Moving Day at Augusta begins at a crawl or in a panic, depending on how you choose – or rather, where you are allowed – to spend your morning.
Upstairs in the clubhouse – where the tables have been rearranged after this year’s Champions Dinner – green jackets and guests trickle on to the veranda before tucking into breakfast al fresco.
Down below, the gun sounds at 7.30 am. That is when the course opens and patrons race towards the banks overlooking the closing hole. Running is not allowed – even in the rush to park your chair and secure the best seat in the house.
It is 159 steps from the clubhouse door to the edge of the 18th green – a stroll that takes barely a minute, traffic permitting. But one that cuts through the core of Augusta, a cradle of power and history and sporting nirvana.
It is a walk that carries you past the Big Oak Tree, which has stood since the 1850s and is where members, power brokers and past champions mingle. It takes you between the putting green and first tee, alongside the Eisenhower Cabin, beyond the 10th tee, and towards the green where Rory McIlroy joined the immortals.
Where else in sport are so many landmarks and so many big names packed into so little space? As someone put it on Saturday morning: ‘This is the mecca.’
Kai Trump, the granddaughter of President Donald Trump, was at the Masters this week
Both Travis and Jason Kelce have also rubbed shoulders with patrons at Augusta National
Many celebrities, power brokers and past champions mingle under Augusta’s Big Oak Tree
It is 159 steps from the clubhouse to the 18th green where Rory McIlroy joined the immortals
Rafael Nadal has been hanging out under the tree this week. So has Sir Nick Faldo, Condoleezza Rice and NFL legend Jason Kelce, the soon-to-be brother-in-law of Taylor Swift. So has Donald Trump’s granddaughter Kai, who enjoyed a chat with TV bigwigs while wearing a green (windbreaker) jacket.
It is a useful meeting point, one of the few places offering shade, and a networking hub where deals are struck.
‘This is the spot,’ Faldo has said. Or as one nearby fan puts it? ‘I can’t get over the smell,’ he says with a sniff. ‘All I can smell is money!’ No one encapsulates how sport and wealth and power converge like Ana Botin.
She is the executive chair of Santander and one of the world’s most well-connected women. Botin is one of few female members here, having learned the game from her late brother-in-law, Seve Ballesteros.
She enjoyed a chat with Nadal and networking matters down by the 18th green, too, where camping chairs were 20 deep by 10am on Saturday – four hours before the first group arrived. At 8.45am on Sunday, there were already 35 rows of chairs rising up the bank.
Almost all carried a business card. Among the names on show this week? Boeing, Arsenal FC and a brand claiming to be ‘Home of the Maine Lobster Roll.’
At this spot, there are no phones and no grandstands – fans learn every twist from the giant leaderboard and loud roars.
There is no need to worry about losing your spot, either. Once your chair is in position, you can come and go as you please. Just don’t leave it overnight or it will be removed.
The first tee, 10th tee, 18th green, Eisenhower Cabin and clubhouse are all in one small area
Many bigwigs and VIPs hang out near the clubhouse as the action unfolds nearby
Among the casual staff brought in for the Masters, it also pays to make connections. Just ask one of the men keeping order around the 18th green. He spent years failing to secure a ticket before realizing he could work instead.
His colleagues now include a lawyer and an ex-cameraman who spent years in the broadcast tower just yards away. This is the next best thing. They will rack up 60 hours over these four rounds. They could have been stationed in the toilets or responsible for picking at flowers – by hand – at 5.30am.
But our friend knew someone who knew someone. So he ended up in Zone 1. ‘Position A,’ he says. He was here for McIlroy’s winning putt and isn’t given much trouble by patrons. ‘It’s like working security at Chuck E. Cheese,’ he says.
Every few minutes, the route from here to the clubhouse is blocked to create a path for players and caddies. And, as Sergio Garcia headed out for his first round this week, Nadal gave him an encouraging slap on his behind.
