Amen Corner

MASTER CLASS

I wish Walter Bingham was around to put the 84th Masters in perspective. Very few people loved the tournament as much, or knew it as well, as he did. Alas, Walter passed away on May 13, a few months shy of his 90th birthday, in between when the majorest of golf’s majors was scheduled to start (April 9) and when it will actually tee off on Thursday.

Postponing it was the right move, of course, and closing Augusta National to spectators was the prudent choice, but still… I wonder if Walter would have thought that the Green Jacket clashed with the fall colors, or if the cathedral that is Augusta National suffered because the pews were empty. Would he think that it was sacrilege that Bryson DeChambeau plans to attack the Azalea, No. 13, by bombing his drive onto the 14th fairway? Would he wonder if the usual spring fare of the Masters—a pimento cheese sandwich and an Azalea cocktail—should be offered so close to Thanksgiving?

Actually, in a way, Bing provided those answers in the April 5, 1999 issue of Sports Illustrated, the magazine for which he had reported, written and edited since 1955. A true traditionalist, he wrote a story entitled “What The Hell Are You Doing?”, a fanciful phone call from Bobby Jones himself to Hootie Johnson, the chairman of Augusta National at the time:

“None of your business where I’m calling from, or how. The question is, What the hell are you doing to my golf course? Look, just because some kid came along two years ago and made a barrel of birdies doesn’t mean you have to pani… you bring in the bulldozers and rearrange what Alistair Mackenize and I took three years to build. Why Granny Rice once called our course a Cathedral in the Pines. You wouldn’t put eye shadow on the Mona Lisa, would you?”

Jones, or rather Walter, goes on to savage the changes that were made to the course. They not only added 25 yards to “Pink Dogwood, the par-5 2nd hole, but they also built an eyesore of a stone wall to hide the equipment storage area from spectators. They raised the green on “White Dogwood”, the par-4 11th, while subtracting two bunkers and adding one. They messed with the history of “Firethorn”, the par-5 15th, where Gene Sarazen hit a 4-wood for a double eagle to win the 1935 Masters.

Jones concluded by telling Hootie, “Next time you have the urge to play golf architect, I’m going to take you down to Amen Corner some dark night and show you I still know how to hit a wedge.”

There is something, though, that Walter would’ve liked about the 84th Masters. The kid who inspired so many changes back in 1999 is the defending champion. I’m truly sorry Walter won’t get to see 44-year-old Tiger Woods tee off on Thursday.

-30-

Bing

Final Answer