Why The 2020 Masters Is Like Playing At Home

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 14 November 2020

Roderick Easdale reckons he would be right at home playing in this US Masters

Why The 2020 Masters Is Like Playing At Home

This year The Masters feels more like playing at a home course. I think I would have felt very comfortable playing there this year... not that I was invited.

1. There are no crowds. There are no crowds when I play either.

2. This absence of crowds means the ball ends up where the player was actually hitting it to. So often in pro events the players’ off-target shots bounce of some poor bloke in the gallery. If the golfer is really lucky, their shot then ricochets back onto the fairway. I have to hit a tree to get that luck.

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3. When the ball can’t be found, all the playing partners are joining in the hunt. But whether they are also saying “Oh you won’t find it in this. You might as well drop another one, as there’s someone behind us now,” I am not sure.

I can relate to this US Masters — Bryson DeChambreau misunderstands his caddie's suggestion to "take a wood here". Picture Credit: Getty Images

4. In the first round on the 13th hole Bryson DeChambeau missed the fairway with his drive. Then he hit his approach into bushes. So he hit a provisional. Which he plonked into a creek. I do this sort of thing all the time.

5. When the players’ putt the ball never ends up at where they're are aiming. This may be down to the rollercoaster green of Augusta. I have been hitting putts nowhere near where I aim for years.

6. The play is not being shown live on BBC. The BBC have never shown live coverage of any of my rounds either. Never. Not once. I did however make the highlights package of the Italian Senior Open Pro Am a few years back - I hole the longest putt in it. (Had I realised I was being filmed at the time, I would have tried not to look so surprised when it went in.)

It's Sandy Lyle not dandy Lyle. Has no-one told Sandy about belts? (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images.

7. There are several old boys playing who are hacking it around with no chance of really competing, but who seem to be enjoying themselves. I even saw a chap playing in braces.

8. Another way I can relate to this US Masters is that all the tee times have been changed for the second round, so no-one is now quite sure who is playing when. Or off which tee. Most of the 36-hole golf society days I play in are like that, too.

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Contributing Writer Roderick is the author of the critically acclaimed comic golf novel, Summer At Tangents. Golf courses and travel are Roderick’s particular interests. He writes travel articles and general features for the magazine, travel supplement and website. He also compiles the magazine's crossword. He is a member of Trevose Golf & Country Club and has played golf in around two dozen countries. Cricket is his other main sporting love. He is also the author of five non-fiction books, four of which are still in print: The Novel Life of PG Wodehouse; The Don: Beyond Boundaries; Wally Hammond: Gentleman & Player and England’s Greatest Post-War All Rounder.

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