Daniel B.
Yelp
Augusta National is one of the world's most renowned golf courses and home of the annual Masters Tournament. I reviewed the Masters Tournament yesterday. You can read that review here: http://www.yelp.com/biz/masters-tournament-augusta#hrid:aLdyH0cAOLG16YRuXWUbUg
Since I touched on the tournament experience in my Masters review, I will focus on Augusta National as a club and golf course in this review. As many know, Augusta National is one of the most exclusive and famous golf clubs in the world. It was co-founded by golf legend and Georgia Tech grad Bobby Jones. He died in 1971, but still remains "President in Perpetuity."
As a club, I think Augusta does an excellent job each year organizing and running the Masters Tournament. For such an in-demand tournament, they let in as many people as possible to attend the event in person. So while tickets and badges can be hard to obtain, there are thousands upon thousands of people already planning to attend.
I feel that all of the operations are run smoothly. This includes gate check, security, the gift shops, concessions, groundskeeping, scorekeeping, and more. Two years ago, Augusta added an enormous free parking lot for patrons. On the course, there are several stands with great viewing angles, multiple designated seating areas, and strategically placed traditional over/under scoreboards. The club really wants the patrons to enjoy themselves and have a memorable experience.
Augusta likes to keep things simple and old fashioned, yet also be on the cutting edge. Clifford Roberts (co-founder) was against commercialization at the club. Examples of this that exist today include selling Coke at concession stands under the name "Cola" and Snickers candy bars as "Candy." The prices are great too. Moon pies are two for a dollar and sandwiches are $1.50.
My friend's dad has played Augusta 10 times (!) because he worked many years at the Masters as a Gallery Guard. Seven long days = one round of play. I got to see his collection of scorecards from Augusta and the scorecards are as simple as it gets: all white, Augusta National logo on front, inside is just the hole number, par, and yardage. Nothing else. Very cool. (Interesting fact: Augusta National has never been officially rated by the USGA.)
Technology-wise, Augusta tries to be on the forefront. Their web site (Masters.com) is as beautiful as their course. There are multiple live HD feeds from around the course throughout tournament weekend along with various video features and vignettes either telling the history of the club, great moments at the Masters, or interviews/diaries of the amateurs. Augusta was the first to broadcast their tournament in HD in 2000 (who had an HDTV back then?) and this year, the first to broadcast golf in 3D.
Most recently, they allowed their golf course to be used in a video game. In an effort to gain new and younger fans and also shake a bit of their "old man" image, Augusta worked with EA Sports to include their course in the latest edition of Tiger Woods PGA Tour (available on Wii, 360, PS3, and PC). They even sold this game at the Masters. This was a really big step forward for them because up until this point, they did not license out their course or brand.
I have played on really nice courses such as Pebble Beach, St. Andrews, Kapalua, Doral, and Harbour Town. Each of those courses are incredible and amazing in their own right, but I still have never seen a more immaculate and well-manicured course than that at Augusta. The attention to detail is impeccable. That's how nice it is -- probably because they don't let hacks like me play on it.
Augusta is always in pristine condition come Masters week. The greens are in perfect shape and there is nothing but over 7,000 yards of fairways and rough (what little rough there is) with not a single blade of dry grass or weed to be found. Even the ponds are incredibly clean. Each hole at Augusta is named after a tree or shrub on the course, of which there are many in full bloom in the Spring. In the end, it all creates for a wonderful and memorable experience no matter what day or occasion.