A To Z Of The Masters

A to Z of The Masters

A - Augusta National Invitation Tournament
The name of the tournament when it first started. The club’s two founders had disagreed over what to call it – Clifford Roberts suggested The Masters Tournament, but Bobby Jones thought this name too presumptuous. However in 1939 the name was changed to The Masters Tournament.

B - Ballesteros, Seve
In 1980, Spaniard Severiano Ballesteros became the first European to win The Masters. He won it again in 1983.

C - Crow’s Nest
Above the champions’ locker room and the library in the clubhouse at Augusta, this is where amateurs competing at The Masters stay during tournament week. It is one room with partitions and dividers that create three cubicles with one bed each, and one cubicle with two beds. There is also a bathroom and a sitting area which has a game table, sofa and chairs, telephone and television. Lining the walls are golf photos and sketches.

D - Draw
The course favours players who can consistently hit the ball from right to left. That means for the left-handed players, it suits a fade.

E - Elevation changes
There’s 152 feet between the low point (12th green) and high point (10th tee). Almost every hole features an elevation change – the 10th drops over 100 feet from tee to green.

F - First full week of April
The traditional date for The Masters.

G - Garcia, Sergio
Garcia won in 2017, at his 19th attempt, setting the record for most starts by a Masters champion before his first victory.

H - Hogan Bridge
Built in 1958 on the 12th hole, the dedication reads “This Bridge dedicated April 2, 1958, to commemorate Ben Hogan’s record score for four rounds of 274 in 1953. Made up of rounds of 70, 69, 66 and 69, this score will always stand as one of the very finest accomplishments in competitive golf and may even stand for all time as the record for The Masters Tournament.” Spoiler – it didn’t. It has been surpassed eight times thus far.

I - Ike Eisenhower
Dwight D. (‘Ike’) Eisenhower, 34th President of the US, joined Augusta National in 1948. When he became President, the Eisenhower Cabin was built for him, with input from the Secret Service as to its design. Eisenhower visited Augusta National 29 times while in office and 11 times afterwards.

J - Jones, Bobby
Robert (Bobby) Tyre Jones was one of the finest amateur golfers ever, if not the finest. He retired from competitive golf aged 28, having won five US Amateur Championships, one British Amateur Championship, four US Opens and three Open Championships. He co-founded Augusta National with Clifford Roberts and remains President in Perpetuity of The Masters Tournament.

K - King, The
Nickname of Arnold Palmer, who won The Masters four times – in 1958, 1960, 1962 and 1964 – and became a member of Augusta National.

L - Lefthanders
Half of The Masters between 2003 and 2014 were won by left handers (Mike Weir in 2003; Phil Mickelson in 2004, 2006 and 2010 and Bubba Watson in 2012 and 2014). Outside of this period, no left hander has ever won.

M - Mackenzie, Alister
Bobby Jones asked surgeon-turned-golf-architect Alister Mackenzie to design Augusta National. Jones had been impressed by the Yorkshireman’s design at Cypress Point Club and he shared Mackenize’s philosophy that courses should not be overly penal to the bad shot.

N - Nineteen
The lowest score in the Par 3 Contest, made by Jimmy Walker in 2016.

O - Oak tree
‘The Big Oak Tree’ on the golf course side of the Clubhouse is a live oak, Quercus Virginiana which was planted when the building was completed in the late 1850s. It has become a traditional meeting place.

P - Player, Gary
The South African became the first non American to win The Masters, doing so in 1961.

Q - Quick putts
There are plenty of quick putts on the sloping greens at Augusta – although exactly how quick the greens are is kept a secret as no stimpmeter readings are divulged. 

R - Roberts, Clifford
Investment banker Clifford Roberts co-founded Augusta National with Bobby Jones and served as Chairman of Augusta National from 1931 to 1976. He was named Chairman in Memoriam after his death in 1977. He was Chairman of the Masters Tournament from 1934 to1976.

S - Sarazen, Gene
In 1935, Sarazen played “the shot heard round the world” when he holed out with his second shot on the par-5 15th.

T - Tea Olive
The first hole. It was the 10th when the course was designed and when the first Masters was held. But the nines were quickly reversed.

U - Under  Par
The most rounds played under par in a Masters were in the autumn one of 2020, when 152 such rounds were carded, beating the 145 in 1992. When in the first Masters was played, in 1934, only 26 rounds were played under par.

V - Victories
Jack Nicklaus has the most wins at The Masters with six – in 1963, 1965, 1966, 1972, 1975 and 1986.

W - Woods, Tiger
In 1997, aged 21, Tiger Woods became the youngest champion in Masters history when he won by 12 shots. Tiger has triumphed four more times round Augusta – in 2001, 2002, 2005, 2019.

X - Xander Schauffele
There were not a lot of options for this one, so we have gone with the golfer who has won prizes in three of his first four Masters appearances. In his second Masters, in 2019, he tied for second and won a Sterling Silver Salver and a Silver Medal for this and a Crystal Vase for the Day’s Low Score in Round 2. In 2020 and in 2021 he won pairs of Crystal Highball Glasses for making an Eagle.

Y - Yellow Jasmine
The holes at Augusta are named after trees and plants found one that particular hole and the par-5 8th is Yellow Jasmine.

Z - Zoeller, Fuzzy
Zoeller won The Masters on his first appearance, in 1979. Inaugural winner Horton Smith, in 1934, and 1935 champion Gene Sarazen are the only others to have won on their Augusta debuts.