At the attic of the plantation-style clubhouse at Augusta National are living quarters reserved for amateurs in the Masters.
The 30-by-40-foot room provides living space for up to five amateurs playing in the tournament, each partitioned-off from the common living room, and featuring an 11-foot, square cupola with windows on each side, the lofty tip reachable only by ladder. There’s one shower and two sinks. Each room has a small dish with toiletries.
Tiger Woods bunked there in ’95 and ’96. Jack Nicklaus stayed there in 1959 and discovered it wasn’t an all-you-can-eat operation.
“Phil Rodgers and I ate two steaks apiece,” says Nicklaus, “and the guy running the dining room says, `That’s enough. From now on out you’re paying $2 for every steak you eat.’ ”
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The term ‘Crow’s Nest’ comes from the crow’s nest of a ship, which is its highest look-out point. The four bedrooms are accessible via a back staircase so players don’t have to come through the clubhouse to get to their room. A steep and narrow set of stairs on the third floor in a small hallway between the Champions Locker Room and Dining Room also provides access to the amateur lodgings.
During Phil Mickelson’s stay, he slipped down the back staircase at night to steal a look at the champions locker room.
The common area has green carpet, chairs, a couch, a card table, a small TV and Wifi. The walls are decorated with various scenes from past Masters, including a framed caricature of Clifford Roberts, one of the club’s founding fathers and the Masters.
The accommodations are spartan but it is an honor bestowed to the few, the proud. Would pros want to stay there if they could? Here are their answers.