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RUSH: Predictions on the Masters. Well, Dustin Johnson is out<\/a>. Bad back. He\u2019s on a stair master, riding that little bench up the stairs for a couple of weeks. Now, you\u2019re asking me…? ( sigh) Charley Hoffman is down to minus five. He\u2019s plus two today on his second round. He was the leader at minus seven yesterday. Garcia\u2019s making a move right now. McIlroy is making a move. You can\u2019t count out Phil Mickelson yet. So… You know, I think golf is impossible to predict.<\/p>\nIt doesn\u2019t matter what somebody did last week. It doesn\u2019t matter what roll they\u2019re on. That\u2019s the thing about this game. In a team sport, when a team\u2019s on a roll, you have a little bit more data and comfort in predicting whether the roll\u2019s gonna continue, whether the team is playing well and who the opponent is. But the golf course is the opponent. It changes every round in terms of wind and weather and so forth. And your game is never the same two days in a row. It\u2019s almost impossible to handicap and predict.<\/p>\n
Without seeing…You know, Saturday\u2019s moving day. That\u2019s the day that you\u2019re really getting a feeling for who\u2019s playing well; who moves up on Saturday after the cut today. But names that you know are consistently there. Garcia, although he fades — Sergio Garcia — McIlroy, Rickie Fowler. And Hoffman, if he could maintain — which he hasn\u2019t done so far from the way he was playing yesterday. Anything… It could well be somebody that hasn\u2019t won this thing before, too, so that will make it rather exciting. I have played Augusta National… Let\u2019s see, how many times? Played it five times.<\/p>\n
CALLER: What were you most struck by the first time you played it?<\/p>\n
RUSH: The topography. The thing that television does not show you is how steep the hills on this golf course are. When you tee off on number 10, you are going downhill almost to the point you need a sled. It is that steep. TV can\u2019t show you. It\u2019s two dimensional. The fairway, the 18th hole? You better make sure your heart\u2019s in good condition if you\u2019re gonna walk that hill. It is… The elevation\u2019s like 10, 11 degrees. It\u2019s steep! In no way does television even get close to portraying that. That was the first thing that struck me about the place. The next thing that struck me was how immaculate it is.<\/p>\n
It looks painted. The fairways, the greens. It\u2019s immaculate. It doesn\u2019t look like there is one blade of grass out of place, not properly trimmed or mowed, dead. It\u2019s stunning. You really feel like you\u2019re in hallowed ground, and you don\u2019t want your round to end because you don\u2019t want to have to leave the place. You don\u2019t care how well you play the first time. Second, third time, then you say, “Okay, now I want to play well. I\u2019ve gotten being here out of my system. Now I want to…” It\u2019s difficult as hell. It\u2019s so much more difficult than it even looks on TV. Because when you see it on TV professionals are playing, and they always make it look easy. But there\u2019s no other place like it. Nowhere, anywhere.<\/p>\n
BREAK TRANSCRIPT<\/p>\n
RUSH: If you play golf, and if you\u2019ve always wanted to go to Augusta National, I\u2019ll just tell you this: When you get there, it is everything and more that you hope it will be. The people there are everything and more. They make everybody there feel very special.<\/p>\n
BREAK TRANSCRIPT<\/p>\n
RUSH: The Official Program Observer, Mr. Snerdley, has a question. What is the question? (interruption) No, you… (interruption) No.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s asking, “How do you get to play at Augusta?” You must be invited by a member. You can\u2019t walk on. You can\u2019t get through the gate. That place has White House-type security there. You can\u2019t get in it. You have to be accompanied by a guest. I\u2019ll just tell you the first time I went. I was invited by a club officer. It was an invitation that surprised the heck out of me, because the club officer was known. I\u2019m not gonna mention his name now because Augusta\u2019s a very… They\u2019re a behind-a-gates kind of club. And it was fascinating.<\/p>\n
A, I was stunned to get the invitation, and I was allowed to bring two friends. And then they paired us with the club pro. And that was the foursome. And they invited us in the night before, and we stayed in the cabin occupied by this club officer, and he hosted us for dinner in the club dining room. You should have seen that when we walked in. This was back in 2000, 2001. But this club officer was an amazing guy. You know, Augusta has not a lot of rules, but they\u2019re very strictly enforced. And the way this guy…<\/p>\n