Augusta National is swallowing up some more of its city and is willing to cross the street to do so.
Site work on a “global broadcast village” has already begun, club chairman Fred Ridley announced Wednesday, on a site across Washington Road from Masters Gate 1. The village, which has been in development for the past few years, will be accessed by a tunnel to be built under the street without having to close it.
“The reasons we're doing it is because we have always subscribed to the notion that we want to provide content to our fans in the way they want to receive it,” Ridley said.
Construction will begin this summer on what is described as a “multi-year development.”
The centerpiece will be a new television and digital compound. Enhanced digital offerings will include images of every player making every shot of his round, available on the Masters’ digital platform within a few minutes of the actual shot beginning this year.
“The result of this project will be a pathway into the future as we expand various tournament services, including initially a state-of-the-art television and digital compound,” Ridley said.
In other items from Ridley's annual state-of-the-Masters news conference:
* The 18th green was rebuilt last summer to “recapture some areas on the back part of the green that had been lost to encroachment, which is really a natural process in all golf greens over time,” Ridley said.
The result is new possible pin locations, particularly on the right side behind the bunker guarding the mid-green.
“There's plenty of room back there, but it kind of looks like (the pin) is tucked almost in the bunker, where you're in the fairway,” he said.
* While speculation has endured for years over the lengthening of the par-5 13th, particularly after the club purchased land from the bordering Augusta Country Club for a possible new tee location, the tournament committee has no plan in place for such a project.
“Admittedly, that hole does not play as it was intended to play by (tournament founder Bobby) Jones or (course architect Alister) MacKenzie,” Ridley said. “The momentous decision ... of going for the green in two is, to a large extent, no longer relevant.”
But any decision will be informed by pending studies on distance by the USGA and the R&A. While Ridley reiterated the club's willingness to make necessary changes to the course, it should be remembered the 13th in the concluding hole at Amen Corner, which Ridley described as “a sacred place in the world of golf. I am hesitant to move too quickly in that regard.”
* Tickets for Wednesday's practice round originally sold for $75. They were available on the secondary market for $200. Badges for Thursday's first round, which retailed for $115, were available online for $2,700. A full weekend pass: $7,850.
The Masters tries to monitor who its tickets are sold to and who winds up with them but has little recourse go coexist with inflated resales.
“It's not something we really like,” Ridley said, “but to some extent, it's inevitable in sports. But we try to be diligent in enforcing our ticket policy.”
* Since the club opened its sprawling 120-acre parking area off Berckmans Road two years ago, speculation has endured about a possible exit from I-20 dedicated to the new lot. Washington Road, the primary artery to the course, is a bottleneck throughout tournament week, even when the Washington Road exit is closed to east bound traffic.
The exit remains mere speculation.
“Don't know a lot about it,” Ridley said. “I know it's in discussion and certainly would be a great benefit for the tournament, but I'm sure it's something that will continue to be discussed.”
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