The Augusta National used to exist much like the fictional Wonka Candy Factory, an expanse hidden behind walls of bamboo with hardly a soul seen going in or out with the exception of one week a year.
Sports columnists would regularly complain that the National was an Eden surrounded by a neon lit trailer park.
Go forward a couple of decades, and much of the neon around the famous golf course is gone, replaced by greenspace and posh hospitality houses.
Also, there is no longer such a thing as “Masters Week,” as the golf related activities such as the Augusta National Women’s Ametuer and Drive, Chip and Putt now stretch almost two weeks in April.
The tournament that arguably put the game of golf on the international sports stage has also been hard at work to bring the game to new generations with interactive games as well as programs that teach the game to youngsters.
Last week, it was announced that the National would be partnering with Augusta Technical College to lease the Augusta Municipal Golf Course, known as the “Patch” for 50 years. According to the announcement, students at the college will learn how to maintain a world-class golf course; and unlike the National, everyone will get to play the Patch.
And it will not be your grandfather’s Patch, either; the long-neglected golf course will receive a total makeover.
Golf-great Bobby Jones would likely be ecstatic to learn that his idea of a “little golf tournament” has grown by such massive proportions and become such a year-round benefit to the wider community.
We commend the National and Augusta Tech for undertaking this project that will educate students and preserve an Augusta landmark.
