Yesterday I journeyed down to Augusta, Georgia to attend the Masters Tournament. Here are My Top Ten Interesting Observations during Round One of the 2010 Masters
- Fitness Prevails: Phil looks stronger and has lost a few more lbs. Kenny Perry has slimmed down quite a bit too. Best “guns” – Camlio Villegas has some seriously ripped biceps. (Unfortunately it didn’t help keep his driver out of trouble!)
- Poor Taste – Regardless of your opinion regarding Tiger Woods, this act was tasteless. An airplane flew over the golf course at the start of Tiger's round displaying a sign, “Tiger, did you mean bootyism?” Whoever paid for that message is also illiterate . . .
- Dazzling. As beautiful as Augusta National is on TV, it doesn’t begin to capture the stunning beauty & glory of the golf course. You’ve got to experience it.
- Challenge & Creativity. At Augusta National being off the edge of the green by a few feet can be just as treacherous as several yards. Ben Crenshaw demonstrated coolness under pressure, creativity, and touch by using his hybrid to chip off the edge of the 7th green. And yes, he made his par putt!
- Unique Player Branding goes to the golf shirt of Camlio Villegas. In recent years a professional golfer’s clothing & equipment has begun to look like a mega billboard. Logos adorn the sleeves, breast, back, etc. However Camlio likes to wear the collars of his golf shirts up, so Master Card has their logo on the flip side. I noticed the only logo of the many he was sporting! (Yes, I enjoy following Camlio as he is one of my favorite players and made my list twice!!)
- Best AARP Performance – Tom Watson. No fluke from last year’s British Open, this man can flat out play at 60 years young! He is getting better with age. First round score, a 5 under par 67. Go Tom!!
- The “Jimmy Buffet” Laid Back Award goes to Fred Couples wearing ECCO Street Premiere shoes. (ESPN's Scott Van Pelt referred to the shoes as "skateboard" sneakers!) They were cool nonetheless and must have made a positive contribution to his round one leading score of 66. Magic shoes no more unfortunately . . . today, Fred posted a 75 for round two.
- Adjusting to Adversity. Gusty winds prevailed during round one. No sweat for these guys. I noticed a change (immediately) in the width of stance of the players for full swing and putting when winds picked up.
- Pressure, what pressure? All of the tour professionals at this level have meticulous preshot routines. They switch their golf swings to auto-pilot to deal with the pressure and perform at the very highest level. Most, if timed with a stopwatch, display darn near the same routine pace for each and every shot.
- Meanest Tree, STILL! The Eisenhower Pine. The 34th President of the United States, Dwight D. Eisenhower was an avid golfer and member of Augusta National Golf Club. The president hit the tree so many times he proposed it be cut down during a 1956 club meeting. According to Wikipedia, “Not wanting to offend the President, the club's chairman, Clifford Roberts, immediately adjourned the meeting rather than reject the request.”
Yesterday, when crossing the 17th fairway near the Eisenhower Pine I noticed the most menacing limbs still remain due to steel cables holding them in place. Now that’s flat out MEAN!!! “Drive” carefully.
