18 Facts About The Masters.....

With the Masters fast approaching I found this fantastic article in an email from Judy Madden regarding the Masters.  I hope you enjoy these 18 facts about the Masters and get your PVRs set for next weekend.

As The Masters turns 80 this year (the first tournament played in 1934), the golf world anxiously awaits the countdown to April 10th, 2014. Most people will never have the opportunity to play at Augusta National, but we invite you to play an 18 Round of Masters fascinating facts. Listen to the iconic Masters song,  and test your knowledge to see how many of these facts you know.

1.) Horton Smith was first winner of The Masters in 1934. Smith’s win was worth $1,500 from a total purse of $5,000. The 2014 Masters purse is $8,000,000 with the winner receiving $1,440,000 and 600 Fed Ex Cup points.

2.) No amateur has ever won The Masters.

3.) The bunkers at Augusta are actually filled with a mining waste from the mining of feldspar rocks for aluminum.  The result is very bright quartz waste that gives the bunkers their unique pristine appearance.

4.) Mobile phones are banned at The Masters, but there are payphones for you to use.

5.) The green jacket that The Masters champion puts on at the ceremony is not the actual jacket he will keep. This jacket is owned by Augusta National Club and must be returned before the next Masters. Winners are then given a replica jacket that they keep in recognition of winning The Masters.

6.) Caddies have to wear white jumpsuits.

7.) Bobby Jones, who built and created The Masters, played in the tournament 11 times but never finished better than 13th.

8.) The Masters has strict broadcast rules. There can only be four minutes of commercials per hour and broadcasters have to call the fans “patrons” and refer to the rough as the “second cut”.

9.) Jack Nicklaus has the most Master wins with six (1963, 65’, 66’, 72’, 75’, 86’). Nicklaus is the oldest player to ever win The Masters at 46 years old in 1986. The Golden Bear never had his own tailored green jacket until 1998, when the club learned of the oversight and corrected it.

10.) Ground crew members must wear hard hats.

11.) Winners of The Masters must wear their green jacket whenever they play at Augusta National or visit.

12.) “The shot heard ‘round the world” was the double eagle on the par-five 15th that Gene Sarzen made in 1935. That shot led to a 36-hole playoff in which Sarazen won.

13.) Each hole at Augusta National is named after a flowering tree or shrub. For example, No. 5 is Magnolia, No.13 is Azalea and No. 16 is Redbud.

14.) Augusta National is open from mid-October to late May, but closes during the summer months to preserve and maintain the course.

15.) The Crow’s Nest is a 30-by-40 foot room on top of the clubhouse which is used for the housing of up to 5 amateurs during The Masters Tournament.

16.) Magnolia Lane, which leads to the clubhouse, is 330 yards long and is adorned with 61 magnolia trees that are more than 150 years old.

17.) The Masters Tournament was called the “Augusta National Invitational” for the first five years (1934-1938)

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST…………

18.) There have been 73 Holes-In-One in the history of The Masters!!!