Magical arena that words cannot measure

Nothing is as cold and heartless as time. It waits for no man. Or so goes the saying.

Fact is, though, there is a place where time seemingly stands still, as if frozen — Augusta National Golf Club.

It is where yesterdays are savoured before tomorrows are anticipated. It is where homage is gladly paid before entitlement is taken. It is where accomplishments are revered more than speculation is offered. It is where a 73-year-old can captivate you, not with the golf clubs which brought him iconic stature, but with his words, his thoughts, his viewpoints.

That is because Augusta National is where Jack Nicklaus still matters more than all the millionaire, jet-setting, neon-clothed young golfers who Tweet their mindlessness and tout their material possessions as well as their own horn, as if bluster makes the man.

Nicklaus was 19 the first time he drove Magnolia Lane, awarded a spot into the elite field as your reigning US Amateur winner.

“I always loved it, had that love affair with the thing,” said Nicklaus, whose interview before the start of this year’s Masters packed the press room, no matter that he’s years beyond his competitive prowess.

In other words, he counts not as a player anymore, but at the Masters he matters as the most significant of voices, right up there with Arnold Palmer and Gary Player.

The three of them will again walk over dew-covered grass to the first tee bright and early this morning and deliver a trio of drives that will officially start the 77th Masters.

Surely, how this year’s first major ends will register interest. But until the final putt drops and the winner’s exploits are cemented into the record books, it continues to matter just as much that the tournament is presented with great care and attention to detail, to assure that the challenge on the golf course is what it has been for previous generations — a 3- or 4-iron into the first, a 5- or 6-iron into the last. It is not an easy task for Augusta officials and while adding nearly 500 yards to this Alister MacKenzie masterpiece is not undertaken with overwhelming joy, it has been handled as flawlessly as possible, proven by the stamps of approval given by men of golf royalty named Palmer, Player, and Nicklaus.

What they see in front of them when they look at Augusta National in 2013 is a course that requires the same sort of precision and power that faced them in the late 1950s and throughout the ‘60s and ‘70s. At the same time, what envelopes these great champions on their annual visit to Augusta National is a warmth and timelessness that is found nowhere else on the global sporting stage.

The subtle appreciation of Masters week comes in many forms, but for a shining example let us mention that insufferable, yet necessary piece of technology called the cell phone.

It’s a sad commentary on what we have morphed into, but we can’t live without our cell phones, yet here, we must. Cell phones are not allowed inside the gates of Augusta National and so when majestic walks are embarked upon, they are done so in solitude and with a devoted focus.

No temptations to stop and tweet, no impulses to text and email; without those distractions, we are free to indulge upon simple pleasures too often pushed aside, like conversations and observations.

The grandest golf writer of them all, Herbert Warren Wind — with respectful apologies to Bernard Darwin and Peter Dobereiner — used to spend hours out on the course during Masters week and after his walks he would return to the press building with one mission. To approach his colleagues and ask, “What did you see today?”

Wind wanted to soak it all in, both his observations and those of others, because he knew what so many of us have come to appreciate: that Augusta National is not only the greatest stage in golf, it is the most expansive, too.

That makes a comprehensive study too much for one set of eyes, so we rely upon players and caddies, officials and marshals, and never is anyone too tired to talk about the Masters.

There is a magic to Augusta National that words cannot measure. But to move inside the gates is to step back in time to when your faith in life was stronger and your trust in others more rewarding.

Always, there is wonderment as to what exactly is the appeal to the Masters and why it is such a spring pilgrimage. Nicklaus offered this: “This is a tournament. The other (majors) are championships. It is the most fun (of the majors) to play in. I love it.”

He is not alone. We all do.

The Masters: Tee Times

All times Irish

TODAY

Starting at hole 1

1pm: S Lyle (Sco), J Peterson, N Smith

1.11pm: L Mize, B Gay, R Henley

1.22pm: I Woosnam (Wal), D Lynn (Eng), K Na

1.33pm: D Toms, R Sterne (Rsa), T Potter, Jr.

1.44pm: T Watson, R Moore, K Streelman

1.55pm: R Garrigus, C Pettersson (Swe), T Clark (Rsa)

2.06pm: M Weir (Can), L Westwood (Eng), J Furyk

2.17pm: B Snedeker, R Ishikawa (Jpn), J Rose (Eng)

2.28pm: JM Olazabal (Spa), M Leishman (Aus), TJ Vogel

2.39pm: C Schwartzel (Rsa), W Simpson, P Hanson (Swe)

2.50pm: Z Johnson, KJ Choi (Kor), G McDowell (NIrl)

3.12pm: M Thompson, J Huh, J Senden (Aus)

3.23pm: S Cink, N Colsaerts (Bel), T Wiratchant (Tha)

3.34pm: B Watson, I Poulter (Eng), S Fox

3.45pm: T Woods, L Donald (Eng), S Piercy

3.56pm: J Day (Aus), R Fowler, P Harrington (Irl)

4.07pm: J Merrick, T Olesen (Den), DA Points

4.18pm: C Stadler, B Curtis, M Weaver

4.29pm: M O’Meara, M Laird (Sco), J Donaldson (Wal)

4.40pm: P Lawrie (Sco), T Bjorn (Den), G Fernandez-Castano (Spa)

4.51pm: T Immelman (Rsa), G Coetzee (Rsa), A Dunbar (NIrl)

5.13pm: E Els (Rsa), S Stricker, N Watney

5.24pm: B Crenshaw, M Manassero (Ita), T lang Guan (Chn)

5.35pm: B Langer (Ger), L Glover, H Stenson (Swe)

5.46pm: V Singh (Fij), B Van Pelt, YE Yang (Kor)

5.57pm: A Cabrera (Arg), S Garcia (Spa), A Scott (Aus)

6.08pm: F Couples, D Johnson, B Grace (Rsa)

6.19pm: H Mahan, H Fujita (Jpn), F Molinari (Ita)

6.30pm: P Mickelson, L Oosthuizen (Rsa), M Kaymer (Ger)

6.41pm: R McIlroy (NIrl), K Bradley, F Jacobson (Swe)

6.52pm: J Dufner, M Kuchar, B Haas

TOMORROW

Starting at hole 1

1pm: J Merrick, T Olesen (Den), DA Points

1.11pm: C Stadler, B Curtis, M Weaver

1.22pm: M O’Meara, M Laird (Sco), J Donaldson (Wal)

1.33pm: P Lawrie (Sco), T Bjorn (Den), G Fernandez-Castano (Spa)

1.44pm: T Immelman (Rsa), G Coetzee (Rsa), A Dunbar (NIrl)

1.55pm: E Els (Rsa), S Stricker, N Watney

2.06pm: B Crenshaw, M Manassero (Ita), T lang Guan (Chn)

2.17pm: B Langer (Ger), L Glover, H Stenson (Swe)

2.28pm: V Singh (Fij), B Van Pelt, YE Yang (Kor)

2.39pm: A Cabrera (Arg), S Garcia (Spa), A Scott (Aus)

2.50pm: F Couples, D Johnson, B Grace (Rsa)

3.12pm: H Mahan, H Fujita (Jpn), F Molinari (Ita)

3.23pm: P Mickelson, L Oosthuizen (Rsa), M Kaymer (Ger)

3.34pm: R McIlroy (NIrl), K Bradley, F Jacobson (Swe)

3.45pm: J Dufner, M Kuchar, B Haas

3.56pm: S Lyle (Sco), J Peterson, N Smith

4.07pm: L Mize, B Gay, R Henley

4.18pm: I Woosnam (Wal), D Lynn (Eng), K Na

4.29pm: D Toms, R Sterne (Rsa), T Potter, Jr.

4.40pm: T Watson, R Moore, K Streelman

4.51pm: R Garrigus, C Pettersson (Swe), T Clark (Rsa)

5.13pm: M Weir (Can), L Westwood (Eng), J Furyk

5.24pm: B Snedeker, R Ishikawa (Jpn), J Rose (Eng)

5.35pm: JM Olazabal (Spa), M Leishman (Aus), TJ Vogel

5.46pm: C Schwartzel (Rsa), W Simpson, P Hanson (Swe)

5.57pm: Z Johnson, K J Choi (Kor), G McDowell (NIrl)

6.08pm: M Thompson, J Huh, J Senden (Aus)

6.19pm: S Cink, N Colsaerts (Bel), T Wiratchant (Tha)

6.30pm: B Watson, I Poulter (Eng), S Fox

6.41pm: T Woods, L Donald (Eng), S Piercy

6.52pm: J Day (Aus), R Fowler, P Harrington (Irl)

(x) denotes amateurs