# What magic does Augusta National pull



## DeliveryMan (Mar 1, 2018)

Just watching the Masters telecast from the office today (very productive I know) and I am always so struck by how pristine Augusta national has their grass..

I have recently gotten into lawncare after having moved into my first home that has a yard worth taking care of (learned a ton from all of you guys) and I have worked hard and applied chemicals/fertilizers..

But Damn !!! What magic sauce are they putting on those fairways..

Heard is a bermuda base with overseeded rye..

Just in awe of the agronomy


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## DR_GREENTHUMB (May 24, 2018)

At Augusta National they all read https://thelawnforum.com


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## LowCountryCharleston (Jun 21, 2018)

sauce=unlimited money to spend to maintain it


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## jdpber (Mar 19, 2019)

They have a $55 million dollar budget and only have the course open a few months out of the year.

I was there yesterday and they had every Sub-Air pump going to dry things out. they cut the entire course 2x yesterday, morning and late evening. BANANAS. the greens keepers consistently work one section and know that area by heart.

lots of mowing and lots of water.

Masters Photos 2019 https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=8667


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## LowCountryCharleston (Jun 21, 2018)

jdpber said:


> They have a $55 million dollar budget and only have the course open a few months out of the year.
> 
> I was there yesterday and they had every Sub-Air pump going to dry things out. they cut the entire course 2x yesterday, morning and late evening. BANANAS. the greens keepers consistently work one section and know that area by heart.
> 
> ...


Ah nice. Yesterday was a great day. Thanks for the interesting info.


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## Wfrobinette (Feb 3, 2019)

Been there twice. Keep in mind there are small imperfections that you just cant see of tv.

As others have said. It's time and money.

I know they mow often around tournament time. I heard they also rebuild greens from time to time.

I will also assume that they brought in the right amount of dirt at the right depths to get perfect grass.

Probably sample soil quite often.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

The magic is called: a cool season lawn.


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## TroyScherer (Jul 17, 2018)

I figured it was Super Juice w/ green dye.....


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## JRS 9572 (May 28, 2018)

Very limited to almost no play for a significant period of time before the tournament. Only living an hours drive from Augusta I get a kick out of riding by the gate. On TV it looks like it's in the middle of nowhere. But there's a huge 5 lane major street right outside with heavy traffic. Land locked by development too.


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## jdpber (Mar 19, 2019)

Tees - overseeded perennial ryegrass
Fairways - overseeded perennial ryegrass
Second cut - overseeded perennial ryegrass
Greens - penn a-1 bentgrass


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## thesouthernreelmower (Aug 28, 2018)

All cool season grasses and a huge budget. The course is burnt up come June I bet. I think they dye the water black also, along with pure white sand. So a lot of contrasting colors along with the azaleas and flowering trees. Hopefully I'll be able to see it in person once in my life. Beautiful place.


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## lambert (Sep 12, 2018)

Augusta is pretty alright, but it would be way more impressive if they had the bermuda looking that good right now  Anyone can grow rye grass!


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## Sidney (Jun 12, 2017)

DR_GREENTHUMB said:


> At Augusta National they all read https://thelawnforum.com


Exactly


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## dpainter68 (Apr 26, 2017)

About 15 years ago I knew a guy that lived in Augusta and would work there during The Masters. He said his job was to take the divot and put it back into its hole. I don't know if he had a assigned hole, golfer, or what.


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## sportsman10 (Feb 25, 2019)

Think about how many groundskeepers they probably have. They could honestly have a 5-man team for each hole and then they could hold an interior challenge/tournament to see who can make their hole the best. Also, they probably have a couple of Ph.D. Turfgrass specialists in an onsite lab that can run tests whenever they want. Finally and obviously, they have unlimited money. There is no limit to what they could do. They are so good at laying sod, they could just fill in any section that didn't look absolutely perfect right before the tournament starts. The soil/sand quality that they bring into high-end golf courses is insane.

I know that in Driggs, Idaho (Near Jackson, WY) there is a golf course that the designer/builder required 17 inches of a special sand/soil mix from Europe to be brought into the area for the whole course. I'm sure this is the same for many pro courses. Pro golf courses are fantasy land.


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## viva_oldtrafford (Apr 4, 2018)

sportsman10 said:


> Think about how many groundskeepers they probably have. They could honestly have a 5-man team for each hole and then they could hold an interior challenge/tournament to see who can make their hole the best. Also, they probably have a couple of Ph.D. Turfgrass specialists in an onsite lab that can run tests whenever they want. Finally and obviously, they have unlimited money. There is no limit to what they could do. They are so good at laying sod, they could just fill in any section that didn't look absolutely perfect right before the tournament starts. The soil/sand quality that they bring into high-end golf courses is insane.
> 
> I know that in Driggs, Idaho (Near Jackson, WY) there is a golf course that the designer/builder required 17 inches of a special sand/soil mix from Europe to be brought into the area for the whole course. I'm sure this is the same for many pro courses. Pro golf courses are fantasy land.


Not just groundskeepers, most are superintendents in their own right. Having worked a PGA event myself, I can tell you that it's a collection of some of the greatest / up and coming turfheads assembled. We had 165 on staff that week. What takes my crew 4-5 days to do took no more than 3 hours.

When I was in the turf program at Penn State, we had a few guys that were interning there. Part of the intern process is to report back / take pictures on what you did during your internship. When we were presenting our powerpoints, the guys from Augusta simply had to say "we interned at Augusta, we couldn't take any pictures, and we cannot talk about what we did in particular".


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## JRS 9572 (May 28, 2018)

How man groundskeepers? A lot.

https://youtu.be/8V0mZtnvtTA


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## JRS 9572 (May 28, 2018)

I'm counting 17 mowers here.

https://youtu.be/rlRNuJEX2Ug


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## viva_oldtrafford (Apr 4, 2018)

JRS 9572 said:


> How man groundskeepers? A lot.


The tennis balls are used to stop mowers ahead of of you if you see a blown line / oil leak. It's simple, you see a leaking machine, you throw your ball ahead and all machines stop in place. A leak in 1 confined area is much easier to fix than an entire pass down a 450 yd fairway.


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## The Anti-Rebel (Feb 16, 2019)

Augusta National looks like a much more modest course in the summertime.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkNPiY-j7nE


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## Wfrobinette (Feb 3, 2019)

dpainter68 said:


> About 15 years ago I knew a guy that lived in Augusta and would work there during The Masters. He said his job was to take the divot and put it back into its hole. I don't know if he had a assigned hole, golfer, or what.


Any job there is really hard to get. People hold on to them for years and come from all over to work the tournament. I thought about doing it but it's a pretty lengthy process. Almost like a audition.

From what I understand these jobs are stationary at a single hole for the duration of the tournament.

I got lucky and got to go with my dad fri-sun back in 2010. We were hosted by Chevron. Talked to several of the workers and saw the same 100 at the same place all 3 days.


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## Wfrobinette (Feb 3, 2019)

https://nolayingup.com/2018/04/06/masters-agronomic-summary//[url]
Worth a read


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## dpainter68 (Apr 26, 2017)

Wfrobinette said:


> dpainter68 said:
> 
> 
> > About 15 years ago I knew a guy that lived in Augusta and would work there during The Masters. He said his job was to take the divot and put it back into its hole. I don't know if he had a assigned hole, golfer, or what.
> ...


Yeah it seemed like he did it for several years. Then he became a bartender at a nice restaurant there and opted for the $100 tips instead.

Speaking of lucky, my brother in law and his dad get tickets every year. They alternate between the practice round and tournament rounds every year. I'm still waiting for my invite haha.


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## Wfrobinette (Feb 3, 2019)

The Anti-Rebel said:


> Augusta National looks like a much more modest course in the summertime.


Wow! Great insights.

Rye - dead

Bermuda - not to good yet

Greens look great

That black water- looks like painted pools or plastic.

Rebuilding the entire range tee.

Removal of pine straw


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## The Anti-Rebel (Feb 16, 2019)

That's not black water. They cover the sand traps to keep the sand in and everything else out while they're closed.


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## jdpber (Mar 19, 2019)

Wfrobinette said:


> The Anti-Rebel said:
> 
> 
> > Augusta National looks like a much more modest course in the summertime.
> ...


The Greens look great because they are BENTGRASS.

The "black pools" are the bunkers drain liners because the sand has been removed from those. Those are not water features.


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## kds (Apr 28, 2017)

The Anti-Rebel said:


> Augusta National looks like a much more modest course in the summertime.


I'll bet Augusta National doesn't like the existence of this video :lol:


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## cnet24 (Jul 14, 2017)

Let it be known I've seen some Poa while walking the course today (not on the greens). All the sudden the limited Poa I have doesn't seem so bad anymore.


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