The difference between Washington Road (seen below) and
Augusta National can be shocking to first-time Masters visitors.
ordered troops to create a settlement
at the head of the navigable part of the
Savannah River on what is now South
Carolina, and provide a first level of de-
fense against the Spanish and French.
He named it after Princess Augusta of
Saxe-Gotha, the Princess of Wales at
the time and daughter-in-law of King
George II of Great Britain. The city
prospered and served for a spell as the
second state capital of Georgia, from
1785 to 1795. Today, Augusta boats
a population of nearly 200,000 and is
considered the second largest city in
Georgia, after Atlanta.
Over the years, Augusta has become
much more than just the home of The
Masters, though that is certainly its
primary claim to fame. And there’s more
golf in the city than just Augusta National.
Augusta Country Club predates its
famous next-door neighbor by some 33
years. The club was formed in 1899 and
its original name was the Bon Air Golf
Club. It had two 18s – the Lake Course
and the Hill Course – until 1937 when
the Lake Course closed.
Donald Ross came in and rede-
signed the Hill Course in 1924 and the
club used his drawings as a guide in
a renovation in 2001. In 1942, the club
changed its name to Augusta Country
Club. Bobby Jones was a member and
won the Southeastern Open in 1930 at
ACC, his first tournament win of his
Grand Slam year.
In present time, Augusta State Univer-
sity put the city on the map with back-to-
back NCAA Division I Men’s Champion-
ships. Josh Gregory, who was the coach
for those national titles, took a school
that was little known and even less ac-
claimed and turned it into a giant killer.
Augusta Country Club
predates its famous
next-door neighbor
by some 33 years.
The club was formed
in 1899 as Bon Air GC.
There’s More To Augusta
Than The Masters
AUGUSTA, GEORGIA | Augusta National
is very much an oasis, and a world apart
from all that exists beyond the bucolic
borders of the 365-acre retreat. Mem-
bers of the golf club have been known
to describe that realm as “outside the
bamboo,” referring to the fact that some
of the club’s boundaries are replete
with actual stands of that type of tree.
And first-time Masters attendees are
frequently surprised by what they find
when they come to Augusta – and how
little they really know about the city.
