It was about six o’clock in the morning. The sun had not yet risen, but there were already a thousand people in line. In the darkness of jittery anticipation, the headlights of a bus rounded the corner. It had come to take the crowd of avid golf fans, including the winner of a pair of two-day tickets, to the big tents and an immaculate course–the Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky for the 2014 PGA Championship.

As the leaves were beginning to turn brown on an afternoon in September, Tiger Woods walked out onto the teebox at the East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia for the Tour Championship of the FedExCup Playoffs. As he eyed the course, it was the shine of the early-autumn sun, and later the shimmer of the prize trophy, which was reflected in the eye of the tiger. Today, almost seven years after its inauguration, the playoffs and the FedExCup Trophy are highly sought after by many players and lovers of golf.

There are almost 20,000 golf courses in the United States today, but a century ago, there were just 41. With two unofficial, amateur national championships, and one professional championship in 1894, the stage was set for the creation of the PGA—and the popularization of golf. In January of 1916, Rodman Wanamaker, a wealthy department store owner, hosted a luncheon at the Wykagyl Country Club to formalize the conception of the PGA with other golf professionals in the North East. The Professional Golfers’ Association of America officially initiated in February. The first PGA Championship took place at Siwanoy Country Club in Eastchester, NY. For his victory, Jim Barnes received $500 and a diamond-studded gold medal, courtesy of Mr. Wanamaker. Last year at Oak Hill Country Club, Jason Dufner won $1,445,000.

This year marks the 114th United States Open Championship. The first US Open was held in 1895 at Newport Country Club in Newport, Rhode Island and consisted of 36 holes. It was played on a nine hole course and all four rounds were played in a single day.

This week the PGA Tour will tee it up at the 57th FedEx St. Jude Classic, held at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee (a course we provide retrieval service for). Always a draw for strong players, the FedEx St. Jude Classic debuted in 1958 as the Memphis Open. In 1969, Danny Thomas agreed to

There are many talented golfers out there. Some take lessons for years and years, others just have that natural talent. An extremely talented Jack Nicklaus got a speedy start to his golf game shooting a 51 the first time he ever played nine holes. He survived polio at 13 and the only handicap he came away with was a +3 on the golf course. At just 15, five years after picking up his first club, he shot a 66 at Scioto Country Club. A short three years later, at 18, this young man brought his natural, but now masterfully refined, ability to the PGA Tour. Nobody knew at the time that he was also bringing with him the moniker of his Upper Arlington High School mascot: The Golden Bears.

Sometimes even a great putt can end in a splash. At the 1982 Players Championship, Jerry Pate’s did just that. In fact, it resulted in three of them. After sinking his tournament-winning putt, he marked his victory by sinking PGA Tour Commissioner Deane Beman and course architect Pete Dye into the water near the 18th green before jumping in himself. It is one of golf’s most iconic celebrations.

"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.

As our contest for tickets to this year’s Masters Tournament comes to a close, we have a few tips to help you get back into tournament shape, yourself. Have you entered yet? Click the link for a chance to win: Masters Tournament Ticket Giveaway.