When superstars in most sports call it quits, they leave behind the ballparks or stadiums or arenas where they competed. But a champion golfer who retires can go build a club of his own and make it part of his legacy. Prime examples would be Arnold Palmer at Bay Hill in Florida, Jack Nicklaus at Muirfield Village in Ohio and the duo of Jimmy Demaret and Jackie Burke Jr. at Champions Golf Club in Texas.
Of course, the classic version of this story takes us to Augusta, Georgia, where Bobby Jones hung his hat after achieving every possible goal as a player. What Jones, Alister MacKenzie and Clifford Roberts built on that hilly acreage in the Garden City would lift Augusta and the surrounding region into the sporting limelight permanently and incandescently. For the area’s economy, Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters have been truly definitive.
“There’s no way to overstate the importance of Augusta National and the Masters to the city of Augusta and the region,...