By J.Ben Haynes | Staff writer
As one of the most exclusive and prestigious events in the world of sports, the Masters golf tournament provides students at Augusta University numerous opportunities that no other students in the country have.
For several AU students, that unique opportunity was to “run” chairs into Augusta National Golf Club when the gates open at 7:00 a.m., Thursday through Sunday.
The catch is that they cannot actually run on the grounds of Augusta National but instead must do their best speed walk.
The moment the gates open, chaos ensues as thousands of patrons rush their chairs to their desired spots on the course.
“It’s such a crazy adrenaline rush,” said senior Zach Kwiatkowski. “You’re in a tight crowd having to shoulder check people just for a place to put your chair.”
As one of the most prestigious and secure sporting events in the world, it’s remarkable how early patrons will get to the gates in an attempt to be the first people on the grounds.
“We would try to get to the gate by 2:30 a.m. every morning so that we were at the front of the line,” said senior Josh Green, “and there were a couple times where we still weren’t the first ones there.”
For those that have not seen the art of the “chair run” at Augusta National, you can watch the video below.
“It was an exhausting four days,” said Kwiatkowski. “But if I could experience it all again, I would.”
Contact J. Ben Haynes at jamhaynes@augusta.edu.
Top of screen: Patron chairs at the Masters Tournament (Photo via Masters.com).
