Posted Mar 17 2011, 08:36 AM by Cathy Erickson

Oh, I'm there...and now my brain has burned into it the beautiful views from Augusta National since I visited http://www.masters.com/ and saw a nice flyover of part of the course.  Can you smell the azaleas?  I can.
 
As I say every year, Masters week is my favorite week of the year.  I'm usually busy with our last curling event of the season and hopefully watching our final snow melting, but I can already guarantee you that I will be home on the couch for the duration of the final round and will not be answering my phone.  Last year I had the TV on and my lap top streaming Augusta's live coverage just to make sure I didn't miss a thing. 
 
There are already 98 players who have qualified to play this year (April 7-10, 2011), with 17 of them being first time Masters participants.  There are 19 different categories in which player can qualify to play.  Major winners, top money earners, PGA Tour winners, and top 16 finishers in last year's Masters are just some of the ways a player can get their invite.  Tiger Woods still leads the pack by qualifying in 7 of the 19 categories.  Zach Johnson is right behind him with 6 qualifying categories, followed by a small group, including Matt Kuchar and Steve Stricker, meeting 5 of the qualifiers.

I love the Masters.

I know it's still a bit too early to get excited, but aside from a few water logged areas on a few holes (which I assume are from plugged drains), the course is as dry as I can ever remember for March.  I remember a few years back we had no snow on the ground at the end of February and my face lit up just thinking that if it got just a little warmer we could be playing in March!!  It was just a week later when we got a storm that dumped 2ft of snow.  It was a crushing blow to my spirit, and would be another month and a half before my clubs made to the back of my car that year.
 
This year though, having a few streaks of unseasonably warm weather, the only snow that remains are scattered patches under the shadows of trees or along a few creek banks.  As I was walking along yesterday I could hear water racing through the woods, so I made my way into the trees to catch a look.  Leafless branches and brush exposed the meandering creek bed, and I found myself awed by the strong current.   I hardly give this creek a second thought during the golf season, but I'm glad I did today.
 
As I worked my way out of the brush and back onto the course I noticed that some of the dead birch trees had been cut down.  The landscape looks different, but I'm sure there was some fear that they might just fall over.  I don't know much about trees, but birch seem very fragile.  As I wandered along I picked up some birch debris that had made its way to the rough and tossed it back in the woods.
 
I was surprised to see that some of the stationary ponds are still trying to melt their coating of ice, but I wasn't surprised to see sand traps full of animal tracks.   I only saw 1 deer, but the "evidence" that they are around is all over the place.  I also appreciated the chirping birds and 2 squirrels I saw racing around.
 
As I walked a couple of holes backwards I was reminded about how different something can appear when you look at it from a different perspective.  Walking back up #12, I didn't realize how downhill it was going forward...I mean I knew it was, but seeing it, and walking it, I'm really glad we don't have to play it backwards!  And it was as I was walking up that last fairway I decided to renew my goal of trying to break par for 18 holes this year.
 
Before I got back in my car I took a few deep breaths and then took a moment to be grateful that in just a few weeks I'll be able to bring my clubs with me to the course.  Yellow or green, warm or cool, the golf course is where everything is beautiful to me.  I can't wait!
 
PS...Two weeks until the Masters...woo HOO!!

Filed under: Spring, goals, Golf