As one of our game’s gifted journalists, Global Golf Post’s Ron Green Jr. (who also often appears on SiriusXM PGATour Radio and the Golf Channel) has spent a his award-winning career covering golf — and some of his fondest memories center on The Masters and Augusta National. In this episode of the “Talking Golf Getaways” podcast, Green joins hosts Mitch Laurance and Darin Bunch to talk about this most important week on the golf calendar.
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Ron begins by describing his career covering The Masters, beginning in 1979 (and missing only two of them since then) and shares how he followed in the Hall of Fame footsteps of his father Ron Green, who (mind-bogglingly) covered 60 Masters tournaments. He shares his father’s stories about the early days of The Masters, as well as his early memories of being overwhelmed by the color and the size of Augusta National — plus details of his first two events beginning with Fuzzy Zoeller’s win as a rookie, followed by Seve Ballesteros’ historic victory.
The feeling of being on the Augusta National grounds — and the roars that accompany the tournament’s final round — are described by Ron in a fantastic way, including stories of how he just missed Louis Oosthuizen’s double eagle on the second hole in 2012, and how his sister missed Larry Mize’s famed chip-in to beat Greg Norman in 1987.
Ron also talks about his favorite Masters events, including the 1986 victory by Jack Nicklaus, the 1997 win by Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson’s first major triumph in 2004. He also goes into the events that were memorable though heartbreaking — Jordan Spieth’s misfortunes at Amen Corner in 2016 and Greg Norman’s loss to Nick Faldo in 1996.
Listeners will enjoy Ron’s description of what still surprises him every time he attends The Masters and how the perfect nature of Augusta grabs him every time — from the golf course to the food service (egg salad, pimento cheese and fried chicken are his faves) to the merchandising, all reflect a “brilliant experience.” Finally Ron shares his favorite courses around Augusta, which includes Champions Retreat in nearby Evans, Georgia and Palmetto Golf Club over the border in Aiken, South Carolina.
We hope you enjoy the connection with Ron Green Jr. It’s a perfect finish to our “mini” Masters Week of “Talking GolfGetaways” podcasts full of remembrances from the Green family archive, which ranks among the richest in the game.
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Masters Week on “Talking GolfGetaways with Mitch Laurance & Darin Bunch” is sponsored by Tobacco Road Golf & Travel (TobaccoRoadTravel.com) and can be found on GolfNewsNet.com and across the Golf News Net platform. New episodes post daily, five days per week (for the most part), and “Talking GolfGetaways” is also available on audioBoom, iTunes and Stitcher.
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