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The Masters is one of the four major championships in professional golf and is the first major of the year. It is scheduled for the first full week of April, and is held every year at Augusta National Golf Club, in the town of Augusta, Georgia, USA.

The Masters was started in 1934 by amateur champion Bobby Jones and investment banker Clifford Roberts and is still the competition by which other golf competitions are judged.

The town of Augusta comes alive once a year for the Masters tournament week. The Masters week is every local’s chance to earn some money, taxi meters are off and the hotel rooms are very expensive. We had tickets for the second practice day, April 4th, 2017, a $65 ticket bought for $700. The tournament days the tickets sell for $2500 and above.

It was bright and sunny, with not a cloud in the sky. We took the hotel shuttle at $20 per head round trip and reached Augusta National Golf Club at 8.30 am. Long queues had already formed to enter and it took 10 minutes of walking to reach the entry gates.

“The Masters is the only tournament I ever knew where you choke when you drive through the front gate.” Gary Player

After another 5-minute walk, we reached the practice area. It was enormous – chipping, pitching and bunker practice was happening close to us. The driving range was in the distance.

The next scene was staggering – hundreds of people waiting in line for up to 45 minutes to get into the shop to buy Masters merchandise – at 9 am. Augusta National Club does not sell online and this is the only chance to buy Masters branded clothing, golf equipment and memorabilia. We shopped at a second shop in the middle of the course which was much less crowded. They have an adjoining area where you can drop off your shopping and pick it up later against a receipt.

We walked down the 10th fairway. The slopes and elevation changes are staggering. The bunkers are difficult. The green seems tiny compared to what you see on TV. It seems inaccessible. The second shot is uphill from a severe downhill lie. The green slopes sharply from right to left.

We walked along the 11th fairway to the green. This was the most difficult hole last year. It is downhill, by almost 500 yards. Very tough green and difficult chip if you bail out to the right. Water left. Very fast chip, downhill and downwind towards the water.

We sat in the stands behind the 12th green, Augusta’s most famous hole. It’s only a 9 iron for the pros, part of the difficulty is the shadows and the breeze. It is tough to gauge depth and distance. From the tee, the green appears as a small, flat target. It has been the Waterloo of many tournament leaders over the years.

We walked on the right side down the 13th fairway to the green. Very narrow and undulating landing area. 200 yard+ second shot for the long hitters. Much smaller target than it appears on TV, but the best get it really close from that distance. Amazing.

There were restrooms, food tents, shaded seating and temporary garbage bags (also green) throughout the course. They had thousands of volunteers to help with everything, from selling food, to guiding you around the course. Whoever you spoke to, you were always greeted with a smile. It was such a pleasure.

We had beer, drinks and sandwiches behind the stands. For two people, nothing is more than $10, often less, whatever you eat. On offer are basic sandwiches, cookies etc and food quality is okay for this price. There must be at least a dozen food outlets all over the course. They are large, and can easily cater to 100 people moving through quickly. Billing is fast and efficient. They don’t serve more than 2 beers per person at one time, and service starts at 10am after which they don’t serve coffee. As the day grew, so did the sounds from the crowds, the beer was working.

We have tried to capture scenes, players, trees, fairways, greens, flowers, water bodies, slopes, scoreboards, everything….

This article has been contributed by Sanjiv Khanna.

Sanjiv is an avid golfer, who has been playing this game since the age of 7. For him golf is a passion and a religion. Not only is he a good golfer, his handicap at age 58 is 7, he is an amazing teacher. He can sort your swing, your chipping or your putting stroke in one session.

“The course was impeccable. I did not see a single divot mark. There wasn’t much rough, but that is because the course itself is so demanding. Spring was late and the flowers were not as many, but what was there was beautiful. Everything was dark green against a blue sky though the water bodies are smaller than they look on TV. Wood chips around the bases of large trees. Stunning. Gorgeous.

This day was worth every penny. In golf there really is no experience like the Masters. I can still smell the pine that pervades the course. Some of the scenes I will never forget for their beauty.” Sanjiv Khanna