Thursday, April 07, 2011

The Masters HNT

As mentioned at the first of the week...it's Masters week! Unless you're a golfer, you probably can't appreciate the magic that is found at Augusta National Golf Course. The history. The tradition. The unparalleled beauty that is found on no other course in the world.

If you've been around this site for any length of time, you know that golf has always been a major force in the family. Everyone in the family plays. From my grandparents all the way down to my nieces and nephew. Even the BILs all play. My dad's father was a pro; his uncles were state amateur champions. BIL2 was a teaching pro at the country club. Mom's parents built the only residence on that same course. It's in our blood.

Some portion of the Masters is generally played on my birthday, meaning that we'd do the family bday thing, and sit around the TV to watch the final round. Didn't matter who was in contention. Didn't matter what the weather was like outside. All available TVs were tuned in on the beauty and spectacle of the tournament. And we were all there. Until something happened in the early-90s...

One of the things that makes the Masters special is that most people will never be able to set foot on the course. There is a very small membership at the course, and while membership costs are kept private, you can bet that they are well into the 5-digit, if not 6-digit dollar figure. There are no tickets available to watch this tournament available to the public. It's got a waiting list that has been full since 1971 to get daily passes. They are coveted more than life itself. Corporations and sponsors get an allotment, but those are spoken for years in advance. There is a lottery for tickets to the practice rounds, but there are thousands upon thousands of entries for a very limited number of tickets, so chances are slim to none of ever getting one.

As mentioned above, BIL2 was the teaching pro at the country club here. Meaning he possessed a Class A PGA card. He caught wind of the fact that any PGA member with a Class A card simply has to walk up to the front gate, show their card and ID, and walk in. No tickets, no reservations, no advance warning--nothing! Park your car and walk in. That's it. Once he found out about this, our family ritual of watching the Masters together went out the window. He would meet up with other golf pro friends and spend the weekend (or longer) walking amongst the hills and pines and dogwoods and azaleas. We caught him on TV a couple of times over the years, and he always would call on Sunday, knowing we were all watching. I always told him that if he respected me as a BIL, he'd find a way to take me one year for my birthday present. The best I could ever get out of him was a new golf towel from the pro shop.

This year, Ray won't be with us to watch the Masters, but for different reasons. And I won't be getting a new towel for my birthday. But we'll get together and watch, and we'll tell stories about seeing him behind the 16th tee that one year, and we'll all get the winter blues shaken out and get excited about playing golf up here once again. It's going to be bittersweet. The least I could do is get out on the balcony and start working on my putting game again. It's the one part of my game that I think I outshined him...


And on a hopefully brighter note--the Masters has announced this week that a very limited number of daily passes to the Masters 2012 will be made available to the general public by lottery. Needless to say, I've already applied for a pair. Hopefully Ray has made nice with the golf gods and can send some luck my way. It would be so much cooler to walk in and buy my own towel from the pro shop!
“We start to realize that there are anodynes in life that help us through the day. I don't care if it's a walk in the park, a look out the window, a good bubble bath - whatever. Even a meal you like, or a friend you want to call. That helps us solve all this stuff in our head.”

-Al Pacino

Stop by on Thursday to see who our Mystery bubbly babe is!
This week's bubbly butt belongs to suburbanslut. Go check out her pinkness!

A good selection of HNTers over at "...the Other HNT", as usual! NSFW, but stop by when you get a chance and leave some comments!
This month is going to kick my butt. Somewhat anticipated, but not to the degree that it's already happening. I'm the production manager of this upcoming opera, and I'm finding that many balls have been dropped. In some cases, not even picked up yet. Which means that I now get to be the hard ass. Kicking butt, chewing ass, cracking the whip. For some of you, that probably sounds like a great way to spend a Saturday night. For me, however...I've got my work cut out for me. I have no doubt that things will be fine, but more work than it needs to be at the moment. I'm sure I'll have all sorts of stories to tell!

43 comments:

Chapter Two said...

Happy upcoming birthday week
beauty MG

i am up- tired out, but wrinkle free

Osbasso said...

Be sure to go read about the latest news of Autumn and the DB! Oh, she's half nekkid, too!

http://www.autumnmistspeaks.blogspot.com

Elle said...

Hey all,

I may not be keeping my blog up anymore, but I felt like HNT-ing tonight. So up I am.

Great story Os, thanks for sharing. And, please, do crack that whip :D

Vixen said...

Loving the MG...

I'm up!!!
xoxo

Gucci Mama said...

Fabulous MG.

I'm up!

Dana said...

Ray will be with you as you watch the Master's - of that I have no doubt!

The MG gives new (and sexy) meaning to bubble butt ;)

I'm up!

Emmy said...

Great MG!
I'm up!
~Emmy

V said...

We're up! This week we're experimenting with a little gift we got from a friend.

Anonymous said...

Hey hey, ho ho - I'm back and I'm up this week.

Great quote to go along with the MG pic. I never say no to a bubble bath - or a great meal.

I hope you win the ticket lottery next year. What an awesome experience that would be. I'm not much into golf, but I get the allure of the Masters.

@Dana - laughing at the bubble butt comment. *snort*

Anonymous said...

Hey hey, ho ho - I'm back and I'm up this week.

Great quote to go along with the MG pic. I never say no to a bubble bath - or a great meal.

I hope you win the ticket lottery next year. What an awesome experience that would be. I'm not much into golf, but I get the allure of the Masters.

@Dana - laughing at the bubble butt comment. *snort*

JM said...

Nice putts ;)

Not a golf fan I'm afraid, but tradition is still tradition. Oh and happy birthday for when the big day falls.

I'm UP making coffee for our guest....

Lusting Lola! said...

Beautiful MG!

I'm up!

Lady Seduction said...

How awesome when the people we care about leave us such incredible stories and memories to reflect on in their absence.

Love the mystery guest. Super sexy!

I'm up!

Daisygirl said...

Ah The Masters...a game with balls...I love balls!

Happy HNT! Im up!
http://www.thedaisyapproach.com/2011/04/hnt-tease.html

Lovin the MG!!!!

heelsnstocking said...

I'm up x

Sexy MG!

I'm so bad at golf, I'm like happy Gilmore except I got pink shoes and clubs!

HHNT

Anonymous said...

The 2012 Masters ticket lottery is just like playing the PowerBall. Someone is going to win. It may as well be you. Good luck to your favorite players (who I know is NOT Tiger Woods) tomorrow.

The Mystery Guest is amazing.

We are up at Married In Ohio celebrating an anniversary of sorts.

SapioSlut said...

I'm up and chained to the bed...

Happy HNT!

Cheeky Minx said...

What a beautiful story. (I'm going to control the crack about balls sitting on the tip of my tongue...)

Luscious MG!

I'm up.
xx

Eden said...

Happy HNT Os and all! I'm up and ready for Spring!

Enjoy the Masters, Os. I hope it will still be one to remember. Wishing you well for the upcoming b'day too :-)

MG looks nice and slender. No clue though. I am still getting to know who all these other HNTers are!

Anonymous said...

I'm Up! Happy HNT!

Mrs D x

Joanna Cake said...

In case I miss it, have a big hug for your birthday now x I am up celebrating my last decade!

And in the future it will always be a time that you specially remember that beloved family member.

xx

Molls said...

Love the new background. I wish the weather here was that nice!

I'm up.

Anonymous said...

Mine is up!

The only golf I ever played was mini golf and that is pretty easy stuff.

Hope the golf gods do you well.

http://pocket69rockettz.wordpress.com/2011/04/07/hnt-5/

A Daft Scots Lass said...

Some really good HNTs this week.

Maggie said...

Aww, that made me sniffle a little.

I'm up.

Anonymous said...

I am up.
Haircut HNT

HyperSexualGirl said...

Very nice mystery HNT.

I'm up!

viemoira said...

I'm glad you have the fond memories...
I never could make it much past miniature golf myself :D

MG- Sexy soapiness!!

I'm up - with new ink!
~viemoira

Anonymous said...

I'm late, butt (heehee) with good reason.

MG- Love the pic.

See mine on my blog Naughty Mommy Reviews & Junk

mina said...

Happy HNT! I am up!

Jobthingy said...

So, like.. what? you have a bday coming up or something? :P

HHNT
I am UBER late but I am up

Cande said...

I thought I'd tell you that I was up, but you beat me to it!

Happy HNT!! Bikini style!

Unknown said...

I absolutely love The Masters! It's one of my life dreams to one day be able to take my Dad to watch the tournament. However, unless I win the lottery, or make a new friend who is rich and has tickets, my financial situation will prevent me from ever taking him. I did however buy the new EA Sports game "Tiger Woods '12 The Masters." and now I can actually play the course. It's just a video game, but it's better than nothing. I'm picking Tiger, who do you got?

Anonymous said...

I so know who that is!!!!! Oh yeah!!!

Still sick here. But getting better. I totally forgot about HNT. So I'm late but I'm up now.

Love ya
Tigress

Anonymous said...

Hi Os,
Happy HNT! We are up with a sexy spring time spanking picture this week. :D Check it out!

http://darkside-journey.blogspot.com/

Hugs,
padme

Anonymous said...

Daisy sent me over to link up!
http://lovebeinggigi.blogspot.com/
Happy HNT!!

Cougar in Training said...

Wonderfully, sexy MG pic!

MinorityReport said...

Happy HNT.
I'm up...super late. Oops.
:)

Anonymous said...

I'm up finally, and there is more than 30 minutes left in the day!

HHNT everyone.

Master's Azra said...

Beautiful MG! Job is kicking my ass but I am up.

Happy HNT!!!!!

Autumn said...

what a fabulous post! your family rocks, and it's so cool that you got to (and still get to) live vicariously through a loved one that way. That golf course is absolutely amazing and while I won't likely watch the Masters, I will listen to the golf talk at work and keep up. sometimes I can manage to watch a bit, but I get bored easily i'm afraid. awesome post. thanks for sharing and i hope BIL2 does have an "in" up there for you. oh man, can you imagine?! well, i'm sure you have.

suburbanslut has a sweet ass.

hope all is well with you and yours always.

xoxo
loves autumn

The Smoking Redhead said...

Ahhh...Ray. So many good memories to choose from, the lake, the family bbq's. ~sigh~ Give my love to the family. I would love to swing down sometime when the fam is getting together.

Love you my friend!

Anonymous said...

I'm up at a new site: http://13messages.wordpress.com/2011/04/08/hnt-legs/