Categories
PGA Tour

Be Still

By Scott Messner

This week on the PGA Tour – The 151st Open

Photo by Kevin Murray and Royal Liverpool Golf Club

It can be challenging to watch a lot of professional golf in the summer months. I know I’d rather be outdoors, hopefully golfing! 

Being several hours behind live coverage of The Open has its advantages. There’s something about watching live golf in the morning, relaxing on the couch with a cup of coffee after getting home from morning bible study. I’m already looking forward to the Ryder Cup in Rome!

The 151st Open was played at Royal Liverpool for the third time since the turn of the century. Tiger Woods won it in 2006 and Rory McIlroy in 2014. Rory was a favorite pick this year coming off his win last week at the Genesis Scottish Open.

There were some changes implemented to Royal Liverpool before this year’s Open, including a new 17th hole and internal out of bounds on the 18th hole.

“Little Eye”, the new 17th, with an infinity green and surrounding bunkers, proved a formidable test at only 136 yards. Next year we’ll see one of the most famous par 3’s in the world, “Postage Stamp”, the 123 yard 8th hole at Royal Troon.

The out of bounds on the 18th hole was a mere 6 yards right of the fairway, and with it being internal, caused some controversy. A piece of land in the middle of the property bordering the 3rd and 18th holes was out of bounds and used for hospitality grounds. To be fair, the members play with the same out of bounds as the same piece normally serves as the practice area.

Although Brian Harman hadn’t won on the PGA Tour since the 2017 Well Fargo Championship, he had been having a very good season, with three runner up and five top ten finishes. He had a five-shot lead halfway through after a second round 65. Slightly rocky starts on both Saturday and Sunday may have had some wondering, only for Brian to get right back in the zone, ultimately winning by six shots to become the Champion Golfer of the Year for 2023.

Brian talked during the week about his active mind. He said, “I have a very active mind. I’ve always struggled with trying to predict the future and trying to forecast what’s going to happen. I’ve just tried to get really comfortable just not knowing.” No issues this week, as even with almost 24 hours in between finishing his second round and teeing off for his third round, he remained laser focused.

At times, as Christians, our minds begin to race with all the troubles of this world, but God has a plan for each of us. We need to get comfortable in not knowing all the details. They will be revealed to us on God’s timing. Until then, we need to stay on course, doing His work.

Psalm 46:10 is a great reminder of this. 

Psalm 46:10
10
 “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth.”  
Categories
PGA Tour

Opportunities

By Scott Messner

Brooks Koepka won the 2023 PGA Championship, played at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York, with a final score of -9, two shots better than Scottie Scheffler and Viktor Hovland. It was the third PGA Championship victory for Brooks to go along with two U.S. Open wins. His five major victories have him tied for 15th on the list of all-time major wins. Brooks is also the first golfer to win a major from the LIV Golf Tour. I enjoy the majors especially more now as it gives me a chance to watch the best golfers in the world compete on one stage.

The PGA Championship is unique in the fact that it’s the only all-professional major. There are no amateurs. Instead, you’ll find the top twenty club professionals from the previous PGA Professional Championship. These club professionals and teachers from the PGA of America are from the same group of professionals that run your local course and provide lessons to you and your family.

Michael Block, a club professional at Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club in Mission Viejo, California, gained entry into this year’s PGA Championship by finishing runner-up in the 2023 PGA Professional Championship. He went on to make history. Not only was he the only club professional to make the cut, his final score of one over par was good enough for a tie for 15th place and a check for $288,000. His final round included an on-the-fly hole-in-one on the 151 yard par 3 15th hole. It was the best finish at the PGA Championship by a PGA club professional in the last 35 years.

Michael Block made the most of the opportunity with his consistent play, shooting even par 70 the first three rounds and one over par 71 the last round. His scramble for par on the last hole secured his 15th place finish, earning him a spot in next years’ PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky. He also received a sponsor’s exemption for this week’s Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, and an exemption for the RBC Canadian Open in June. 

In Galatians, Paul tells us as Christians to make the most of every opportunity doing good for our fellow man.

Galatians 6:10
10
 So then, as we have opportunity, let’s do what is good toward all men, and especially toward those who are of the household of the faith. 

Most the most of your opportunities today and every day to serve others in the ways of Jesus.

Categories
PGA Tour

Perseverance

By Scott Messner

This Week on the PGA Tour – 2023 AT&T Byron Nelson

Byron Nelson is widely considered one of the all-time great golfers. He won 52 times on the PGA Tour, 64 times as a professional, including an incredible 11 straight wins in 1945. He won the Masters twice (1937, 1942), the PGA Championship twice (1940, 1945), and the U.S. Open once in 1939.

One of Byron Nelson’s wins was the Texas Victory Open in 1944, a tournament he won by 10 strokes. The tournament would go by multiple names over the years, until 1968 when it became the Byron Nelson Classic. The tournament has had many different sponsors over the years and has been played on many different courses, but the name Byron Nelson is still attached to it to this day and is currently known as the AT&T Byron Nelson.

The Salesmanship Club of Dallas is the tournament host and 100% of the tournament proceeds go to the Momentous Institute, an organization founded by the Salesmanship Club of Dallas which provides mental health services, education, and professional training supporting children and families.

The AT&T Byron Nelson is the most financially successful charity fundraiser on the PGA Tour, raising $180 million dollars for mental health since 1968. Check out the volunteer opportunities and make a difference at the 2024 AT&T Byron Nelson!

Like many long-running tournaments, the AT&T Byron Nelson has been won by many of golf’s greats, including Tom Watson, the only 4-time winner and the only player to three-peat. Lee Kyoung-hoon had a chance to three-peat this year but this year’s champion was Jason Day.

Jason’s Sunday 62 tied for the low final round of the 2023 AT&T Byron Nelson, propelling him to a final score of -23 and a one-shot victory over runner-up finishers Si Woo Kim and Austin Eckroat. It was Jason’s 13th win on the PGA Tour. His first win was at the same tournament, the 2010 HP Byron Nelson Championship.

It was also Jason Day’s first win in over five years. Back issues forced him to change the swing that won a major championship and catapulted him to number one in the world in 2015. Swing changes are difficult and take time, but you could see by his play in many tournaments this year that he was on the verge of winning again.

Jason Day persevered through this while continuing to serve others. Jason and his wife Ellie started the Brighter Days Foundation in 2015. Its beneficiaries include many impactful organizations serving children and families in central Ohio, where the Days call home.

Hebrews tells us that we should all persevere in confident trust in the Lord.

Hebrews 10:36
36
 For you need endurance so that, having done the will of God, you may receive the promise. 
Categories
PGA Tour

The Green Mile

By Scott Messner

This Week on the PGA Tour – 2023 Wells Fargo Championship

Wyndham Clark lost his overnight two-shot lead two holes into the final round of the Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte, North Carolina, falling into a tie with Xander Schauffele. From there, Wyndham carded 5 birdies and all pars until a meaningless bogey on the 18th hole, for a four-shot victory over runner-up Xander. It was Wyndham’s first professional victory of any kind, and his first PGA Tour win in 134 starts.

The Wells Fargo Championship was first played in 2003. The Champions for Education foundation was founded to operate the tournament and be its charitable arm. The foundation has raised over $27 million for charities making a positive impact on education. Please consider volunteering at the Wells Fargo Championship in 2024 if you are near the Charlotte, North Carolina area.

Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte has hosted the tournament every year except 2017, 2020, and 2022. The tournament was played at Eagle Point Golf Club in Wilmington, North Carolina, in 2017 as Quail Hollow hosted the PGA Championship that year. The tournament was canceled in 2020 due to Covid. Quail Hollow had the privilege of hosting the President’s Cup in 2002, so the Wells Fargo Championship was played at TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm in Potomac, Maryland.

The 16th through 18th holes at Quail Hollow Club are referred to as The Green Mile. Sunday’s CBS telecast stated that the 17th hole was playing the hardest on the course, the 18th hole the 2nd hardest, and the 16th hole the 6th hardest.

The Green Mile is in reference to the Stephen King book and subsequent movie starring Tom Hanks and Michael Clarke Duncan. It takes place in the death row of a Louisiana prison in 1935. The Green Mile refers to an inmate’s last walk to their execution. As Tom Hanks’ character Paul Edgecomb, a supervisor of the prison’s death row cell block E, puts it, “They usually call Death Row the Last Mile, but we called ours the Green Mile because the floor was the color of faded limes.”

I do not read Stephen King and I’m not a big movie watcher, so I never watched The Green Mile until this Sunday night after the Wells Fargo Championship. I had of course heard of the film but didn’t realize its supernatural aspect. Michael Clarke Duncan’s character John Coffey is a gentle giant on death row after being charged with the rape and murder of two girls. He has Christlike abilities such as healing and knowing what is in people’s hearts.

There are many memorable lines in the film, including John Coffey telling Paul Edgecomb that “You can’t hide what’s in your heart.”

John Coffey is a Hollywood Jesus. Our true redeemer, our LORD and Savior Jesus Christ, tells us in the gospel of Luke that there is nothing hidden that is not known.

Luke 12:2-3
2
 But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known. 
3
 Therefore whatever you have said in the darkness will be heard in the light. What you have spoken in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops. 

God knows what is in our hearts. Live your life with a pure heart.

Categories
PGA Tour

This Week on the PGA Tour – 2023 Mexico Open

By Scott Messner

Tony Finau won the 2023 Mexico Open at Vidanta this past Sunday with a winning score of -24, three shots better than runner-up and defending champion Jon Rahm. On Saturday, Jon tied his career low round and set the Vidanta course record with a 61 to get him into contention for the final round. It wasn’t enough as Tony played superbly all week, recording only three bogies the whole week and none in the final round.

The Vidanta Vallarta Course in Vallarta, Mexico is hosting the Mexico Open from 2022 through 2024. The course was designed by Greg Norman and plays as a “bomber’s paradise” for the tournament, with wide open landing areas and forgiving rough.

Though the Mexico Open has only been an official PGA Tour event since 2022, it has a long history. First played in 1944, the list of past champions contains many big names including Ben Crenshaw and Lee Trevino.

It is one of six national open tournaments featured on the PGA Tour. The other five are the Puerto Rico Open, RBC Canadian Open, U.S. Open, Open Championship, and the Genesis Scottish Open.

An open golf tournament by definition is open to anyone. You or I could enter a U.S. Open qualifying tournament, provided we work hard to get our handicap index down to 1.4 or less and pay the required fee. The closest 2023 U.S. Open qualifier to me took place on yesterday, Tuesday, May 2nd at Bishops Bay Country Club in Middleton, Wisconsin. Four golfers qualified from the field.

National open golf tournaments stir up a lot of interest for golf in their country. The Mexico Open has been a big part of growing golf in Mexico. Top Mexican professional and collegiate golfers receive sponsor exemptions. We enjoy cheering on our country’s representatives in sporting competitions. Imagine the feeling of being able to qualify for your national open golf tournament. We may never play golf well enough to be eligible to play in our country’s open, but we can immerse ourselves in the tournament by becoming a volunteer. Check out volunteer opportunities at the Mexico Open.

There is nothing wrong with identifying with your country, applauding its virtues and recognizing its shortcomings, but we should seek Jesus first. Paul reminds us in Acts that God made all nations, and they are His.

Acts 17:26-27
26
 He made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the surface of the earth, having determined appointed seasons and the boundaries of their dwellings, 
27
 that they should seek the Lord, if perhaps they might reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. 

Nations will rise and fall. Love and support your country, love and support one another in your community, remembering we serve our LORD and Savior Jesus Christ.

Categories
Golf Round Review

2023 Opening Round

By Scott Messner

Our winter wasn’t bitterly cold, and we didn’t get a massive amount of snow. The problem is it doesn’t want to leave.

So, this past Saturday, I did the logical thing and traveled one and a half hours south. I met my son, and we enjoyed playing 18 holes together at Pine Valley Golf Course in Marathon, Wisconsin. Below is a picture I snapped of the picturesque par 3 17th hole. I need to return in the summer or fall to get the full beauty of this course.

During spring in northern Wisconsin, if you hope to enjoy any activity outdoors, you need to be willing to survive the elements if needed. Saturday was one of those days. The temperature was 39 degrees Fahrenheit with on and off again light rain showers turning to steady light rain on the finishing four holes. The weather was not a surprise as it had been forecasted all week, we were prepared and enjoyed the round.

Even with all the rain, carts were still allowed on the course, but we decided to walk. Saturday, we walked for the sole reason of staying warmer. We’ve previously talked about the benefits of walking.

I didn’t record any stats. This season I’m switching over to tracking strokes gained instead of traditional stats. Not having an app or system to track strokes gained for me is going to make it a manual process for the time being. I also want to tie my strokes gained into better course management. The best place to do that is on my home course. I plan to play a lot of rounds at St Germain Golf Club this season, so I’m going to only tracks stats there.

I set almost no expectations for this round. Why do high handicap or beginner golfers put so much pressure on themselves? This was my first outside golf in over six months and the weather was closing in on the worst I would play in. I wanted to shoot close to ninety but would have been happy with anything under a hundred.

There was a lot of good things to take away from this round. I played the whole round with one ball and didn’t have any penalty strokes. The easiest way for high handicap golfers to lower their scores is to get the penalty strokes per round as near zero as possible. I only mishit a few shots. My swing felt good, and contact was good on most of my shots.

Birdie looks were few. My distance control wasn’t the best, but the rain and cold weather played a factor, forcing me to club up on many shots. Missing the fairway off the tee on many holes either forced me to do a recovery shot or gave me a poor angle into the green.

Putting has been the weak spot of my game for a while now. I worked this past winter on putting stance and it feels pretty good on the course. With their early season condition and the weather, the greens were slow on Saturday. I struggled a lot with distance control. Improving my distance control is my highest priority when I can get out on a practice green.

Every year at this time, I am filled with excitement and anticipation for the new golf season.

In Genesis, God tells Noah he will not send another flood. Every new season, every new day, is a new beginning.

Genesis 8:22
22
 “While the earth remains, seed time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night will not cease.” 

I was happy with my round on Saturday, even with shooting a 99. I was happy spending time with my son.

Categories
PGA Tour

This Week on the PGA Tour – 2023 Zurich Classic of New Orleans

By Scott Messner

In the PGA Tour’s sole team event, Davis Riley and Nick Hardy shot a 65, the second lowest final round, to win the 2023 Zurich Classic of New Orleans with a final score of -30. Davis hit his tee shot on the 207 yard par 3 14th hole to within a few inches setting up a tap-in birdie and holed a 33 foot putt from off the green on the par 3 17th hole for another birdie. It was the first PGA Tour win for both Davis and Nick and includes a two-year tour exemption.

The host course is TPC Louisiana in Avondale, Louisiana. The course opened in 2004, has hosted the Zurich Classic since 2005, and is yet another course designed by Pete Dye. Going back to the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass, five of the last seven weeks on the PGA Tour have been on Pete Dye designed courses. It is a testament to the incredible golf course designer that Mr. Dye was.

Tournament host Fore!Kids Foundaton and title sponsor Zurich Insurance Group have raised over $18 million for over 40 charities in southeastern Louisiana. Fore!Kids Foundation provides healthcare, education and hope for over 200,000 children each year. Checkout the volunteer opportunities at this year’s Zurich Classic and prayerfully consider donating your time at next year’s tournament!

By switching to a team format in 2017, the tournament has built up excitement in a format the players enjoy. The players play fourball in the first and third rounds, with each player playing his own ball and the team taking the lowest score of the two players for each hole. The players play foursomes in the second and fourth rounds, with the players playing one ball as a team and alternating shots.

Does team golf sound like fun to you? A great team event that high handicap and beginner golfers can join in on are golf scrambles. Almost all golf charity events and golf business outings are in the scramble format. Each person plays his own ball for each shot with the team taking the best shot of the foursome on each shot. There is a decent chance the team will take one of your shots, no matter what your skill level.

ESPN+ on course commentator John Maginnes made the comment that the first and third rounds of the tournament, the fourball rounds, are like the honeymoon of a marriage. You’ll see a lot of birdies and not many bogies being recorded for the team. The second and fourth rounds, the foursome rounds, is marriage when the kids are sick, and your mother-in-law is coming to visit. For the record, I love my mother-in-law. 😊 These rounds are much more difficult to score in, as the team is playing one ball instead of two, so both players need to be on their game every shot.

When playing fourballs, with each player playing his own ball and taking the best score, one player can carry the other for quite some time if they are playing well. In foursomes, players need to be there for each other, picking each other up from the other’s mistakes. You’ll see the real character of the teams when neither player has their game during foursomes.

Marriage is a lot like that. It will be filled with many good times. At times you may have a season of struggles, but Jesus tells us in the Gospel of Mark that God has joined husband and wife together as one.

Mark 10:7-9
7
 “For this cause a man will leave his father and mother, and will join to his wife, 
8
 and the two will become one flesh, so that they are no longer two, but one flesh. 
9
 What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.” 
Categories
PGA Tour

This Week on the PGA Tour – 2023 RBC Heritage

By Scott Messner

Tied for the lead after regulation with Jordan Spieth at -17, Matt Fitzpatrick hit his 9-iron approach shot to within a foot on the 17th hole, the third playoff hole, winning the 2023 RBC Heritage with his tap-in birdie. It was his first regular PGA Tour event victory and backs up his major win at the 2022 US Open. Matt has been vacationing with his family to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina since he was six years old. He first appearance at the RBC Heritage was in 2014 where he made the cut and finished tied for 23rd as still an amateur.

This was the 55th playing of the RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing and has been played at Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head Island since Arnold Palmer won the first tournament in 1969. The list of other past champions contains some of the greatest names in golf including Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, Nick Faldo, Greg Norman, and 5-time winner Davis Love III.

The tournament is hosted by the Heritage Classic Foundation. Since its inception in 1987, it has donated $50 million dollars to over 80 charities in South Carolina, supporting education, emergency housing, food insecurity, animal shelters, and much, much more. If you live in South Carolina, one of the unique ways you can support the foundation is through the purchase of Heritage Classic Foundation vanity license plates for your vehicle. Will you be within one and a half hours of Hilton Head during the tournament week? If so, sign up to join the waiting list to volunteer at the 2024 RBC Heritage!

A bridge allowed automobile traffic to Hilton Head Island beginning in 1956. Soon after, real estate developer Charles E. Fraser developed Sea Pines Resort. The resort has four golf courses including the Harbour Town Golf Links. Pete Dye designed the course along with the help of Jack Nicklaus. It is a classic Pete Dye design with plenty of risk/reward holes, narrow fairways and one of the smallest average green sizes on the PGA Tour, second only to Pebble Beach. The development of Sea Pines Resort, and the several other resorts that followed, cemented the South Carolina Lowcountry as a tourist destination.

Maybe surprising to some, I had never heard of the geographical area around Hilton Head Island referred to as the Lowcountry before this year, where it was mentioned several times on the coverage.

Photo by MoodyGroove at the English Wikipedia

When I hear RBC Heritage and specifically Harbour Town Golf Links, I always think lighthouse. The circular Harbour Town yacht basin, inspired by a harbour in Portofino, Italy, is home to the Harbour Town lighthouse. It was built during the first RBC Heritage, with its frame being up behind the 18th green to see Arnold Palmer’s winning putt, and was completed in 1970. The red and white striped icon is 93 feet tall and has 110 steps.

Some dismissed the need for a lighthouse, yet it has become the most recognized landmark on Hilton Head and serves as a private aid for navigation.

God’s living word of the Bible serves as a guide helping us to navigate our lives.

Psalm 119:105
105
 Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light for my path. 

Read the Bible and allow its wisdom to lead your life.

Categories
Feature Golf Equipment

Used Premium Golf Balls

By Scott Messner

I’ve written a lot in the past regarding the best golf balls for beginners. When we’re just beginning, depending where we play, we may lose balls on a regular basis, so the cheaper the ball the better.

Cheaper golf balls offer many other benefits for high-handicap and beginner golfers. Through their construction and cover, they have less spin off the clubface, which is generally a good thing for beginners. Less side spin can translate into a less severe slice. Also, the cover material of cheaper golf balls is more durable than that of premium balls, which means it will better resist getting cut on mishits.

As our skill level progresses, our ball striking will improve. We eliminate our slice, and our overall ball flight improves.

It’s at this point that it may be beneficial switching to a more premium ball. The spin we try to avoid in golf balls as beginners becomes our friend, especially with the wedges and putter. The urethane cover of premium tour balls provide spin and feel that is hard to achieve with other cover materials.

I’ve received Titleist Pro V1 balls as a Christmas gift, and since it is a popular ball, I find many of them in the woods. Pro V1’s and other premium tour balls do have a spin and feel around the green that a cheaper ball cannot match. Still, almost every course in my area has tight, wooded fairways, balls still get lost, so spending $55 for a dozen Titleist Pro V1 balls would break my golf budget.

There are a lot of articles online about used golf balls having the same performance as brand new. Of course, much of this information is shared by the sellers of used golf balls, and the performance will degrade at some point. All used golf balls can have player markings or logos. After that their condition is graded on a scale.

5A or AAAAA or Mint
This is the best available grade. These balls will have their original color and sheen, looking brand new. The bad news is they will also cost near brand new.

4A or AAAA or Near Mint
These balls may have small cosmetic blemishes or slight discoloration, but their performance is not lessened in any way. They will look like they have been played a few holes. 

3A or AAA or Good
These balls will show some wear and would look like they have been played for a round. Their big advantage is their price.

There are lower grades but balls in these grades are best suited for practice.

I decided to play Titleist Pro V1 grade 4A used balls this upcoming season. I found a great deal for four dozen of them at Jerry’s Golf Balls eBay store. $48 shipping included. One dollar a ball! For less than the cost of one dozen brand new, my hope is that four dozen balls will last me the season.

These used golf balls were once lost but are now found. In the Parable of the Lost Sheep, Jesus tells us there is more rejoicing over one repented sinner than ninety-nine who do not need repentance.

Luke 15:6-7
6
 When he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ 
7
 I tell you that even so there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, than over ninety-nine righteous people who need no repentance. 

Are you lost? Jump into the Bible and grow your personal relationship with Jesus.

Categories
PGA Tour

This Week on the PGA Tour – 2023 Masters Tournament

By Scott Messner

It’s something that golf fans look forward with anticipation to every year, the Masters Tournament. For me, in addition to being a major and one of the greatest tournaments in golf, the Masters signifies that, where I live, golf season is here if we’re lucky, or at worst right around the corner.

Since the Masters Tournament began 1934, it has been hosted at the private Augusta National Golf Club. It’s the only major played on the same course every year. Jon Rahm won this year’s tournament with a score of -12, 4 strokes better than runner-up finishers Phil Mickelson and Brooks Koepka, who both finished at -8. With the win, Jon returned to the number Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR). Phil Mickelson became the oldest player to finish in the top 5 of the Masters, firing a 65 for the lowest score of the final round.

I enjoyed watching the LIV Golf players in action that were invited to the tournament, especially the fine play of Phil and Brooks. I watched one round of the first LIV Golf tournament, and while I thought the format is innovative, I have not watched any since. I feel those that fund the organization allow persecution of my Christian brothers and sisters.

While being a private for-profit organization and not having to disclose financial information, Augusta National Inc. does a lot to grow the game of golf and invest in the Augusta, Georgia area. The Masters Tournament Foundation has co-founded the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, the Drive, Chip, and Putt Championship, the Latin America Amateur Championship, and has made significant monetary contributions to The First Tee. Augusta National Golf Club, with matching funds from its corporate sponsors, has donated millions into local Augusta communities. Make a difference in your community and volunteer at your local PGA Tour event!

The Masters Tournament is unique in so many ways. Like its catchphrase says, it is certainly “a tradition unlike any other”.

Past green jacket winners are invited to the Champions Dinner the Tuesday before the tournament, with the menu decided by the current defending champion. The annual Wednesday Par 3 Contest, with the field made up of current Masters participants and non-participating past champions, has become a family affair with family members caddying and even taking shots.

The most expensive item at the concession stand is white wine at $6. Beer follows at $5. There are no sandwiches on the menu over $3. Unless you win tickets in the ticket lottery, it’s going to cost you a lot of money to attend the Masters. It’s nice to know that once you get in you can eat and drink at extremely fair prices.

Finally, the enforcement of fan etiquette makes for an enjoyable viewing experience from home. I can only imagine how much more enjoyable it is in person. There is no running, cell phones, or idiocy allowed. Scream “mashed potatoes!” after a shot and promptly be shown the exit.

The Augusta National Golf Club course was built in 1932, when professional golfer Bobby Jones, along with his friend Clifford Roberts, a New York City investment dealer, purchased a 365-acre site. The site was a former nursery named Fruitland, which started in 1853, and grew peaches, other fruits, trees, and shrubs. Hence, all the holes at Augusta National are named after trees or shrubs. A few examples are the 1st hole “Tea Olive”, the 12th hole “Golden Bell”, and 18th hole “Holly”. Watch any of the coverage, you’ll hear the holes named in each fly through.

Jesus, the Good Shepherd, knows our name, and we know his voice.

John 10:3-4
3
 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 
4
 Whenever he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 

Let Jesus go before and lead you. Follow in his ways.