Augusta, the first day of Masters practice, then Atlanta and home

The weather people have been predicting bad things for days so when I woke up this morning and it was raining hard and the wind howling, I figured my luck had run out. As I got ready to go to Augusta National for practice for the ’09 Masters the rain slowed and by the time I got to the golf course the rain had stopped. The roads were very wet, the bike was wet, but I was relatively dry, and it didn’t rain any more today. The temperature went from about 65 this morning to about 45 when I left for Atlanta I mean it was cold.

Augusta National is only part of what you see on TV, The flowers are like a flower show, and all the grass, I mean alllllll the grass is cut to exactly what is specified for wherever it is on the golf course. I never saw a thin or sparse spot, the edges were perfect even the pine needles were of even thickness and distribution. There is much more contour on the course than one sees on TV, and the elevation changes quite a lot as well.

It was nice to get to see some of the great older players, Tom Watson, Fuzzy Zoeller, Ben Crenshaw, Gary Player, to name a few as well as some of the up and coming younger players. It was a rare and really fun experience to be there today. I will say that the crush of the crowd, the over the top security (more than at the airport), the lines, and parking hassles, make sitting at home and watching on TV a satisfying situation for the future.

As I mentioned the temperature got quite a bit colder during the day so the ride to Atlanta was not comfortable. I did make it just great and Jim Davis was there to collect the bike and keep it until I return on the 24^th of this month to continue…..until then thanks for watching.