Augusta — where Heaven meets Hell

In the United States there is probably no more hallowed golfing ground than Augusta National.

Born out of the vision of the great amateur Bobby Jones and architect Dr Alister MacKenzie, Augusta’s breathtaking beauty has evolved over time, aided by the endless obsession of Jones and others to produce a venue worthy of hosting golf’s first major championship each year.

Today, Augusta National Golf Club remains a very conservative institution where decorum is paramount; where the traditions and the integrity of the game are jealously guarded.

Where else do so many traditions — the Green Jacket, the Butler Cabin, the Champions Dinner, the Par Three tournament, Caddies decked out in white coveralls — combine so beautifully each year to produce an immensely pleasurable and intense contest that tests the game’s elite?

This week is also unique because unlike the three other major championships that define the professional golfer’s annual calendar, The Masters is not run by a national governing body, but by Augusta National itself.

It sets its own criteria for qualification and participation for the game’s most coveted prize, the club’s Green Jacket.

For those professional golfers lucky enough to participate at the Masters, they have the opportunity to be a part of golf’s greatest event, to follow in the footsteps of the legends.

Over the coming week, the players understand that they will have to “earn” the right to be called the Masters champion in 2012 as Augusta National will expose weaknesses in their game like no other course in the world. Augusta does not reward good shots. It only rewards great shots.

The lengthening of Augusta National to 7,445 yards from the back tees in recent years had made the course considerably more difficult.

Where once the greens were built to be hit with lofted irons, the players are now required to hit these same greens with longer, less lofted irons where the penalties of missing the targets are enormous.

Take for example Pampas, hole number seven. At 450 yards, it is not the longest in the world, but it still requires a player to hit a driver or very long three wood off the tee box to a very tight fairway that slopes downhill and from left to right to reach the bottom of the valley — after that it is a lofted iron into this tiny elevated green.

With any type of breeze into your face, this hole now becomes almost impossible as players struggle to control their shots into the green with less lofted clubs and flatter trajectories resulting from a down hill lie.

All in all, the combination of added length with firm and fast greens has made Augusta an exceptionally difficult course for the players.

That said, there is no course in the world that can offer you the drama that this corner of Georgia can, especially with players challenging for the title on Sunday afternoon.

The likely winner this week will be someone who can execute his game-plan to perfection, someone who has a short game imagination and touch second to none, as well as the ability to hit a controlled ball high into the slick, heavily contoured greens.

Those requirements mean that you can automatically eliminate a lot of the field.

So the scene is complete and Augusta National lies in waiting. Over the next few days the gladiators will assemble one by one, their thoughts solely focused on the matters at hand. Few will be able to enjoy the beauty around them, the whitewashed clubhouse, the manicured fairways, the blooming azaleas.

The media will have their angles on it, their favourites, be it Woods or McIlroy but for many distant golf aficionados, the first glimpses of Magnolia Lane and Amen Corner will be enough to whet their own appetite for the game once more after a long winters break.