The tradition unlike any other is back. It’s Masters week — the equivalent of Christmas, Super Bowl Sunday, and any other favorite holiday all rolled into one for those who love the game of golf.
On this edition of District of Sports, George Gerbo is joined by Keswick Hall Director of Golf and Club General Manager Rob McNamara to preview the 90th edition of the Masters Tournament and discuss his experiences of playing Augusta National Golf Club.
“The elevation change. You cannot believe how up and down that golf course is,” McNamara said about his nine rounds at Augusta. “The other thing I would say, people have no idea how hard the 18th hole is. They have no idea how hard the 7th hole is, how hard the 17th hole is. There are some holes that are so much — they’re narrow.”
McNamara also handicaps this year’s field and describes how close he came to playing in the tournament himself during his career.
“Just have to laugh,” McNamara said of his experience nearly qualifying for the Masters. “When something really hurts bad, you can only laugh or cry. I’m too old to cry about it, so I’ll just laugh about it.”
McNamara also discusses recent improvements to Keswick’s Full Cry golf course and the recent LPGA Tour victory by its official touring pro, Lauren Coughlin. A Virginia native and University of Virginia graduate, Coughlin won her third event on tour April 5 with an even-par 72 in the final round of the Aramco Championship in Las Vegas to finish at 7-under par, winning by five shots over Nelly Korda and Leona Maguire.
“We’re proud of her. We’re fortunate to have her be part of our team and to see her journey and just be there to be supportive of that,” McNamara said.
Just outside of Charlottesville in Keswick, Virginia, Keswick Hall is a little more than a two-hour drive from the District and home to the Pete Dye-designed Full Cry — a recent Golf Digest Editor’s Choice Award honoree as one of the “Best Golf Resorts in the Americas.”
The 90th Masters Tournament takes place in Augusta, Georgia, April 9-12. Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy is the defending champion after his win in a playoff last year made him only the sixth golfer to complete the career Grand Slam.
You can find District of Sports wherever you get your podcasts, just search “District of Sports” in your favorite podcast app.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.