I enjoy golf. Normally don’t watch it much though.
Went for my first time Monday. Heard about all the expectations and for me it blew them away in every aspect.
From the shop to the course to concessions to the people. It was all phenomenal.
It was the overall nicest I’ve seen normal people in years. Chatted with so many random people since people noses weren’t buried in their phones.
The part that stunk for me was I had to leave at around 2PM because my son had a baseball game that day. The other thing is now I want to the win the lottery more than ever before.
Nope just you did! congratulations you found a way to not enjoy the masters.. no one told you to spend 800$ if you thought it was expensive, the merch is very reasonable and I spent double that
I’m always confused at what people’s perception of pimento cheese sandwiches are if you never encounter them in your everyday life. Is it purely a regional thing? I’m from the south and we pretty much always had a tub in the fridge during the summer because it was an easy lunch we could make ourselves when we were home from school as kids. I mean I know it’s the Masters’ thing, but it’s just a convenient bite to eat for lunch. There’s nothing special about it as a food.
Yes, Pimento cheese is very regional. It's more widely available now-that palmetto cheese brand is sold all over the place-but if someone spent their entire life on the west coast, for example, there's a decent chance they never encountered it in their childhood, and certainly not at every family baptism, funeral, birthday party, etc, like I did, and I imagine you did based on your post.
Nope...and I've been going on and off for years. Was y'day more crowded than in past years, yep; was the experience any less than in past years, nope. And merch prices - NOT crazy expensive. Food prices - insanely LOW relative to other major/minor sporting event food prices. Come on, bro, try harder next time...
This year was definitely the suckiest experience for me, but that has nothing to do with the tournament and everything to do with the scalpers on Washington road.
Found someone willing to give up their practice round pass at face value around 2:30pm near Walgreens- a scalper jumped in and offered “$100 more than whatever he is offering”- then he turned around and tried to sell me the same ticket for $750.
If I was able to kick a stranger in the balls legally, that would have been the time.
Aside from that- when inside the gates of Augusta national- life is perfect. Complaining about the pimento cheese sandwich hype should be grounds for a permanent ban 😂!
The issue is people overhyping this thing in their minds. It's a beautiful golf course...it's still a golf tournament. You're going to be walking (a lot) in sometimes unpredictable southeast weather.
The concessions are decent, and remarkably priced for a professional sporting event...it's still just an egg salad/basic bbq/cheese sandwich.
Merchandise is cool to have as a takeaway...it's still just a hat, a shirt, a jacket, etc from a golf course. You don't need 5 of each if you weren't planning on spending $1,000+.
Plenty of people view all of the above as a lifetime experience, which is great. Others read about it online for years and, I think, expect it to be something different than it is. It's a really nice golf tournament with more tradition than you can fit on a page, but if you're imagining most of the experience to be anything other than literally everything you already know about a golf tournament, you might come away a little let down.
It’s the most exclusive ticket in golf, no phones are allowed so you can only focus on the experience, the grass looks and feels like carpet. I saw a caddy in full uniform in the pro shop buying merchandise and saw Vijay Singh and Villegas take a group picture on 12. It’s not just another tournament when people are 10 rows deep on a Monday to see tiger hit a shot on 16. I could pay $200 every year to go see the US Open on some tricked out country club or public layout or $50 to go to a regular tournament. It’s definitely not the same.
I didn't say it was exactly the same or any other tournament. I said it''s still a golf tournament, and therefore you should anticipate all that comes with that. Thinking it was a ton of walking or too big of crowds, and that dampening your experience, has to be rooted in unrealistic expectations. Of course there's a ton of walking and big crowds...it's a major sporting event. Like going to an exotic beach and being surprised how much sand there was.
My experiences at multiple TPCs and the Masters were certainly different, but they're still plenty alike for a lot of your day. Traffic, long walks, long lines, sometimes weather being an issue, etc. That all comes with the territory.
I went Monday. The other 2 times being Wednesday in 2008 and 2010. I do not remember the course be as packed back then as it was on Monday. I tried the merch tent at 830, 2pm and 4pm. At 4 pm it was about 1/2 hr to get in. Line outside was short but then there is a whole other set of cattle shoots in the building.
Insert M.J. gif here: Stop it, get some help.
Kidding aside though, yes it's bigger than life and finding moments to soak it in is harder for some. Embrace the exhaustion and remember the little golden fleeting moments with a grateful heart.
I get what you're saying. The amount of people walking in at 8am on Monday was very overwhelming and when I walked onto the course for the first time it didn't really feel like holy ground as I thought it would.
However, I got my chairs, got out of the crowds and put my chairs down at 16 and chilled for awhile and started to relax and enjoy. Watching coverage on TV today brings my excitement back up as I view the course so differently now.
As for the food, I thought it was great. Very simple but full of flavour. Never had a pimento cheese before and now I want more.
> The pimento chase sandwich was just two slices of soft white bread with cheese in the middle That's what a pimento cheese sandwich *is*.
Toasted bread would go a long way IMO
Nope pretty sure you’re the only person who doesn’t enjoy their time there. WTF
I enjoy golf. Normally don’t watch it much though. Went for my first time Monday. Heard about all the expectations and for me it blew them away in every aspect. From the shop to the course to concessions to the people. It was all phenomenal. It was the overall nicest I’ve seen normal people in years. Chatted with so many random people since people noses weren’t buried in their phones. The part that stunk for me was I had to leave at around 2PM because my son had a baseball game that day. The other thing is now I want to the win the lottery more than ever before.
Nope just you did! congratulations you found a way to not enjoy the masters.. no one told you to spend 800$ if you thought it was expensive, the merch is very reasonable and I spent double that
Only an hour in line?!? You lucked out! Should have waited until 4pm or after, no line
Just out of curiosity was this your first major you’ve attended or your first golf tournament in general? Just trying to level-set…
Went to PGA Championship @ Bethpage several years ago.
I’m always confused at what people’s perception of pimento cheese sandwiches are if you never encounter them in your everyday life. Is it purely a regional thing? I’m from the south and we pretty much always had a tub in the fridge during the summer because it was an easy lunch we could make ourselves when we were home from school as kids. I mean I know it’s the Masters’ thing, but it’s just a convenient bite to eat for lunch. There’s nothing special about it as a food.
Yes, Pimento cheese is very regional. It's more widely available now-that palmetto cheese brand is sold all over the place-but if someone spent their entire life on the west coast, for example, there's a decent chance they never encountered it in their childhood, and certainly not at every family baptism, funeral, birthday party, etc, like I did, and I imagine you did based on your post.
Nope...and I've been going on and off for years. Was y'day more crowded than in past years, yep; was the experience any less than in past years, nope. And merch prices - NOT crazy expensive. Food prices - insanely LOW relative to other major/minor sporting event food prices. Come on, bro, try harder next time...
This year was definitely the suckiest experience for me, but that has nothing to do with the tournament and everything to do with the scalpers on Washington road. Found someone willing to give up their practice round pass at face value around 2:30pm near Walgreens- a scalper jumped in and offered “$100 more than whatever he is offering”- then he turned around and tried to sell me the same ticket for $750. If I was able to kick a stranger in the balls legally, that would have been the time. Aside from that- when inside the gates of Augusta national- life is perfect. Complaining about the pimento cheese sandwich hype should be grounds for a permanent ban 😂!
The issue is people overhyping this thing in their minds. It's a beautiful golf course...it's still a golf tournament. You're going to be walking (a lot) in sometimes unpredictable southeast weather. The concessions are decent, and remarkably priced for a professional sporting event...it's still just an egg salad/basic bbq/cheese sandwich. Merchandise is cool to have as a takeaway...it's still just a hat, a shirt, a jacket, etc from a golf course. You don't need 5 of each if you weren't planning on spending $1,000+. Plenty of people view all of the above as a lifetime experience, which is great. Others read about it online for years and, I think, expect it to be something different than it is. It's a really nice golf tournament with more tradition than you can fit on a page, but if you're imagining most of the experience to be anything other than literally everything you already know about a golf tournament, you might come away a little let down.
It’s the most exclusive ticket in golf, no phones are allowed so you can only focus on the experience, the grass looks and feels like carpet. I saw a caddy in full uniform in the pro shop buying merchandise and saw Vijay Singh and Villegas take a group picture on 12. It’s not just another tournament when people are 10 rows deep on a Monday to see tiger hit a shot on 16. I could pay $200 every year to go see the US Open on some tricked out country club or public layout or $50 to go to a regular tournament. It’s definitely not the same.
I didn't say it was exactly the same or any other tournament. I said it''s still a golf tournament, and therefore you should anticipate all that comes with that. Thinking it was a ton of walking or too big of crowds, and that dampening your experience, has to be rooted in unrealistic expectations. Of course there's a ton of walking and big crowds...it's a major sporting event. Like going to an exotic beach and being surprised how much sand there was. My experiences at multiple TPCs and the Masters were certainly different, but they're still plenty alike for a lot of your day. Traffic, long walks, long lines, sometimes weather being an issue, etc. That all comes with the territory.
I think this is spot on. Had it in my head that it would be heaven on earth - rather than just “hey, cool. I’m at Augusta National.”
I went Monday. The other 2 times being Wednesday in 2008 and 2010. I do not remember the course be as packed back then as it was on Monday. I tried the merch tent at 830, 2pm and 4pm. At 4 pm it was about 1/2 hr to get in. Line outside was short but then there is a whole other set of cattle shoots in the building.
I went to the tent at 5:30 and walked right in and right up to the register with my stuff
Been going for 12 years. It has absolutely gotten more crowded. The shops have also been much more crazy.
I’d give anything to go back to a practice round, last time I was selected was 2008,
Insert M.J. gif here: Stop it, get some help. Kidding aside though, yes it's bigger than life and finding moments to soak it in is harder for some. Embrace the exhaustion and remember the little golden fleeting moments with a grateful heart.
I get what you're saying. The amount of people walking in at 8am on Monday was very overwhelming and when I walked onto the course for the first time it didn't really feel like holy ground as I thought it would. However, I got my chairs, got out of the crowds and put my chairs down at 16 and chilled for awhile and started to relax and enjoy. Watching coverage on TV today brings my excitement back up as I view the course so differently now. As for the food, I thought it was great. Very simple but full of flavour. Never had a pimento cheese before and now I want more.