Baseline heads to the Masters!
If you've ever attended The Masters, you understand why Jim Nantz refers to it as "a tradition unlike any other". From entering the gates by being greeted with "welcome to The Masters" to the $2.50 pimento cheese sandwiches, the experience of attending The Masters is an unforgettable one. When we realized there were tickets available to us this year, we arranged babysitters, bought flights, and started choosing what we'd wear. I wore the pocket skort and Rev-Pack Anorak from one of our favorite companies, A. Putnam. Rodie wore a mix of A. Putnam, the Addison Bay Racquet Dress, and Wilson. Katy wore the Wilson Tiebreaker Dress with the Davenport pullover. We didn't attend without sporting our favorites from Fenix Sportier. Rodie and Katy both wore the leather visors and Rodie wore the Front Row Crossbody.
Travel to Augusta is not a straight shot, so we flew in to Charlotte, North Carolina, and drove to our hotel in Columbia, South Carolina. The three of us all flew in on different days, but we all hit up Rally Pickleball for lunch, which was super convenient to the Charlotte airport. Not only was this a great place for pickleball, we were floored by the design, aesthetic, and branding of Rally. To top off the experience, the food was really, really good. The amount of detail into their menu was spectacular. You'll find pizzas called "The Second Server" and "The Backhand" and cocktails called "The Dropshot" and "The Double Bounce". If you're ever in Charlotte, get online and book a court, you won't regret it.
Columbia was about an hour from Augusta but an easy drive with plenty of restaurants and places to grab a drink. We went to a mexican restaurant next to the hotel called Coa and a great southern restuarant called Saluda's (yes, all in the same evening).
Rodie and her husband were there all week, Katy and her husband went on Thursday, and my husband and me on Friday. There are no cameras or phones on the course so we have limited photos. Rodie was able to take a disposable camera on on the practice round days. You can use the phone banks if you're desparate to call someone, but you won't find long lines to use these, most people are just enjoying the atmosphere. The first thing we did was get in line for the merch tent. I had done my fair share of research on what was going to be available and I had a list of what friends wanted us to get for them. We ran our purchases back to the car, but they do have the option of shipping your goods home via fed ex, and chances are, it will make it to your house before you do. I ended up with a pullover, golf shirt, socks, and a straw hat. My husband got a few things and we stocked up for the kids. A tech material golf shirt with a masters logo for $49 is hard to beat so we bought a size up and stocked up just in case we don't see Augusta for a while.
Although the weather looked questionable at the beginning of the week, after a brief rain delay on Thursday, we couldn't have asked for better weather. We wore long sleeves in the morning and it warmed up enough for short sleeves. Hole 6 green was a fun spot to watch, with 6 being a par three, there were birdies to be made. We stood behind the green and watched the players walk to hit their tee shot on hole 7.
My husband and I always like to go away without kids in April or May before the summer starts and everyone's schedules and boundaries are blurred. This was the perfect two day getaway that left us amazed by the grounds, inspired by the talent of Scottie Scheffler, and excited to get our own clubs back out for the summer.