Top of the Mountain: The Masters, Augusta, GA

 by: Andrew Kress

If you're a stockbroker, the center of the world is New York. If you are a commodities trader, it's Chicago.

But if you're a golfer, the center of the world is...a little further south.

"You actually feel it when you step onto the course" says Brian Montgomery, who has been to every Masters for the last decade. "It's like being in an art museum or a history museum-and if you really live for golf, this isn't just church, it's St. Peters Cathedral on Christmas Eve."

For as those who have walked the course will tell you, there is no place like Augusta.

"It's pristine, not like other tournaments, no paper, no advertising, just green everywhere and So perfect. I mean, you see it on TV, and you think, I could do that, then you see the course and you think: "Par Four?!? FOUR?!? That's like a...NINE. And these guys come out and do it in four and it's just amazing."

Masters week is divided into two parts. The first three days are the practice rounds. This just gives the golfers a chance to relax, get their swings loose after a plane trip and plan a strategy for the course.

Said one recent attendee "I love the practice rounds-The players are out there and they're just more relaxed-they are joking with the crowd, I've even seen people get pictures with players."

But after the practice rounds end, the atmosphere changes. "On the first day, it's just VERY serious. For most players this is the biggest event there ever was or will be, so every shot is a serious shot."

"I live for this," says Montgomery "I saw Crenshaw win the week after Harvey (Penick, his mentor) died, I saw Tiger Get his first, and it's not just that history gets made here some years, it gets made here every year."