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The Masters is considered the most prestigious of all the major golf tournaments. I have played on several excellent golf courses: Pebble Beach, Shinnecock, National Golf Links, and Pine Valley. I have always wanted an opportunity to play at Augusta National.
In 2003, Hootie Johnson, the Chairman of Augusta National Golf Club, announced that the 2003 Masters tournament would be conducted without sponsors. Membership was protesting that they didn't want female members. They eventually relented. Mike Weir, a Canadian, won the Masters that year. I decided this may be an opportunity to get a "Tee Time" at Augusta. My strategy was simple: write a letter to Augusta National stating my status as a fan of Augusta and, at the time, a ten-handicap amateur golfer with an enclosed check for $500 to defray the cost of showing the Master's Tournament on CBS for free. I hoped they would say,... "Look at this guy trying to help us. Let's invite him for a round of golf at the Club." It did not happen. It was silly to offer $500 to a "Billionaire Club." I waited several weeks for a polite thank you and an invitation to Augusta! Mr. Johnson returned the check with a polite thank you for the gesture with no invitation. The strategy didn't work. I gave it my best shot. Again, I'll be watching the last round of the Master's from my living room this year, and curious how it would feel to drive down Magnolia Lane. JG
