Phil Tataurangi: Masters week a golfing experience to cherish

Phil Tataurangi

The azaleas are in full bloom, the palmetto cheese sandwiches are being prepared, the hallowed turf of Augusta National resembles that deep green colour which all means Masters week is upon us.

I played in the Masters in 2003, and to date it is one my greatest golfing experiences, one I will certainly cherish until they put me in a box.

My playing partner for the first two rounds was the legendary Arnold Palmer. Arnie's 49th Masters, my first! It doesn't get much better than that.

The mystique of the place is only paralleled, in my opinion, by my first visit to the Old Course at St Andrews.

Ranging from the drive up Magnolia Lane, to the immaculately prepared course, to the history of the Augusta National Club and its founder Robert Tyre Jones, aka Bobby Jones, the greatest amateur to ever play the game. This place certainly has a special feel about it.

It is common knowledge that from the time you qualify to play in the upcoming Masters you have an open invite to visit Augusta and play several practice rounds before the tournament itself.

I took advantage of that and went there for a weekend a month before the Masters with a couple of specific aims in mind.

One was obviously to have a look at the course, get a feel for how it plays, and to put the finishing touches on my game that in my mind's eye I had been preparing for since receiving my invitation.

But my main goal was to try to remove the hype, expectations, excitement and sheer buzz that had been brewing inside me from the first time I saw the Masters on TV.

My thinking was that come tournament week I would have played the course a couple of times, would be familiar with the venue and all its trappings, and help calm the nerves, thus clearing the way for me to focus on playing the best I could.

Looking back, I played pretty well. I made some rookie mistakes but felt extremely comfortable and entered the final round in the last few groups.

The course has changed greatly in recent times. Every year, the club films each shot on all the holes, including the practice rounds.

Post tournament, they then go away and do a detailed analysis of how many shots landed where, and what the ball did on the fairways and greens.

That goes into their planning to improve the layout and adjust the pin placements for the following year. No stone is left unturned.

When I was growing up, the British Open was the major which most captured my imagination. It was and still is considered the unofficial world open.

Then in 1986, I watched Jack Nicklaus, my personal hero, mow down the field with an amazing 29 on the back nine to win his sixth Masters at 46. To this day I can still recall the electrifying atmosphere and commentary word for word.

When I got on the PGA Tour, the biggest incentive for winning a tournament was not the six-figure prize money, or the exemption for a few years. It meant an invite to the Masters.

The course is tougher, more demanding mentally and physically than it appears on television.

For example, the walk up the famous 18th fairway is far steeper than a television shot would suggest. The elevation change requires playing two clubs more to hit the ball the same distance.

Over the years, officials have planted more pines and, with instituting the "first cut" - commonly known as short rough - have placed a far greater premium on driving.

That said, it's still hailed as a second shot course. That is, you can get away with a less than ideal drive on some holes but there is no escape if the second shot is not bang on.

You need immaculate touch round the greens, which are very undulating and unforgiving from the wrong side of the hole.

So what sort of game do you need to succeed?

Players must have good aerial shotmaking ability. You don't prosper at Augusta by using bump and run tactics and it's extremely rare that a poor shot is rewarded.

Some pins can only be reached by the air so having the ability to get a 5 iron to drop out of the sky like a leaf off a tree is critical.

Leave yourself a 30-footer on the wrong side of the hole and a 3-putt looms as a high probability.

And that means newcomers generally don't prosper.

Fuzzy Zoeller, Horton Smith and the great Gene Sarazen are the only players in history to have won the Masters at their first attempts.

So in assessing who might end up slipping into the green jacket next Sunday, all the usual suspects come to mind: in no particular order Vijay Singh, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson.

They have all won it before and Mickelson is defending champion, thus removing his name from that list of "Best Players Never To Win A Major".

I believe the important thing about Mickelson's win is he did it not only by making significant technical improvements to his game, but controlling his mind at just the right times.

There are others who will fancy their chances.

Retief Goosen, who has a great temperament for the occasion, David Toms, who is lying fourth on the Order of Merit, or maybe Padraig Harrington, or Davis Love, who are always there or thereabouts.

I'd be reluctant to put any money on it. It's too tough to call. But a smart bet must be Ernie Els.

The golfing gods don't play favourites, but being a Springbok he would look very fitting in a green jersey - excuse me, a Green Jacket.