one of my noughts went missing: the amount donated towards an angio cardiology laboratory at the Regional Hospital was in fact £502,300 ... - Lucie Duffy informs me that the 25th staging of the Esso sponsored Hermitage Women's Scratch Cup will take place on May 5th when the holder, Therese O'Reilly, will be defending the title . . . During the Murphy's Irish Open on July 4th to 7th at Druid's Glen, the neighbouring Delgany GC will be opening their doors to visitors, even to the extent of organising special competitions . . . First National Building Society are the new sponsors of the Ulster Cup, one of the country's oldest competitions for players of 10 handicap and over ... Ruth McGuigan of Roscommon GC shot rounds of 83 and 76 to win the Irish Rubies sponsored women's scratch cup at Ballinasloe GC last Sunday.

TEASER: A player dropped his ball twice under a rule and each time the ball rolled nearer the hole. He then dropped the ball a third time instead of placing it as required by Rule 20-2c. What is the ruling?

ANSWER: Before playing a stroke, the player may lift the ball and place it as prescribed in Rule 20-2c, without penalty (Rule 20-6). If he fails to do so and plays the ball, he incurs a penalty of loss of hole in matchplay or two strokes in strokeplay for a breach of Rule 20-2c.