Column: Covering the Masters on site for the first time was an experience that won’t soon be forgotten
By Gary Baines – 4/3/2025
“Enjoy your day in heaven.”
The comment wasn’t made to me — I just overheard it — but it seemed perfectly apt given that it was said at Augusta National Golf Club.
Last year about this time — in the first half of April — I had the pleasure of covering my first Masters in person at Augusta National. I’d done a couple of U.S. Opens and a PGA Championship — along with a smattering of women’s and senior majors and a couple-dozen PGA Tour events of the non-major variety — but it was my initial foray working the entire Masters week on-site.
I was there mainly to chronicle a few things from a Colorado perspective — the Drive, Chip & Putt National Finals; the first Masters for Denver native Wyndham Clark as well as for Nick Dunlap and Neal Shipley (the winner and runner-up from the 2023 U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills Country Club); and the final year as a broadcaster at the Masters for part-time Steamboat Springs resident Verne Lundquist.
(Actually, I should note that I had reported from Augusta National before, but in 2022 it was to cover the Colorado kids at the Drive, Chip & Putt National Finals, and not the Masters itself. I enjoyed seeing a portion of the property that year, but it left me yearning for more.)
Given how long I’ve written about golf and covered the sport — and been involved in the game in general — having a chance to ply my trade at the Masters was among the most memorable experiences of my professional life. Seeing firsthand all the places and areas I’d previously only experienced through TV or photos was remarkable in many ways. I gained a new perspective regarding Augusta National after walking the entire course several times, going through parts of the clubhouse, looking down Magnolia Lane, seeing all of the par-3 course, experiencing the first-class and massive press building, perusing the golf shop, and on and on.
Suffice it to say it more than lived up to all expectations. So that “enjoy your day in heaven” comment — made to a spectator one day by an Augusta National fairway crossing monitor — proved very fitting. Being there didn’t quite reach that heavenly level, but it was close — or so I imagine, having not yet seen the Pearly Gates.
Many of the other people walking the grounds did indeed seem to be having a heavenly experience. I base that in part on the number of “patrons” I saw strolling around with a $20 cigar in their mouths and a big smile. Many seemed to be experiencing one of those ultimate “I’ve made it” moments.
For whatever they’re worth, here are a few other quick observations from my eight days covering the Masters and the DCP National Finals at Augusta National last year:
— It was interesting walking the championship course — and the par-3 course — and getting a much different viewpoint on things than the CBS television cameras give viewers each year. Don’t get me wrong, the Masters is great to watch on TV, but being a spectator on the grounds at Augusta National gives you a new appreciation of the topography, the holes, the beauty, etc.
— Going into the golf shop — to get a few trinkets for others and myself — proved quite an experience. The line (above) to get in got as long as 2 1/2 hours long at one point — or so I’m told — and people would often then lug around big bag of merchandise for the entire day while spectating. Fortunately, thanks to good advice and calculated timing, twice I got into the golf shop with minimal wait time and obtained the few items I was looking for in relatively short order. I did get a big kick out of the shoppers making a mad rush to obtain one of the cherished Masters gnomes that the golf shop sells. It reminded me of scenes from Black Friday shopping back in the day. The gentleman next to me in the press building showed me an eBay posting where someone who had no doubt just bought a Masters gnome for $50 or $75 was trying to sell it for $350 online. Who knew?
— The people at Augusta National who organize things and help out seem extraordinarily friendly. Folks you’ve never seen before will ask how you’re doing — and seem to be genuinely interested.
— Given that I was roughly 1,600 miles from home, it was remarkable how many people I crossed paths with who I know from Colorado. That included George Solich, who was in my Evans Scholar class at the University of Colorado and now is the chairman and president at Castle Pines Golf Club.
— A random observation: Even though he was then 88 years ago, three-time Masters champion Gary Player continues to love to emphasize how fit he is. But it was pretty funny to see him one day — en route to the first tee at Augusta National — pick up a 75-pound girl and hold her (with a big smile on his face) for a photo taken by the girl’s parents. I’m guessing not many 88-year-olds are in good enough shape to manage that.
— It was interesting during one practice round when I was following Wyndham Clark to see Kent Denver graduate Kevin Stadler — the last Coloradan to play in the Masters (2014 and ’15) prior to Clark — in the gallery watching Wyndham on the 14th hole. After I said a quick hello to Stadler — whose dad, Craig, won the Masters in 1982 — he caught the attention of Clark and they had a friendly chat before Clark continued his round. I snapped a quick photo or two — kind of a passing-the-torch moment.
— The relatively new press building for the Masters is a sight to behold, both in terms of sheer size and simply how exceptionally nice it is. Just one small example: Each assigned station in the ampitheater work room — which overlooks the back of the practice area at Augusta National, via a wall of huge picture windows — has the media member’s name engraved on it, making it seem very special. The folks at Augusta National certainly go above and beyond.
— With the wind blowing hard on Friday of that week, making a tough course even tougher, the rounds took a full six hours to complete — and that was without any weather interruptions. I have never experiencee anything like that in all my years covering golf — and hope to never again.
An official photographer at Augusta National was nice enough to snap a photo of the writer with the clubhouse in the background during Masters week last year.
— Even when unexpectedly Clark didn’t make the 36-hole cut, I found a couple of Colorado angles for my stories on the weekend. Shipley, who earned a spot in the Masters by finishing runner-up in the U.S. Amateur in Colorado in 2023, ended up earning low-amateur honors in his first Masters. And Lundquist was calling his 40th and final Masters for CBS’ telecast. So I wrote both stories on the weekend, while also first hand experiencing the hubbub that is Tiger Woods playing the Masters. Even though Tiger played poorly on Saturday and Sunday, the flash-area media interview I participated in involving Woods included probably 20 media folks. Anything Tiger-related is big news.
— Just walking around outside the clubhouse at Augusta National is fascinating, if for no other reason than people watching. There’s a huge oak tree — with impressive sprawling branches — under which some of the most prominent people in golf hobnob and do business. And there’s no lack of big-name folks having lunch on the tables between the clubhouse and the first tee — within 20 feet or so of the spectators. Nick Faldo, who won three Masters, seemed as interested in observing the observers as the observers were in watching him.
I could go on and on, but I’ve droned on for too long. Let’s just say that the week was an experience I won’t soon forget.
About the Writer: Gary Baines has covered golf in Colorado continuously since 1983. He was a sports writer at the Daily Camera newspaper in Boulder, then the sports editor there, and has written regularly for ColoradoGolf.org since 2009. The University of Colorado Evans Scholar alum was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in 2022. He owns and operates ColoradoGolfJournal.com