Ten remarkable things you may not know about the Masters

Since it was first held in 1934, the Masters has been one of the most celebrated golf tournaments in the world.

Unlike the other three majors, it is played at the same course year after year, bringing the world to Augusta, Ga., to watch until one player slips on a green jacket and is declared the champion.

But how much do you know about the Masters? Here are 10 remarkable facts about his beloved golf tournament.

1. ‎The Augusta National golf course was designed by Alister MacKenzie, whose work included such notable courses Royal Melbourne, in Australia, and Cypress Point in California. When laying out Augusta National, he had the nines reversed from what they are today. The routing was changed in 1935, a year after the club opened. MacKenzie died in January 1934, three months before the first Masters was held.

2. The Masters wasn’t always the Masters. For the first five years of its existence, it was called the Augusta National Invitational Tournament. Clifford Roberts, one of the co-founders of the club and tournament along with golfing great Bobby Jones, suggested it should be called the Masters as a reference to the masters of golf. He finally got his way in 1939.

3. A decade after it started, the Masters was paused due to the Second World War. There was no tournament from 1943 to 1945, and to help with the war effort, Augusta National became a grazing area for raising turkeys and cattle. The tournament resumed in 1946.

4. Contrary to popular belief, winning a green jacket does not make you a member of Augusta National. It does allow you to return to the Masters every year and it provides honourary member status, but Masters champions can’t show up at any time and play the course or dine in the clubhouse. The only winner of the green jacket who is a bona fide member is Jack Nicklaus. Arnold Palmer was also a member prior to his death in 2016.

5. Augusta National was a male-only club until 2012, when the first women were invited to join. Since then, the notables to join include Condoleezza Rice, the former secretary of state, and Annika Sorenstam, a 10-time major winner. There are also several female business leaders who have been invited to join since the membership opened up, although the exact number of women members is not known. Augusta National keeps its membership list private and only by seeing women in green jackets during the Masters can it be confirmed that they are members.

6. Although Augusta National keeps its membership as private as possible, there are some confirmed, notable members. Billionaires Warren Buffet and Bill Gates in the exclusive group, as are football players Lynn Swann and Peyton Manning. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has been spotted in a green jacket at the Masters, as has Lou Holtz, longtime college football coach at such schools as Notre Dame.

7. Augusta National is closed from May to October. That may seem strange but the heat during the summer months makes it more than a little uncomfortable to play golf. There is a season-ending members tournament not long after the Masters, after which the course is turned over to the grounds crew who can use the time to make any significant alterations to the layout. As for the members, it’s a good bet that if they are Augusta National members, they have more than one golf membership and can play elsewhere until the fall.

8. The green jacket first became a part of the Masters in 1937. That’s when members were asked to wear them during the tournament so patrons watching the event could ask them for any assistance. In 1949, the tradition of putting a green jacket on the winner was started, with Sam Snead being the first to slip it on. The jacket is supposed to remain at the club and to be worn by members when they are on the property, whether it be Masters week or not. The champion is allowed to take it with him for one year to celebrate the victory and then must return it the following April. The green jacket has been to some unusual places including centre ice at Scotiabank Arena, when Mike Weir donned it to do a ceremonial puck drop the day after winning his Masters title. Another green jacket made its way to Canada but no one is quite sure how. In 1994, a Toronto resident found the jacket in a thrift shop and managed to get Augusta National to verify it as legitimate. The name, which every member has embroidered on the inside of the jacket, had been cut out to hide the identity, it was believed to belong to a Canadian member who passed away not long before the jacket was found. It later sold at an auction for $140,000.

9. While numerous U.S. presidents have played at Augusta National, it’s believed that just one Canadian prime minister has teed it up at the course. That was Louis St. Laurent who joined president Dwight Eisenhower for a round in 1956. Eisenhower, an avid golfer, joined the club in 1948, not long after he helped the Allied Forces win the Second World War. He played there regularly when he was president from 1953 to 1961, and has a cabin, where he stayed, named after him. It’s located just a few feet from the putting green. Former Ontario premier Mike Harris, also a golf lover, reportedly played the course during his time in office.

10. The winner of the Masters has a long list of things to do after tapping in the final putt. It starts in Butler Cabin, where he gives his measurements to a staff member who grabs a green jacket from the supply on hand. A shirt and tie are also picked out for later use. He then proceeds to the basement of the cabin where there is a television studio. That’s where the first green jacket presentation takes place, with the past champion putting it on the new champ. Following that, the winner takes off the coat and moves outside where a public ceremony repeats the donning of the jacket. Next up is a trip to the press room, where the winner answers all the questions from reporters. That’s followed by a sit-down dinner with the members, who celebrate their new champion. It’s just before this where the champ puts on the shirt and tie. After dinner, some more one-on-one interviews are then completed with a short list of broadcasters and after that, the winner finally gets to go home. Past champions have said it’s usually around 11 p.m. by the time they leave the property.