AUGUSTA — Like most sports fans, I’ve watched the Masters on TV through the years. From the jubilation following made putts to the dejection and disappointment after missed ones, the Masters experience is part of the ultimate sports bucket list.

Monday, I had the opportunity to visit Augusta National for the first time, taking in the sights and sounds, while many golfers were playing early week practice rounds and patrons were already in midweek form.

From the coveted collectible gnomes and the prized pimento cheese sandwiches to the maniacally manicured greens, just about everything you’ve heard about the Masters and Augusta National is true.

For lack of a better description, it’s an experience unlike any other.

The first trip to the Masters is like going to New York or Las Vegas for the first time.

The restriction on cellphones is the first big culture shock.

I like to think I can survive more than eight minutes without my phone, but within a minute of stepping foot on the course, I wanted to take a photo — and I couldn’t. We couldn’t bring phones out on the course.

A few minutes later, I was unsure of something and wanted to do a search.

Not so fast.

As much as I didn’t like that part of the experience, I realized that potentially seeing a teenager near the seventh green doing an Instagram Live video would have been progressively worse.

Give a little, get a little.

Not relying on phones meant relying on conversation, and that turned out to be a wonderfully surprising element of my day.

It started with Steve Lankford, one of the volunteers near the ninth green. When I mentioned this was my first Masters, he was more than gracious with suggestions of must-see things around the grounds and his joy at watching the tournament up close each year.

AJC Senior Sports Editor Rod Beard poses for a photograph with Masters security guard Steve Lankford on the ninth green during a practice round at the Masters golf tournament Monday, April 6, 2026 in Augusta. (Jason Getz/AJC)

Lankford, an avid golfer, talked about how he would play the Augusta National course with the glint in his eyes of a youngster going to Disney World for the first time. The excitement, the anticipation, the tradition.

Masters perfection

One of the enduring impressions of the Masters is its look and feel.

Everything seems picture perfect.

As I was chatting with Lankford, I saw a stray leaf on an otherwise pristine stretch of grass. Lankford joked that someone would come by to remove it — and I believed him. That’s how manicured the greens were. There are more trash bins and bags around the course than golf clubs.

No stray napkins or paper. Nothing extra at all.

It was just perfect — almost too perfect. Like Duloc in the Shrek movies.

It’s part of the mystique that keeps fans coming back year after year to make their golfing pilgrimage.

Cleveland Crumbley made his first trip to Augusta in 1997, and he’s missed only a couple of years in the interim. But, like most people I spoke with, he was quick to offer advice: “Go spend some time on Amen Corner,” Crumbley said. “Walk the course.”

Cleveland Crumbley, of Atlanta, watches the golfers on the second green during a practice round at the Masters golf tournament Monday, April 6, 2026 in Augusta. Crumbley has been to more than 20 Masters tournaments and always buys a pin from each tournament and places them on his hat. (Jason Getz/AJC)

Taking the walk with Crumbley was Jamylle Gilyard, who had her own appreciation list for the Masters: pimento cheese sandwiches, people-watching and the lush, green grass.

The grass again was a topic, but that’s part of the appeal — not just on the greens, but even on the pathways.

“The stuff we walk on is better than anything I’ve ever played on,” Crumbley said.

The greatest place

Seeing the massive crowds around the main scoreboard for the first time, it feels like a sensory overload. I imagine it’s somewhat like a kid’s first visit to Disney World, a playground for golf fans of all ages.

There was defending champion Rory McIlroy, playing a casual practice round, drawing large crowds of spectators. There were the patrons with their bags of swag from the merch shop, as if they were at one of the big theme parks. There were the old-school cameras, a throwback to decades ago, when tourists clicked away to capture their memories.

It won’t be on Instagram — at least for a little while. For now, it’s about living in the moment, talking to the people around you and enjoying their company. It’s about the memories that last longer because you’ve had to hold them in your mind before you could share them with the rest of the world (wide web).

It’s appreciating elite-level golf and gathering as many Masters souvenir cups as your hands can hold.

Across the course, there was a roar from the crowd. Was it a hole-in-one? An amazing shot from the bunker?