Wednesday 8 April 2015 11:07, UK
As Bruce Critchley prepares to celebrate 25 years of attending the Masters, the Sky Sports commentator reflects on what makes his annual trip to Augusta National truly special.
Sometimes when you’ve read the book, the film can be a disappointment, not so Augusta. However many times you may have seen The Masters on television the reality of your first visit is breathtaking.
The grass is greener, the slopes steeper, the greens more undulating; the tall pines lining so many fairways darker in the strong sunlight and in a minute you understand what so captivated a young Nick Faldo when he first heard the sound of persimmon – as it was then – on ball echoing amongst them.
For me that first visit was back in 1990. Ten years of working for the BBC, then the only broadcaster covering golf, had been almost exclusively in the UK; so a trip to America was something special. Then to have Peter Alliss show me round with his mixture of history and humour was a treat.
So too, meeting up with chums he met there every year; one such was Seymour Marvin from Brazil whose whimsical philosophy could be summed up with: "I think we should have another drink as I don’t believe in lunching on an empty stomach".
British dominance
The late ‘80s and early ‘90s were a great time at Augusta if you were from ‘over here’. Seve with wins in 1980 and ’83 had shown that Americans could be beaten and, after Sandy Lyle did his little jig in 1988, we from Britain just could not stop winning.
Nick Faldo won in 1989 and ’90, followed in 1991 by Ian Woosnam. From Europe, both Bernhard Langer and Jose Maria Olazabal won twice, so that in the 20 years from Seve’s first win Europeans won exactly half the Green Jackets handed out in that time.
My first spell there was in the middle of that great run, a term at Augusta that looks ever more magical as time passes without any of ‘ours’ winning again. A bunch of left-handers from America and a certain Tiger Woods has seen the US – interspersed by the odd South African or Australian – re-assert its superiority.
From many years of Augusta watching there is no one stand out performance or memory, just a host of them rolling by as the years pass. I’m old enough to have shared the pain of Roberto de Vicenzo in not checking his card properly in 1968, so letting Bob Goalby win.
There was Seve in 1980 squandering a 10-shot lead before stumbling home with not that much to spare. Those early British wins – miraculous at the time after years of British inferiority – but which we came to expect almost as of right; and only mild bemusement that there hasn’t been further success, what with British and European parity on the world stage – not to mention total domination in recent Ryder Cups.
Norman falls short
There have been sad moments amongst the glorious. Greg Norman not getting a win at Augusta that would have gone so well with his flamboyant game and charismatic approach, so Augusta-like in everything he did. He was going to win in 1987 until the unheard of – and never again that successful – Larry Mize holed his ‘impossible’ chip shot at the 2nd extra hole. Then he had his great chance at redemption in 1996 only to crumble in the face of a remorseless Nick Faldo.
Woods of course has left his mark. His astonishing first Masters as a professional in 1997; 40 out and 30 home in round one before an eventual win by a dozen shots showed that there would be more to come. Then there was that remarkable chip in a few years later, a marketeer’s dream as his ball hung on the lip with the maker’s mark in full view seemingly for minutes. With Woods, at that point in his career, you almost believed he did it on purpose.
Truly great happenings, stuff that almost brought a tear to the eye, have been more rare. Olazabal coming back to win a second time after his back problems that took him out of the game for two years and almost ended his career; Nicklaus winning yet again at 46, his putt at 17 sealing a remarkable ‘come from behind’ win when most thought his winning days were behind him. Ben Crenshaw in 1995, having been a pall bearer at Harvey Penick’s funeral earlier in the week, and way past his best, found his old putting stroke and the will to conjure up what was a hugely emotional victory.
It may be age, but these sort of things don’t seem to be happening as much of late. That said, the performance of Tianlang Guan from China in 2013 stands out. Just 14 years of age, he not only made the cut and played all four rounds, he never once took three putts. Even more amazing, he needed metal-headed woods for his second shots on 12 of the 14 long holes.
Gentleman Jones
It must be the place, the course, its associations both with history and the greatest gentleman golfer that ever lived, Bobby Jones, so much that is memorable has taken place there. That, and that on a good day, no course on earth can hold a candle to it in terms of appearance and presentation.
Certainly the powers that be have the resources to do whatever they like, but the mind still boggles that after drenching rain they can get the greens back up to speed by sucking out the moisture from underneath; and when it has been a cold spring they can turn on the central heating under flowers and greens to get them just right for the first full week of April.
Whatever Augusta has, there are a million other clubs that just wish they could bottle it and have some for themselves, but they can’t. There’s only one Augusta and their Masters is unlike any other tournament. That is why even non-golfers tune in for that one week and speak knowingly on things such as Amen Corner and Magnolia Lane.
As always it will be a pleasure and a privilege to be there.
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