My Georgia Experience

Well, I don't really know where to start. Last week I had one of the most memorable trips I've ever taken. Last Monday, my best friend and I, along with two of his friends flew into Atlanta. We picked up our rental car across the street from Turner Field. I always love seeing where stadiums are located and how they look in person. It was pretty cool. We drove about an hour and got checked into our hotel in Madison, Georgia. The Super 8 was a dump, but who cares. Then we bundled up and went to play golf at The Creek at Hard Labor. What a cool name for a golf course. It was a classic southern course tucked into the woods. There was some old water wheels and creeks that lined one side of the course. They even had a mini waterfall on one hole. It was cold, about 48 and windy. But it was a lot of fun. We split into two-somes and played a scramble. We won by about 9 shots, but after all the sidebets it ended up about even. We had a great time though. That was just the beginning of the experience.

Tuesday morning, we got up at 5:30 and got ready for our drive to Augusta, Georgia. Thats right, we went to a practice round at the Masters. Wow. What a place. It was so much nicer than I ever could have imagined. We parked by a rear entrance which wasn't too crowded. We walked in and spent some money at the gift shop. Some of us spent more than others. The gates opened up at 8:00 and we were ready to walk around.

We walked through the gates and walked through an area, that looked like some kind of garden. It was beautiful. The next thing we knew, we were on the course and staring down Amen Corner. We were staring at one of the most famous places at any sporting venue in the world. It was incredible. The great thing about the practice rounds, is that you can bring your camera. I took advantage of that with almost 300 pictures and videos. We saw quite a few players, including Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els, Gary Player, Tom Watson, Fuzzy Zoeller, Fred Couples, Greg Norman, Padraig Harrington, and the eventual champ, Angel Cabrera. The course was immaculate and it didn't disappoint. I would go back anytime. It makes things a little different when you watch on TV. You can understand the course better and see how things are layed out. It was something I will never forget. Hopefully I get the chance to go back.