The Masters

The Masters is set to begin tomorrow on the hallowed grounds of Augusta National and I am filled with anticipation. The Masters is my favorite of the four majors and favorite golf tournament of the year. The legendary Bobby Jones and Cliff Roberts created a masterpiece of a golf course and passed on a rich tradition to the world of golf.

Though Tiger can claim the "Tiger Slam" by holding all four modern majors at the same time, Bobby Jones is still the only golfer to win all four golf majors in the same year. When he secured this Grand Slam, the tournaments he needed to win were the U.S. Open, U.S. Amateur, British Open and the British Amateur. While the four majors now are the Masters, U.S. Open, British Open and the PGA, the achievement is as remarkable as the man who accomplished it. He was a gentleman, scholar and sportsman - a role model if ever there was one.

He once wrote a letter about golf and what it means to him and to him it meant friendship. I'm paraphrasing, but the essence of the letter was to say that you can conduct business with a man on many occasions and never really know the man, but play a round of golf with him and you know him. Indeed, the unexpected happenings of golf reveal things about ourselves we perhaps did not know. It's in those moments of adversity or good fortune on the golf course that we learn about ourselves and those who surround us.

I've played many rounds of golf since I started playing about 15 years ago and I've been able to keep my handicap in the single digits for the last three years. I often suggest getting together on the course with people in my professional life who insist I wouldn't want to play with them - "you're too good to play with me" is what they say. While I understand the sentiment and it may well say more about their insecurities on the course than anything else - I find myself wondering if they've had a bad experience with another "good" golfer. If this is the case then I'm disappointed in my golfing brethren, because I've seen it firsthand.

I've known some men who don't want to play a round of golf with women or with anyone above a certain handicap. It's an unfortunate reality. I, on the other hand, welcome those opportunities and enjoy getting to know someone through a game simultaneously loved and loathed (often during the same round) by so many in the world - many without the plumbing I have or ability to play the game as well.

So tomorrow begins the Masters and I will be rooting for Phil Mickleson as I always do, but I will take a moment and remember those experiences that have allowed me to get a glimpse of who my friends are and look forward to meeting new ones. Bobby Jones was right. In the end, its often not the game itself we love, its the friendships we build and nourish from having played it.