Augusta National is to golf fans as Yankee Stadium or Wrigley Field is to baseball baseball fans. It is not only the venue for one of golf’s great tournaments but it is an institution. I have had the chance to attend The Masters twice and both times I have been in awe of Augusta National and the way that the tournament is presented.

When you enter the gates of The Masters you realize that this isn’t just a golf course. It is an event, an experience, a whole different world. The grass is greener than what you think’s possible. The sand traps look whiter than any exotic beach you see in travel magazines. The fairways and greens are unbelievably soft, like you could take a nap on them and feel like you were on a fine mattress. Every hole is a piece of art, little touches of color, hills, and slight undulations that make each of them unique.

It’s a tournament that makes their guests feel welcomed, it’s southern hospitality at its finest. You are allowed to bring in folding chairs and set them anywhere on the course (outside the ropes). You can walk around and be gone for hours and come back to your chairs untouched. The hospitality extends to the way they treat you at the concession stands. You won’t find $8 beers and $6 sandwiches. Rather you find sandwiches that look like mom makes, in simple green wax paper. There is no corporate sponsorship banging you over the head. Water bottles have little Augusta National stickers and the soda and beer cups have simple Augusta National logos. In fact you see no corporate logos anywhere. Everything that could have a logo is covered in green and the rest has the Augusta logo. It makes you feel like a guest and not just a wallet.

The whole event is a classy affair that every sports fan and golf fan should attend. Just don’t ask me how to get in…they are supposedly one of the toughest tickets in all of sports.