has anyone ever gone to see the Masters golf tournament?  It's always been one of those big sporting spectacles like the Kentucky Derby (never doing that again) that I wanted to see.  I'm trying to decide between driving and flying, and I realized that I don't know a damned thing about what else is around there, if anything, in or near Augusta.  Any advice?

Augusta is a trailer park. seriously.

You got tickets? Impressive.

Make sure you have tickets.
Fly to ATL
drive to Augusta.

there's a pretty sweet old hotel there, but its probably booked for the next 150 years.

There are 2-3 good restaurants right near the course, so again, they're probably booked to.

Don't forget your: pleated shorts, sleeveless windbreaker from a white-people approved course like Pebble Beach, and LiveStrong bracelet!

come to atlanta and fuckin' hang if you do!

you say that like there's another kind of course. I just want to cross Augusta off my list- I don't particularly like golf.

how far is Atlanta?

~ 2 hours. I did a campaign there in 2002. I am sure it's changed a lot, but its like any typical roughly 200K sized southern town.

couple of hours...trust me, there's nothing else to do in augusta...you're gonna need to fly in and out of here anyways.

unless you flew in and out of columbia SC, but why would you want to do a stupid thing like that.

Columbia ain't bad though I will confirm that Augusta is a shit hole.

Partridge Inn? I think that was the name of the place I stayed for some wedding years ago. Great hotel but yeah, there is no way it isn't booked.

Crack, you can try and you might get lucky but I'd be shocked if you found a room in Augusta at this point. You might but I'd say your best bet will be something along I-20 heading into the city. I know lots of people who have gone (most of them could only get tix for practice rounds) and they stayed outside of the city. Even if you get a place in town, every Hooters, Outback steakhouse, etc, will be packed with people in town for the Masters. Kinda strange but for as great as the Masters is for the city they don't really go out of their way to accomodate for it. A buddy of mine dated a girl whose parents had tix for it every year and she said they normally will leave town, sell their tickets, and rent their house out for the week. They would usually take in between 5-10K for the week depending on who is renting it. Most of the golfers will rent out houses because there simply aren't enough hotels.

I'll echo what Dave and Loog said that there isn't much going on there although there are some pretty areas and if I recall there is a really great blues joint there.

From all the reports I've been told, the cool thing about the Masters is that it's very hard and expensive to get into, but, once you're in everything is cheap. $2 beers and their signature $1 pimento cheese sandwiches.

Also, in case you aren't aware, the Masters store is usually a madhouse. It's the only place on earth that sells items with the Masters trademark and logo. If you see anyone with something Masters related it only came from Augusta National and they apparently charge accordingly.

This is on mine and FemDerris' "list" as well.

i have tickets to the tournament days and a room at the Knights Inn. Now i just have to ditch the teetotaler wife. That is going to require some delicate business.

don't forget to wear your funny hat.

Apparently my sister is flying into Augusta itself. Is that really an option?

Apparently Delta(ASA) and USScareways fly into there.

Edit: http://ags.skyharbors.com/

I've obviously never gone for the Masters but I can't imagine having to depend on Augusta public transit (if it even exists) or Augusta taxis to get around for that particular week.

There are two decent bars there

Sky City
Soul Bar

The rest of the city is whachoo-know-goods and THEM. And the Master's gear that Derris speaks of is a kind of status symbol for all whachoo-know-goods.

both of those bars look like a good time. the odds of getting my wife into either are slim. that is disappointing. maybe next time.

She should develop a taste fro Becks NA and sulking in the corner like me.

We were probably 20 minutes past Petersburg, so around an hour into the drive, before I thought to ask the wife if she'd remembered to pack the tickets.

at least it wasn't an hour into a flight. Still, try to have a good time, dude.

Sorry, just like folding the map and packing the car, the tickets are the man's responsibility.

hoooooooly fuck.

So, what'd you think?

Shit looked amazing yesterday. Perfect weather.

Not to mention some unbelievable shots flying all over the place.

Felt bad for Kenny Perry but he has no one to blame but himself.

I wondered abt this m'self yesterday.

I highly, highly recommend going if it ever comes up. Frankly, if I'd gone with some male friends who were more into golf, I'd have knocked back a few beers and explored the town a bit more, but as it stands, 2 days was probably enough (my sister took the tickets for the second two days). You guys were really too hard on Augusta, btw. There's a ton of garbage restaurants right by the course (including a great Fresh Market grocery) and a Hooters that spills out into an outdoor tent next to our hotel. We hit a few spots downtown as well, one called the Blue Kitchen I think right by Soul Bar, and had a GREAT ostrich filet at a place called La Maison, but again, I'd have enjoyed getting a little knackered and walking around a bit more. Probably with some friends, as Augusta on a Friday night STILL has that traditional southern downtown/bombed out look. I hear that we didn't get into the parts of Augusta that stay white out later.

in any case, the course is amazing, and everything you've heard about how TV doesn't give you perspective on changes in elevation of that thing from hole to hole are correct. it's a hilly mother, but it's also IMMACULATE and I don't even really like golf all that much. it was more like a walk in the park. The coolest thing is that #6 is on a hill where they actually let you sit and watch the shots (almost said "balls") go over your head onto the 6th green, while you sit and watch the 17th green and the tee from 7 in the same spot. Every single black person in attendance appears to follow Tiger around the course, and from the top of the hills you can watch the swells of people move with him from hole to hole. #12 really is as pretty as it looks on TV, but 15/16 might be better but more crowded. Food really is as cheap as reported- it's standard picnic sandwiches, but I paid less total for our lunches than I did for a beer last time I saw the Reds.

the only problem with the whole thing was driving to Duck on Saturday. traversing NC is terminally depressing.