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<\/p>\nYou received a stunning text, the kind that prompts an immediate call.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs this some sort of cruel joke?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d your friend says. \u201cI would never joke about something like this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Like playing a round of golf at Augusta National.<\/p>\n
This friend has an old college roommate who happens to be a member of the game\u2019s most prestigious club. It is Monday night, and something has come up \u2014 suddenly, they need to fill out their Friday foursome.<\/p>\n
You are a 15-handicapper, a weekend warrior who never dreamed this impossible dream. It\u2019s hard enough to get a Friday tee time at the local municipal course these days, and now one is booked at Augusta.<\/p>\n
The opportunity? Walk where Arnie\u2019s Army marched. Make bogeys where the Golden Bear made birdies.<\/p>\n
Play in silence where Tiger roared.<\/p>\n
You can break 90 at public courses, and while watching the Masters year after year, admiring the beauty of the arena and the drama of the closing nine, the question needed to be asked:<\/p>\n
Could I break 100 there?<\/p>\n
From the member tees, of course.<\/p>\n
After you land in Augusta, head down Washington Road and pull into the club. There it is, Magnolia Lane, in all its tree-lined glory. Make the slowest, sweetest 330-yard drive ever and arrive at that classic clubhouse with your heart beating faster than Rory McIlroy\u2019s when he stood over that final putt last year.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a singular goal for this one-and-done lifetime experience \u2014 shoot 99. Don\u2019t sweat it. A Hall-of-Fame caddie who was part of four Masters victories is here to keep this game in double figures.<\/p>\n
Steve Williams points out that there will be no dress rehearsal for this round.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo hit some balls on the range and let the caddie see what sort of shot you hit,\u201d Williams says. \u201cIs it a slice? Is it a draw? Is it high? Is it low? All the caddies there are excellent and would get a picture of how you play quite quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n
And then it\u2019s off to the putting green on the other side of the clubhouse. \u201cThe most important part of all,\u201d Williams says. \u201cEven aside from tournament weeks, the greens will be quicker than any a weekend handicap golfer would face at a municipal course. You have to spend a good 30 minutes on the putting green to get adapted to not only the speed, but the slope. \u2026You don\u2019t get a lot of dead flat putts at Augusta.\u201d<\/p>\n
Under a warm sun, the walk to the first tee is an out-of-body experience times 10. The math isn\u2019t complicated. Nine bogeys plus nine double bogeys on this 6,365-yard par-72 equals 99.<\/p>\n
Sounds doable.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut it\u2019s a very tall order for a handicap player who shoots around 90,\u201d maintains the 62-year-old Williams, who was on the bag for 14 major championships \u2014 13 with Tiger Woods, including three Masters, and one with Adam Scott at Augusta in 2013.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n Tiger Woods, right, and Steve Williams won three Masters together. (Jamie Squire \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Williams, now retired, recalls watching many low handicappers bet the former Masters champs who invited them to play that they would break 80 \u2026 only to watch every single one of them fail.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you need to play to your strengths and away from your weaknesses,\u201d Williams says. \u201cThe idea is not shooting the lowest score that you can shoot but trying to break 100. If you went there and aimed at some flags and took some water on, there\u2019s just no way to break 100.\u201d<\/p>\n
Standing over the ball at No. 1, the hole known as Tea Olive, the nervous system will kick into overdrive. Any veteran Augusta National caddie will understand. \u201cHey, look, you\u2019re incredibly fortunate to play a golf course that all the greatest players in the world have played. Enjoy the experience,\u201d Williams says. \u201cDon\u2019t let it get to you. Don\u2019t think about the monumental occasion it is, or that you\u2019ll likely never do it again.\u201d<\/p>\n
It sure feels overwhelming in the final seconds before that first swing. No. 1 is an uphill par-4 with a slight dogleg to the right, feeding into a deep, angry fairway bunker. Size up the forbidding 365 yards the members play (80 fewer yards than Masters length), glance at the green jackets who have wandered over to watch, then whisper this memo to self:<\/p>\n
Whatever you do, don\u2019t top it.<\/p>\n
And then take back that kinda banged-up Callaway driver from a kinda banged-up Titleist bag, pause at the top with that flying elbow, and then lash at that brand new TaylorMade ball\u2026and pray the sound of contact is pure.<\/p>\n
Good news: You didn\u2019t top it.<\/p>\n
Bad news: The ball landed in the last place at Augusta that Williams wanted it to land.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve got to avoid that fairway bunker,\u201d he says. \u201cPlay to the bottom of the hill somewhere, and then play over the bunker somewhere, and then play safely away from the flag and try to make six.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sinking into that bunker, eyeing the top of a lip that seems as tall as the trees, the only choice is to sand-wedge it out and hope to get on the green in three or four. After hitting it a bit far left, that short approach over the bunker with the pin in the back feels like a bad idea. Listen to the caddie and punch a low 8-iron toward the front of the green for a clean look.<\/p>\n
\u201cRegardless of where the pin placement is,\u201d Williams says, \u201cif you can put the ball in the middle of that green, you\u2019re going to be able to two-putt.\u201d<\/p>\n
The chip stops 12 feet from the cup. A bogey would sure be an encouraging start, but a triple could set an alarming tone. You lag to 3 feet and finish off the double.<\/p>\n
On the way to the second tee, the caddie points out that McIlroy doubled the first hole out of the same bunker on Sunday at the Masters and still won the tournament. He laughs. You laugh. But honestly, that did feel pretty good to hear.<\/p>\n
You are in the valley below the third green after a bogey at the par-5 second, highlighted by a worm-burner 5-wood that worked out nicely as it skidded downhill. Upon blasting out of another fairway bunker on this devilish 340-yard par-4, the caddie advises a firmer-than-expected chip.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think you should try hitting your second or third shot just over the green,\u201d Williams says, \u201cso coming back you can putt it and not have such a difficult shot.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s an uphill play into one of Augusta\u2019s smallest greens, sloped right to left, and this shot cannot come up short. Sadly, the ball lands on the front and comes rolling back to your feet. Lesson learned, you strike the next chip with more force past the pin on the right side and watch it settle on the fringe.<\/p>\n
The caddie says he needs a conservative putt from 12 feet here to take a crazy number out of play. But you accidentally hit an aggressive putt that crashes into the flagstick and drops for a bogey. And at least in this context, Augusta National proves to be no different than any other course in creation:<\/p>\n
It\u2019s better to be lucky than good.<\/p>\n
The rest of the front nine goes about as the caddie expected. Bogeys at the par-3s, Nos. 4 and 6, with a pair of solid swings off the tees that missed the greens but avoided the bunkers, and a triple on the 400-yard fifth hole, still a combative foe despite the 95 yards cut from Masters length.<\/p>\n
Pressure mounts on the par-5 eighth because of the 6 made at the seventh, and because a par is almost required to compensate for the damage done at the fifth. \u201cAnd that\u2019s feasible from the front tee there,\u201d Williams says. \u201cYou can hit it short of the bunkers there, then up to the top of the hill and hit (a third shot) on the green. The eighth green is a little easier than some of the others, and you can bank a chip shot off the hill on the left and get it on the green.\u201d<\/p>\n
You follow that script to a T, albeit with a semi-skulled approach that kicks off that hill. Another double at the ninth, complete with a chunked wedge and another ball rolling off the front of an elevated green, leaves a 13-over 49 on the scorecard. Fifty shots to play with. You feel comfortable on the tee boxes (outside of the first) because the fairways are wide, the rough (ahem, second cut) is relatively benign, and the driver is more or less cooperating.<\/p>\n
But there are major concerns. Even when your ball finds the fairway, it is sitting uphill, downhill, sidehill, above your feet, or below your feet. That\u2019s not something a recreational player can ordinarily deal with.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the first thing that strikes everyone for the first time at Augusta,\u201d Williams says, \u201cjust how steep and how hilly the course is, and how uneven the lies are. But that\u2019s where you\u2019d lean on the caddie. If the ball is well above your feet\u2026just ask the caddie, \u2018What\u2019s my tendency? What should I do here?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Some brutal holes are lurking on the second nine, especially at the start.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose are among the holes I\u2019m deliberately trying to play for a double bogey and just play it as safely and conservatively as I can,\u201d Williams says. \u201cA lot of times, if you\u2019re trying to make a 5 or a 6, you\u2019ll make a 4 or a 5. But if you\u2019re trying to make a 4 or a 5, you might make a 6 or a 7.\u201d<\/p>\n
After a 6 at the 10th, hey, who wouldn\u2019t sign up on the 11th tee for back-to-back doubles? This second straight downhill hole, known as White Dogwood, is the start of Amen Corner. It is the toughest hole for the Masters field at 520 yards, and it\u2019s even tougher for a weekend warrior at 400.<\/p>\n
You drive your ball into the trees on the right and punch out. The caddie advises to play down the right side of the hole to stay far, far away from that terrifying greenside pond on the left. You respond by slapping an iron way short and wide right of the green, then chunking the fourth shot. Poise and precision is now mandatory. But you catch your fifth too cleanly. You plead for it to hit the brakes as it trickles past the pin and toward that pond. Somehow, it stops on the fringe, two rotations shy of splashdown. Two putts for a 7.<\/p>\n
The caddie says it\u2019s time to slow down, take a deep breath, soak it all in. This is the ultimate theater in the pines, after all, with 1,600 azaleas waiting to be appreciated at No. 13. No triple bogey can ruin the best day of a golfer\u2019s life.<\/p>\n
And the caddie has been a sage of these undulating green complexes, accurately identifying aiming points that are hard to believe. Those 35 minutes on the putting green were huge in managing the dramatic twists and turns of the greens.<\/p>\n
On the 12th tee, it\u2019s time to stop and stare at the beautiful yet treacherous (and tiny) target. Go ahead and pinch yourself before using that unworthy 7-iron to send a ball (hopefully) toward that historic green.<\/p>\n
Forget messing around with the swirling winds, the grassy bank, and the perils of Rae\u2019s Creek that swallowed whole Tiger\u2019s rivals in 2019. Listen to Jack Nicklaus\u2019s advice about being conservative here and aiming left-center.<\/p>\n
You put your tee shot near the bushes, but it\u2019s in a small clearing. Pose for a photo on the Hogan Bridge and knock the chip to 10 feet. Go ahead and drain this par putt for the sake of future stories to share with future grandkids.<\/p>\n
Ohhhh, it\u2019s a lip out, and that\u2019s OK. Your 4 just beat Jordan Spieth\u2019s Sunday score in 2016 by three strokes.<\/p>\n
Now you are lying three on the par-5 15th, 80 yards away, with water in front of the green and water behind it. \u201cProbably the hardest pitch shot in the world,\u201d Williams says. \u201cIt\u2019s probably the hole that can wreck a round or make a round if you\u2019re trying to break 100.\u201d<\/p>\n
And no, you are not good enough to spin the ball, a problem all day. The elevation changes have caused some fatigue to set in, and now, from a downhill lie, it feels like you\u2019re trying to land this wedge shot on the hood of an SUV. Fear seizes control of the club and forces a deceleration before impact.<\/p>\n
Water. Take your penalty, keep it dry on the do-over, and then 3-putt from 25 feet for a quad-9.<\/p>\n
The good karma from those bogeys at the 12th and the 13th and that stunning up-and-down par at 14 (the course\u2019s only bunker-free hole) is going, going, gone. Now the necessary response is clear: Put this ball at the 145-yard 16th right where the greats put it, on the right side, and let it funnel to the hole. But emotions are running high after the quad, and you pull a crushed tee shot over the water and sand to almost exactly where Tiger Woods was in the final round of the 2005 Masters, with two extra inches of room between the ball and the second cut.<\/p>\n
Only there\u2019s no trying the signature shot of Tiger\u2019s career \u2013 the 60-degree wedge shot up the hill and down the slope into the signature call of Verne Lundquist\u2019s career. \u201cThe safest thing to do there is keep the ball on the ground,\u201d Williams says. \u201cTrying to pitch the ball is too delicate. \u2026Work out a way that you cannot make more than five.\u201d<\/p>\n
Much easier said than done. Williams writes in his book \u201cTogether We Roared\u201d that caddie and player were concerned Tiger\u2019s chip \u201ccould pick up too much speed coming back down the slope and roll into the greenside bunker.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ditch the putter in favor of the 8-iron and try to run it on the ground that way. Good idea, bad execution. Your ball comes out so hot that it races into the bunker on the other side. Facing a dangerous downhill shot that threatens everything, you must dig deep and blast out a beauty. Boo-yah! The ball rolls softly past the cup and stops six feet away. The comebacker is missed and the hard-earned 5 is accepted.<\/p>\n
The mission is in jeopardy. \u201cBut someone playing off the front tees at 17 can make par,\u201d Williams says. And sure enough, you split the fairway on this 370-yard hole and whistle that approach over the bunkers and onto a challenging green, 22 feet from the stick. The caddie somehow gets you down in two and then mutters something on the walk to the 18th tee.<\/p>\n
\u201cFive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cExcuse me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNeed a 5 here.\u201d<\/p>\n
How did he know? The caddie\u2019s been around the game long enough to know what\u2019s what.<\/p>\n
The last hole is called Holly. It is a right-to-left dogleg of 385 yards, uphill, bunkers on the left, trees on the right. You must steer a drive through the narrowest chute on the course \u2013 about as tight as your throat is right now.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the most intimidating tee shots in golf,\u201d Williams says.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would just remind the player, \u2018Hey, you\u2019ve come this far. You\u2019ve done an absolutely unbelievable job. You\u2019ve got just one hole to go, and you\u2019ve coped well on the 17 previous holes. Just enjoy it, make five, and then you\u2019ll have a great story to tell.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
The moment has arrived. Peer through the chute, glare at your ball, then smack it with your driver one last time. It\u2019s a miss to the right, across from the bunkers but a few yards short of tree trouble. No problem. The strategy is to lay up with the second shot and to heed the caddie\u2019s advice to keep it on the right side. Done.<\/p>\n
You are now 50 yards away on the hillside below the iconic clubhouse. It\u2019s a Masters Sunday pin placement, front left. Nobody in this situation wants any part of the bunkers, and the caddie is swearing that this third shot absolutely cannot end up on the top tier of this green.<\/p>\n
Your thoughts are swirling like those winds at the 12th. A half-wedge is hardly a middling player\u2019s favorite shot, but under great duress, you actually hit a damn good one that settles 20 feet to the right of the hole. The chance is there, and that\u2019s all anyone can ask for.<\/p>\n
This is the same exact putt Mark O\u2019Meara had to win the 1998 Masters. It curls a little right to left.<\/p>\n
You have no interest in a 98 \u2013 just playing prevent defense against triple figures now. Time again to lag. The ball turns below the hole and stops three feet from the finish line. The buddy who invited you here orders you to pick it up. The member nods in agreement.<\/p>\n
But the caddie firmly shakes his head. \u201cYou have to hole it out whether it be one inch or 10 inches,\u201d Williams says. \u201cIf you want to earn bragging rights\u2026every hole has to be holed out.\u201d<\/p>\n
The world\u2019s best players have missed from this distance, all of them. That\u2019s a fact. And yet, shockingly, fear has no role in this final act. From atop this emerald test of skill and will, it already feels like you\u2019ve scaled Mount Everest.<\/p>\n
The feet are planted. The pulse is steady. The putter is still \u2026 until it isn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
The ball disappears into the heart of the hole.<\/p>\n
Congratulations. You just broke 100 at Augusta National.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"You received a stunning text, the kind that prompts an immediate call. \u201cIs this some sort of cruel…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":570013,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4,450,427,451,3,1794,452,453],"class_list":{"0":"post-570012","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-breaking-news","8":"tag-breaking-news","9":"tag-breakingnews","10":"tag-golf","11":"tag-headlines","12":"tag-news","13":"tag-sports-business","14":"tag-top-stories","15":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570012","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=570012"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570012\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/570013"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=570012"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=570012"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=570012"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}