Making your Augusta debut
Fergus Bisset reports from... Gatwick. Our man is Augusta bound and can't wait to make his debut
When I was younger I had two favourite videos that I used to watch repeatedly, in the way only children can do. The first was a film called "Ski Patrol" - a terrible 80s comedy about the shenanigans of ski instructors, holiday-makers and an evil property developer in a US ski resort.
I saw a bit of it again a couple of years ago on an obscure Sky movie channel - it was pretty terrible. The other was a recording I'd made of the final round of the 1993 Masters, won by Germany's Bernhard Langer. Nothing made me want to get out and play golf more than just half an hour of the impossibly green fairways, pink azaleas and pine straw.
Langer won by four shots from Chip Beck and, as I recall, John Daly and Steve Elkington were involved too. As an aside, something interesting about that tournament was that it was the last Major to be won by a man using a wooden-headen driver. Langer used a Wood Brothers' - Texan.
Anyway, that video was like a shot in the arm of pure golf for me. That's how I've always viewed the Masters - like a golfing electric shock that kick-starts the season. After it the fairways of the UK will be full of hopeful golfers looking to emulate Phil Mickelson or, with a bit of luck, Lee Westwood or Luke Donald.
For the last few weeks I've seen the adverts on the BBC (and now Sky - about every six minutes) for the year's first Major and each one has made the hairs on the back of my neck stand to attention. They've been standing particularly straight this year as, for the first time, I'm travelling to Augusta to catch the action first-hand.
Since I started working for Golf Monthly six years ago, this has been the assignment I've really wanted. It's a toss-up for me between The Masters and the Open Championship as to which is the most exciting tournament in golf. But, going to the Open is relatively straightforward, even if you don't work in the golf industry.
Getting to the Masters would be a little more challenging and a lot more expensive. As I write this I'm sitting in Gatwick's South Terminal waiting to get on a flight to Charlotte, then on to Augusta. It's 7.30am in the morning and I've been awake for hours. I stayed last night in the Airport Hilton. I say stayed rather than slept. I felt like a kid on Christmas Eve, checking my watch every hour or so to see how much more unbearable writhing around and brain whirring I'd have to endure.
Get the Golf Monthly Newsletter
Subscribe to the Golf Monthly newsletter to stay up to date with all the latest tour news, equipment news, reviews, head-to-heads and buyer’s guides from our team of experienced experts.
Well, I'm nearly on my way now and I just can't wait. I'll keep you updated on this blog with how things are going and Bill Elliott, who I'm staying with, will be giving his thoughts too.
Golf Monthly at the US Masters:
US Masters blogs Latest US Masters news Augusta hole-by-hole guide US Masters history and records
Fergus is Golf Monthly's resident expert on the history of the game and has written extensively on that subject. He has also worked with Golf Monthly to produce a podcast series. Called 18 Majors: The Golf History Show it offers new and in-depth perspectives on some of the most important moments in golf's long history. You can find all the details about it here.
He is a golf obsessive and 1-handicapper. Growing up in the North East of Scotland, golf runs through his veins and his passion for the sport was bolstered during his time at St Andrews university studying history. He went on to earn a post graduate diploma from the London School of Journalism. Fergus has worked for Golf Monthly since 2004 and has written two books on the game; "Great Golf Debates" together with Jezz Ellwood of Golf Monthly and the history section of "The Ultimate Golf Book" together with Neil Tappin , also of Golf Monthly.
Fergus once shanked a ball from just over Granny Clark's Wynd on the 18th of the Old Course that struck the St Andrews Golf Club and rebounded into the Valley of Sin, from where he saved par. Who says there's no golfing god?
-
Golf’s Atypical Photo Shoot Exposes Traditions And Why Some Are Holding The Sport Back
Our women's editor, Alison Root, reflects on the challenges of mastering golf's rules and etiquette
By Alison Root Published
-
WHS Quiz! How Well Do You Understand The World Handicap System?
We have 15 questions to test your understanding of the WHS...
By Roderick Easdale Published