THE EVOLUTION OF AUGUSTA

1942

1. Augusta National was originally a 365-acre nursery called Fruitland. Construction on the course began in 1931, and it opened in 1932. The first Masters was played in 1934.

2. The clubhouse was completed in 1857 and served as the home for a plantation owner.

3. The original practice facility was between the ninth and 18th holes.

4. Magnolia Lane, the 330-yard entrance, was dirt until the late 1940s.

5. The Great Depression derailed ambitious expansion plans, and five members bought the club to rescue it from bankruptcy.

2002

1. The Par-3 Course opened in 1958, and the first Masters Par-3 Contest was played in 1960.

2. The club constructed a proper practice facility in the 1950s to the east of Magnolia Lane.

3. In the 1980s, the club added a patron entrance and parking lot o of Berckmans Road.

4. About the same time period, the club added more parking o Washington and Berckmans and another patron entrance on Berckmans.

5. From the club’s founding to the turn of the century, the population of Augusta grew by nearly 135,000 to more than 195,000.