I know this sounds cliche, but it’s hard to understand unless you’ve been.

But, here are my experiences...once you start the walk up to the entrance the grounds are pristine. There is no piece of trash on the ground, no unkempt slice of landscaping, all the buildings look as if they were painted the day before. And it’s more of the same once you get inside (unless it has rained, that puts a damper on things).

Once inside, they have done a very, very good job of making the experience as efficient as possible. The only real choke point when spending money is the gift shop, and that’s because people are spending thousands of dollars and it just takes time to ring it all up. From there, you can walk out and then go straight to the shipping station and send all the stuff you just bought to your house, so you don’t have to walk around all day with your shite.

After you place your chair where you want it on the grounds - you can leave it and never have to worry that it will be moved or taken. Hell, I’ve left a bag full of stuff from the gift shop under it while walking the course and knew it’d be there when I got back...and it was. There’s a level of trust and respect with the patrons that you just don’t see at other events.

The bathrooms...the crowd is PREDOMINATELY male, so you’d think the bathroom situation would suck...nope. They have attendants when you walk in literally asking “standing or sitting”, and will then point you in the right direction to flow the line easier.

The concessions...each of the bays are setup as a grab and go - nothing is made to order. You have an end cap with snacks and aspirin, etc., then your sandwiches ( egg salad is the tits), then the drinks which are already poured, but still cold as so many people move through nothing sits for long.

The scenery...you forget how hilly that area is. You get some nice views - especially at 1 & 18. Again, the grounds are immaculate. The grass is almost like carpet. There are no insects or bugs. The foliage, especially in bloom is amazing, and not a single area looks like someone just said, “eh, that’s good enough”. You can tell that care has been taken for every inch of the course.

All of these iconic holes you’ve seen on TV over the years are now under your feet. It’s one of the rare places that not only lives up to the expectations, but likely exceeds them for most people.

People...everyone gets where you are. There’s no attitudes from people, no bowing up if someone accidentally bumps into you...it’s a crowd that is mostly friendly (although a lot are pretentious) and there to have a great time.

Augusta National does such a great job with the event, and that’s why I think it’s perfect. But, again, I get it’s tough to understand without ever having been, but you’ll just have to trust me on this.