Mr Havercamp

I took this picture of the Par 3 #5 hole at Shoal Creek, site of two PGA Championships, in Birmingham, Alabama while volunteering at this year's Regions Tradition Champions Tour tournament. As a volunteer, I get to play the private course in November and am looking forward to trying out this Jack Nicklaus design.

I was at the Masters Tournament for the Thursday round this year, and Dufner spit on the tee box of #12 in Amen Corner. The crowd collectively groaned because it seemed that a.) he was spitting on almost holy ground and b.) the tee boxes and fairways are like perfectly vacuumed carpet, and it left a giant brown spot that ruined the aesthetics. I'm a big Dufner fan, but dipping at Augusta National just ain't right.

I live in Montgomery and have volunteered at the Navistar LPGA Classic, which is coming back next year as the Alabama LPGA Classic, on the Senator Course at Capitol Hill. Stacy Lewis won the tournament during her great run last year, and Lexi Thompson got her first career win there the year before. If you like links-style golf, playing the Senator will let you put your game up against those of the girls on the LPGA circuit. The last time I played the Legislator, the greens were in surprisingly bad shape, but we've had a lot of rain here and the course is located adjacent to the Alabama River and its wetlands, so that might have been a reason. It's a fun track. I'm a high handicapper and have heard horror stories about the difficulty of the Judge, so I haven't tackled that one, yet.

I was able to attend last year's Masters on Thursday, as well. You may know all of the information below already, but, if not, here's what I learned last year: Be sure to get there when the gates open and walk briskly (no running at ANGC) to the first tee so you can see the ceremonial tee off with Palmer, Nicklaus and Player, which was, by far, the best part of the entire experience. ANGC also has a photographer stationed in front of the clubhouse each day who will take your picture next to the iconic U.S.-shaped flower bed with the clubhouse in the background. They upload the photos to the Internet and provide you with a code to download your pic for free. Since cameras aren't allowed during tournament rounds, it'll be the only photo opportunity you'll have. The gift shop has folding Masters chairs for sale for $40 a piece. If you buy one, each hole has a special roped-off section where you can set it up and watch the action. We spent most of the day in the section by the Par-3 12th hole tee box because you can watch the golfers putt on 11, play all of 12 and tee off on 13 from that one spot. We later moved into the section next to the green at 16. The folding chairs have a slot you can slide a business card into in order to identify your chair if you decide to walk around. I'd recommend hitting the gift shop early in the day and buying all your souvenirs. As you exit the gift shop, there's an area where they will hold your bags until you leave and redeem them so you don't have to lug them around all day. I stopped by the Eisenhower tree on #17 and picked up a pine cone as a souvenir. It's in a plexiglass case in my Mancave and will be the cheapest and most unique souvenir you'll find at Augusta National. Another cool thing is that you can sit on the down slope of the fairway of the Par 3 6th hole and watch the golfers hit shots over your head. We're attending on Thursday of this year, as well, and I'm counting down the days.

I've played Ross Bridge in Birmingham, Hampton Cove near Huntsville, Lakewood in Fairhope and the Legislator Course at Capitol Hill in Prattville. They are all first-class and affordable, but my favorite of the bunch has been Ross Bridge, which has a great resort hotel on property. The Senator Course you played at Capitol Hill has hosted the Navistar LPGA Classic for the last few years, which was won by Stacey Lewis in 2012 and Lexi Thompson in 2011, but it lost its sponsorship this year. If you live in Georgia, the RTJ course in Opelika, Grand National, is the closest to you. Also, if you plan on playing the RTJ courses fairly often, you might want to send the $40 to buy an RTJ Trail Card since you get a good discount each time you tee up: http://www.rtjgolf.com/shop/shopexd.asp?id=139

The Jack Nicklaus-designed Ocean Course from our condo balcony at the Hammock Beach resort in St. Augustine My turn to putt at the Ocean Course Damn fairway bunker!!!

After lurking on the Sand Trap forums for a couple of months, I've decided to take the plunge and join the community. I've been playing golf for about a year-and-a-half after deciding to take up the game at 42-years-old. According to my wife, I've jumped in with both feet. In addition to joining a country club and playing almost every weekend - and some weekdays when I can sneak out of the office for an afternoon - I'm addicted to watching the pros play as often as possible. Since taking up golf, I've attended the 2011 PGA Championship, two Tour Championships at East Lake, the 2012 Masters (and, soon, the 2013 Masters, as well), the Regions Tradition Champions Tour event, and, because I own a public relations/political consulting firm, I volunteered in the Media Center at the 2012 Navistar LPGA Championship. My game still has a long way to go, and after purchasing a couple of expensive iron sets and three overpriced, top notch drivers, I'm learning it ain't so much about the equipment as it is about the swing, which I'm working on. My "power fade," also known as a tremendous slice, is slowly but surely improving. I'm looking forward to meeting all of you on the message boards. ,