A Masterful Experience: My Day At Augusta National Golf Club

"I was kind of in awe of everything, after seeing it [The Masters] on TV and having always heard about it. Everyone says ‘we can’t explain to you, you just have to go look at it’. You walk in and are just in a daze, surprised that you are there.” As the dawn broke in Augusta at The Masters on Sunday, Chris Osmun of Davenport, Iowa arrived at Magnolia Lane with his longtime friend, Mike. Back in February, Chris had seen his buddy ‘like’ the LostGolfBalls.com Masters Sweepstakes and figured “why not?”. He clicked the ‘like’ button, filled out the form. A month later he was selected as our winner. Before one enters golf’s most serene and magnificent place, they first must encounter numerous security checks. “Of course, no cell phones or cameras allowed. It’s like going to the airport. Dogs out front, then you go through the line to empty out your pockets and all that gets run through the x-ray machine as you proceed to get wanded.” Once through, you are officially a patron of The Masters! By 7:30am, Chris was inside the merchandise tent with surprisingly no line. Not knowing if he would ever be able to make it back, he grabbed a hat, a towel, a Flag Pin, a couple of Masters Caddy Teddy Bears for his kids, and a Masters Chair, which comes in handy after a long day on the course. He was told the night before, by a couple he met, that he should purchase chairs first and then head straight to where he wanted to end up and set the chairs there. Everyone writes their name on the back of their chair, leaves it there with all of their stuff and nobody messes with it. It’s like that throughout the course. If you see empty chairs, they are available until the seat holders come back and ask to sit. After the chair was in place, walking the front nine commenced. “The front nine is way hillier than I thought it would be! It’s Wednesday and my calves are still burning.” After making it through the outward 9 he rested around Amen Corner to let the history and grandeur sink in. “Twelve was my favorite hole to watch the groups tee off and then walk over the Hogan Bridge.” He watched a couple groups come through and then proceeded to finish walking the rest of the inward 9.

It’s just you and the golf ball. All your concentration focused on the white, dimpled sphere (perhaps it’s even a Pro V1) awaiting the perfect impact. The impact that feels like nothing at all, yet launches the ball on a majestic flight. You watch triumphantly as it floats through the air and down to meet its destiny. It’s a feeling only a golfer can understand. Sometimes, however, things don’t go quite as planned. The ball, for reasons often enigmatic, has its own ideas. And no amount of begging and pleading can control it. No amount of vitriol aimed at the entire history of golf and everyone and everything having to do with it can save it. The lost golf ball: the bane of any golfer’s existence. New words find their genesis because of it. Insults not heard in years are hurled at it. The profanity-laced tirades it causes are nothing less than the poetry of a tortured soul. But whoever thinks about the ball? Sinking to a watery demise or lost somewhere in the rough. It’s swallowed up by a course with an insatiable appetite. But, no courses are hungrier than these six. They feed on golf balls like sharks on a blood-lust fueled feeding frenzy. We’ve already met the Six Great Kid-Friendly Golf Courses, but you may want to cover their eyes this time.

Bubba Watson has won his second Masters! He beat Jordan Spieth and Jonas Blixt by 3 shots. This is Watson's second win in 3 years! This year was a much smoother win than his 2012 playoff victory over Louis Oosthuizen. He's made it a long way with his Titleist Pro V1x.

Bubba Watson and Jordan Spieth are tied for 1st after the third round of the Masters. Both players are using Titleist Pro V1x, shouldn't you be too?

Bill Haas is currently leading the 2014 Masters. This is his 5th consecutive year competing in the tournament. Haas is using the Titleist Pro V1x and it’s working. Bill is just one of the many distinguished golfers in his family. His father, Jay Haas, won the PGA Tour 9 times. His uncle, Jerry Haas, and brother, Jay Haas Jr. were both PGA Tour Players. Masters runs in his blood as great uncle, Bob Goalby, was the Masters winner in 1968.

Team Titleist introduced industry’s most popular golf balls Pro V1 on October 11, 2000. On the heels of its record-setting success, a second model – the Pro V1x – was introduced three years later in 2003. Today, roughly more than half of all TOUR pros tee up a Pro V1 or Pro V1x.

The LostGolfBalls.com customer service team’s favorite golf balls are the Taylormade Lethal, Titleist Pro V1, and Titleist Pro V1x. LostGolfBalls.com came into existence on the golf course. Our three founders wanted a way to play their favorite sport more often—and live golf, rather than just play it on the weekends. On the course one day, they saw someone reclaiming lost golf balls and had a light-bulb moment. Nearly twenty years later, LostGolfBalls.com has processed more than half a billion golf balls from elite courses across the United States. The company’s staff personally hand selects the golf balls we offer to you on our Web site.