Golf is a sport which is unlike many other sports. It is played on courses, many of which are immensely beautiful. From the Old Course at St. Andrews to Royal Melbourne Club, you can find amazing courses all over the world. Some of the courses, or rather, clubs, have reached legendary status and are famous and prestigious, with plenty of golfers wanting to become members.
Augusta National Golf Club is one of those clubs, with a wonderful course and with a prestigious history which draws many golfers to the club.
The Origins of the Club
The club was formed and opened in 1932 by Clifford Roberts and Bobby Jones on a site where a former nursery named Fruitland was once upon a time. The site is 365 acres large, which is 1.5 square kilometers. They decided to create this club in order to have a winter course in their native state, Georgia. They wanted the course to be world-class, but the first decade of its existence was not as glorious as they had hoped.
Due to the Great Depression, revenue was not as high and the planned squash courts, tennis courts and a ladies’ course had to be indefinitely delayed, or rather, scrapped. The course was designed by none other than Alistar MacKenzie, as well as Bobby Jones. MacKenzie designed some of the world’s most beautiful courses.
Why the Hype? – Why is It Special?
The course can be described as a perfect meadowland. It has greens as far as the eye can see, with some trees in the way, but purposefully put there, to be a creative obstacle, yet nothing that would distract from the vast greens. The club itself keeps everything tidy, to a very very high level of detail.
Everything is trimmed as much as possible, there are flowers where you would expect them, beautifully shaped and organized. The club has plenty of rules regarding how one should behave inside, not to mention that mobile phones and cameras are not allowed. It is a club that oozes prestige and culture, but one which allows the members and guests, otherwise known as patrons, to focus on golf.
The club also hosts the Masters, one of the four men’s majors, the two are almost synonymous.
Exclusivity – Invitation Only
From the club’s modest start, it has grown into an exclusive private club, where one can get a membership by being invited only. Annual fees are high, with an estimated membership cost of anywhere between 100000 and 300000. The club has around 300 members at a given time.
The Augusta National Golf Course in Georgia is one of the world’s most prestigious golf clubs with an amazing course which leaves every golf fan speechless.