Former NFL WR details nerves, excitement of playing Augusta National for first time

Bryan Walters understands what it takes to excel in sports. After all, the former NFL wide receiver didn’t just last in the league for five seasons, but he achieved the ultimate prize — a Super Bowl ring during the 2013 season with the Seattle Seahawks.

Following his days in the NFL, Walters now focuses on other ways to feed his competitive side. Like most people who start a new chapter post-career, the 35-year-old turned to golf to scratch that itch.

As it turns out, he’s pretty damn good at swinging a club.

Walters has a 0 handicap and is often sharing content from his golf outings on his Instagram account — like the photo below, which just so happened to be his first hole in one.

While Walters has played some of the most prestigious courses from around the world, he told me very few even compare to playing Augusta National. Just pulling up to the entrance gave him chills.

“I mean, it’s like going to Disneyland. The gates open and you look down the lane and it’s like, ‘Wow, this is everything I’ve ever seen while watching the Masters for years and years.’ There it is. Like, I’m here.”

The nerves didn’t go away after making it to the clubhouse, either.

Walters described a scene that included a who’s who of big names, saying both Jack Nicklaus and Rory McIlroy were on site, and that Tom Brady had just finished playing.

Getting spoiled at Augusta

Walters admits that he milked every bit of the pre-round service, saying the club “treats you like a king,” and that everything is as first-class as it comes. But it can be distracting.

“I actually think we spent a little too much time at breakfast, which cost me a chance to practice on the putting greens [Laughs]. We were just kind of there enjoying everything so much before even teeing off,” he said. “So I remember just kind of hustling out to warm up. We didn’t get to hit a lotta putts, which I should’ve probably done more of because those greens are ridiculous.”

The par-3 course

Most casual golf fans understand the mystique that Augusta’s par-3 course carries, so Walters and his crew decided it was worth playing. He shot an even-par 27, which helped build his confidence for the big course the next day (or so he thought).

“And then all hell broke loose once I hit the course,” he said.

Teeing it up

Walters told me that there wasn’t necessarily one hole that played harder than the other at Augusta, but he did mention that the greens are what separates it from other courses he’s played.

It was trial by fire early in his round, as he experienced the difficulty on the first hole.

“They always say that Augusta’s all about the greens,” he said. “And, I mean, that was the first hole. I was like, ‘Wow, this is ridiculous.’ Because you have to hit the perfect shot to get this thing within about five feet. Otherwise, it was gone. It was rolling off the green.”

While he said he tried his best to maintain his composure and play his game, ultimately, Augusta got the best of him on a few holes.

“Hole No. 5 kind of ate me alive a little bit,” he said. “I was just trying to hit to a spot, and, three putts, four putts, wherever it was … that was brutal.”

He said No. 16 (a 170-yard par-3 named Redbud) was one of his most memorable of the round. Over the years, No. 16 has provided countless breathtaking moments.

One was in 2019, when Tiger Woods nearly holed out on his way to a fifth Masters victory, with everyone in the gallery eyeing his ball down as it slowly rolled back down the ridge toward the hole — with Michael Phelps seen behind Woods trying to will the ball into the hole.

“On 16, they had the Sunday pin there in the back left, you know, tucked back where the ball rolls down to it. And I hit an 8-iron into it,” he said. “I’ll remember this hole, I love and hate it, because I hit it back up, up top, and the ball was rolling all the way down. We’re all going, ‘Oh man, it’s going to go in!’ And it rolled probably three inches by the hole to about three feet; leaving me an uphill three-foot putt — and I missed it!”

Finishing up on the 18th

Even the most casual golf fans probably knows how difficult No. 18 at Augusta is.

We’ve all seen the aerial pictures that show players standing on a narrow tee box with the gallery lining both sides, hitting into a tight fairway. Making matters worse, the right is lined with trees, and the left has two bunkers that, upon landing short of, requires a very difficult shot up the hill to the green.

In Walters’ experience, No. 18 lived up to the level of difficulty many fans witness while watching the Masters.

“I don’t know why I didn’t bring up 18 as one of the hardest holes, because that was unbelievably hard. I mean, it’s like a tunnel … you’ve got to hit the perfect tee shot,” he said. “You don’t understand how skinny that (fairway) is until you actually see it in person. And I was in the trees right every single time I played it … but seeing that tunnel makes you realize how good these guys are to just tighten it straight down.”

Final advice for first-timers at Augusta

Walters, who shot 82, described some of the emotions he experienced that day and was quick to offer up a suggestion to hopeful first-timers.

“Just don’t make it bigger than it really is. You know, if you’re trying to shoot a good round, if you go in there all nervous, excited, and over-hyped, that’s going to throw you off,” he said. “People get into their own heads. But that’s what’s so special about (Augusta), I think, is that it just escalates those thoughts even more. So you’ve got to bring yourself down to Earth and just swing your swing. It’s just golf, right?”

Nick Dimengo

Golf.com Editor