The untold truth of the Masters

Azaleas used to be big business in the South. They still are the default go-to plant when you think "Southern living," and it stands to reason that nurseries were abundant at one time. One such nursery, known for those beautiful pink buds, stood on a nice patch of land in Augusta, Georgia. According to Active, Fruitland Nursery claimed to be the largest nursery in the South. That's a real nice piece of property … the kind that could fit a golf course.

Golf in America in the early days of the game meant only one name: Bobby Jones. Despite the fact that he never turned pro — keeping his amateur status his entire career — no one could come close to matching his game. Jones was thinking of designing a golf course, more specifically a country club of exclusivity and grandeur. All he needed was someone with deep pockets who shared his passion for the game. Investment banker Clifford Roberts fit the bill, and the two purchased Fruitland in 1931. When Jones saw the land, he said, "Perfect! And to think this land has been lying here all these years, waiting for someone to come along and lay a golf course on it." The club formally opened in January 1933, and a year later what we now call the Masters began, with co-founder Bobby Jones playing and the main draw.

Despite all the hype and beauty there is to Augusta National, it's kinda hard to watch on TV, especially the early rounds. Usually, a sport is at the behest of its network. Augusta National is the complete opposite of that and controls every single aspect of its coverage. Not every shot at this year's (or any years) Masters will be televised. The Masters TV coverage is limited, by design. Golf Digest says Augusta National and CBS have signed a one-year deal every year since 1956! The first two rounds of the Masters were not televised until 1995, and are now limited to a mere 2.5 hours a day. ESPN picked up coverage of the first two rounds in 2008, but conspicuously left its best known face, Chris Berman, off the coverage. All the rumors point to Augusta National telling the Worldwide Leader to keep Berman back back back in Bristol.

Golf Digest estimated the Masters turned a $29 million profit in 2015. That number could be a lot higher if the club gave up some power, but that probably won't happen. Tournaments are run with limited commercial interruption, leaving millions of dollars on the table. But you won't find any golf fans complaining about that.

Let's do this the easy way: You know how in school you had that cool teacher that would curve your grade on a test? Golf has that too, but it's called a handicap. Sometimes you just get a straight-up curve, but other times the test is so tough the teacher curves the grade based on the highest score in the class. Think of that really tough test like a really tough golf course. Course rating (for the pros) and slope rating (for the joes) tell you what your real handicap is for that course. Almost every course out there has a course rating and a slope rating, but the Masters doesn't.

Augusta National has politely declined an official rating, stating, "Our members already know each other's games." That wasn't good enough for the inventor of the slope rating, Dean Knuth. In 2010, Knuth rated the course on the sly, walking along with the regular patrons at a Masters, counting steps golfers took from the rough to the course to attempt an accurate measurement. So, how hard is Augusta National? Somewhere in the rocket science-taught-backward range. The average score for a pro would be around 76 — that's 4 over par. As for the weekend hackers? Forget it — you'd be lucky to break 100.

Lee Elder had a great 1974 tour season — with a victory and three top 10 finishes. That all qualified him to earn an invite to compete in the 1975 Masters. That's how it works, right? You play well, and you get to go. Thing is, Lee Elder is black.

That might not seem like a big deal today, but when you look at the history of Augusta National, it sure was. They didn't invite their first black member to join until 1990, there was a time when all caddies were black by rule, and Augusta Chairman Clifford Roberts once claimed, "As long as I'm alive, the golfers will be white, and caddies will be black."

Well, Charlie Sifford was the first black golfer to earn a PGA tour card in 1961, Lee Elder was the first to earn an invite to the Masters, in 1975, and Roberts did live to see both of those events. The BBC reported that Elder received death threats before the tournament, but that didn't deter him. Once inside, Elder said he got nothing but support from the Augusta faithful: "Every green I walked up on, the applause was tremendous." Elder could tell stories from the tour that'd curl your hair, but Augusta National welcomed him with open arms in 1975. He missed the cut but returned five more times, with a best finish of 17th place in 1979.

In 1734, an Irishman named John Rae settled in Augusta and picked up a nice piece of property with some water, and promptly slapped his name on the cute little creek it had. All these years later, Rae's Creek has been the downfall of many young and old golfers — and almost a president. The mud sucked Dwight Eisenhower in knee-deep, and Ike had to be pulled out by Secret Service, according to the Daytona Beach News Journal.

The creek obviously predates the course, and is more than just a golf ball depository for frustrated pros. Even without Augusta National, Rae's Creek has an incredible feature — a pre-Civil War era aqueduct not too far from the course. So the beauty and majesty of Augusta National extends beyond the course, and the creek knows no prejudices. About 5 miles from the beauty that inspires hushed voices and flowery prose sits a trailer park with beer bottles and cigarette butts. It's a nice reminder that outside the facade and the green jackets, life still flows in all its reality.