Tom Plankers joins host Shan Coughlin on TIUGS with International World Tour Golf Links March update. World Tour boasts 19 replicated world famous holes and in these interviews, Tom has been giving the history behind them and why they were chosen to be part of this course. With The Masters coming up, in this interview, Tom takes us to Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta Georgia and the 16th hole, 170 yard par 3, named “Redbud”. To get your Masters fix, you can play this hole at World Tour along with Amen Corner.
Redbud can be a scoring opportunity as the tee shot is over a pond to a right to left sloping hole. On Sunday of the Masters, the pin is always in the lower left portion so a well placed shot will funnel to the hole. In 1986, Jack Nicklaus needed a birdie on #16. When he hit his 5 iron, his caddy, who happened to be his son, said, “be right” to which Jack said, “It is”. It was. Jack birdied that hold and went on to shoot 30 on the back 9 winning his 6th green jacket at 46 years old.
Another story Tom tells is that during the practice rounds, the crowd cheers for players to “skip” their ball across the pond and onto the green. If they do not oblige, the crowd can get a bit unruly and may even boo. One time Fuzzy Zoeller picked an attractive female out of the crowd to hit his practice shot for him. Little did he know that she was an almost scratch golfer and put it right on the green. He was surprised and impressed. 
Tom also brings some of his knowledge and research about Augusta National to us. It is now a 7270 yard par 72 with a course rating of 74.0 and a slope of 135. It opened in 1933 and was designed by Alister MacKenzie and Robert Trent Jones, Jr. and is still VERY private. When a member spot does open up, there is a decision as to who will be invited to take that spot. The very formal invitation goes out in writing. Something that is not well known is that because the club makes so much money on the tournament, especially merchandise sales, the initiation fee and dues are quite reasonable considering the course. Though we do not know the exact number, Tom says that he’s heard it was in the low five figure range for the initiation and close to $250 a month for dues. Consider being asked to join Augusta, and then consider it is less than $25,000 initiation and maybe $3000 per year dues. What already would be a no brainer became even easier.
To find out more about how you can play #16 and amen corner from Augusta without the coveted invitation, contact Tom or one of his staff at World Tour Golf Links by clicking their banner here at TheGolfDirector.com or by seeing their feature page by CLICKING HERE. To hear Tom’s full interview, click on the player above or download it to your smart device for listening on demand. Thank you for interacting with us.
