I had the opportunity to attend this Wednesday's practice round at Augusta National Master's Tournament. What an unbelievable place. The grass, the flowers....the simplicity. I did not go there to see the best golfers in the world. I saw most of them the week before in the Shell Houston Open. I wanted to see what was so special about this golf course and it's storied beauty. In it's original state it is a nice piece of real estate but nothing special. Rolling terrain, pine trees and a creek. You can find that particular combination from Northeast Texas all the way to Florida.
What they have done is to keep it simple and create their landscape with plants that will peak when they need them to. The first week of April in North Georgia. Azaleas, White Dogwood, Pink Dogwood. There was little else that was needed to create a visual impact. When I saw azaleas I did not see a grouping of 6 or 7 plants. One example was the 13th hole where there was approximately 250 yards long and 40 feet deep of mature mixed blooming azaleas and dogwoods. I am going to guess that there were about 800 azaleas in full bloom. Spectacular today, but In two months all the winter rye grass will die, nothing will be blooming besides the gorgeous 150 year old Magnolia trees. The grounds will hardly be recognizable.
The grooming was beyond adequate description. Golf courses are places that grow grass but never have I seen it so thick and lush and perfect. I walked along all 18 holes and my shoes, including the soles, were perfectly clean when I left a course that had no cart paths. No bare dirt areas and no mud. Where there was not grass there was clean, neat pine straw.
Here is a great example of keeping your landscape simple. Plant flowering shrubs for effect but remember they peak and cycle through their beauty. Have reliable evergreen plants that will form the foundation of your landscape and above all don't neglect to prune, mulch and provide nutrition to the plants that you expect to reward you with their beauty.
The experience of going to the Master's at Augusta National was exceptional. I have never seen anything organized and run as well as they did on the scale they were working with. The food lines moved along and were never stagnant. I bought a great sandwich and a soda for $2.50. Security was thorough and courteous, unlike at the airport in Atlanta. We even had hosts in the restrooms that directed traffic. Everything was first class and I got an all day ticket for only $41. There were over 25,000 fans there with food and drink and I never saw a piece of trash on the ground after being there 8 hours. Amazing! Tell me where else that would happen.