A Non-Tradition Unlike Any Other: November At The Masters

Pondering the November Masters while offering a quiet "thank you" that election campaign commercials are finally gone (at least I hope they are).

Is the two-tee start on Thursday and Friday a big deal or not?

As wake-up calls go, starting on the second nine at Augusta National is like running through the Starbucks on nearby Washington Road and slamming a triple espresso to get going.

If it’s cold (it doesn’t look like it will be but more on that in a moment), it could be a wicked start early. By now, almost everyone knows the second nine was originally the first nine. Frost delays in 1934 led to flipping the layout which, we can all agree, worked out nicely.

To be fair, the first hole at Augusta National is the hardest hole no one talks about there, but after that the next two holes don’t typically invite disaster. The same can’t be said for the 11th and 12th holes, where it will be eerily quiet with no patrons on the grounds.

It’s not the first time the two-tee start has been used. But, like seemingly everything else w...