Before this year, when Chris Gotterup had been invited to Augusta National, he’d said no. It didn’t feel right. Gotterup was literally in town the week of last year’s Masters but declined.
“They’d ask if I wanted to go over and I would say no because I didn’t want to go on property until I played for real,” he said at Pebble Beach last month.
But then he won. And then he won again. And again, just for good measure.
Now he gets to prep to play the Masters “for real.”
Which is how he ended up at Augusta National last week alongside his father and brother, but only after figuring out the answer to an important question: How do you get a tee time at Augusta, anyway?
“I had someone help me with that, but I had talked to the pro and we got it all sorted,” Gotterup said on Tuesday ahead of this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational. In other words, he didn’t dial up the shop himself, but he did learn how the club operates in advance of the sport’s biggest tournament.
“So I think the rule is you can bring two guests with you, but you have to play with a member. So you just have to find someone that’s willing to take you and spend the day,” Gotterup said.
Augusta National does impose restrictions on its guests, its participants and even its past champions; other than the rare legends who have become full-fledged members, like Jack Nicklaus, not even former Masters winners can show up and play unaccompanied on a whim. (Gary Player has been vocal about his less-than-open-armed welcome.)
But for Gotterup and his two guests, the process was a breeze. They got connected with a local green jacket and they did it all: toured the property, played the big course and played the par-3, too. There are rules, of course, but it’s a well-oiled machine.
“I think if we went by ourselves and our caddie wanted to come with us we can go — not whenever, but like you said, ask the pro and he’ll tell us what days work.”
So, after all that build-up, what did he think?! Gotterup had a few interesting takeaways.
The biggest surprise, he said, was just how tight the chute is off the 18th tee.
“Much tighter than TV gives it credit for,” he said.
The slopes are more dramatic in person, he added, right from the start. The first green, he said, was “much more severe” than he’d seen on TV.
“You have obviously a tough tee ball and then you have to hit a good second shot to be able to get it in the right section,” he said.
Then there’s the par-5 2nd. During tournament week the green is ringed with spectators. But during member play? It sits in an ocean of green.
“Two green is so wild looking because it looks so massive on TV and obviously the framing of all the people behind [it],” he said. “[This time] it was just like, the green’s just thrown in — in perfect grass obviously. So it looked much smaller and different.”
As for his favorite hole? Gotterup had an under-the-rader choice.
“I think 7 for me was like — it’s just so simple, but you just have to hit a good tee ball and you have to hit the right shot coming into the green,” he said. “Just visually when you step on the tee box you’re like, wow, this hole is really cool looking. I think, just because you see all the other ones all the time and all the shots on 13, 18, 12, and I think that’s one of the holes that maybe gets slept on. That was one of my favorites.”
As part of his visit, Gotterup made his way through the pro shop. He picked up a couple hats. Something for his brother and for his dad. Something for his mom, his sister, his girlfriend. And he added a few little extras: “Playing cards and stuff, just little things like that.”
Gotterup didn’t go all too-cool Tour pro with this one — he admitted to being awed by the entire experience.
“I think that’s the one tournament or course where not having played I know every hole there,” he said. “And it’s just something that everyone watches the Masters and knows Augusta National.
“But there’s definitely holes where I was surprised, with certain tee balls and stuff that I probably need to prioritize in the weeks leading up to that.”
Traditionally, several holes at Augusta National set up well for a right-hander who hits a draw — Nos. 2, 10 and 13 among them. Gotterup is a natural fader, so he said he’ll adjust his practice accordingly.
“A couple [tee shots], like hole 2 wouldn’t be a hole that suits my eye, preferably hitting a cut. So that’s something that I’ll touch on when I’m playing practice rounds or something fun beforehand.”
Augusta National isn’t the only big-time venue Gotterup is playing for the first time. He enters this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational as World No. 6, which is a marker of how far he’s come: this time last year he was outside the top 200 in the world, coming off three consecutive missed cuts and playing the alternate-field Puerto Rico Open. Forget Augusta National. Just being at Bay Hill is a dream come true.
“Mostly you think of 18, some of the putts that Tiger made on 18 — I feel like it’s always a good finish,” he said.
Okay, I shouldn’t have said “forget Augusta National.” Nobody does. Not even Gotterup. Especially while he gears up for his first tournament tee time.
“Everyone in the world of golf would love to go play a round there, but obviously to be able to have the build-up into the Masters is awesome,” he said. “To be able to share that, my brother and my dad had never played either, so to be able to go down there with them and share that whole experience was really cool.”
