Golf buddies make annual trip to Augusta

Denny Rundle thinks he knows the secret to playing golf in Augusta: Visit the week before the Masters Tour­na­ment.

Rundle, who played Augusta National Golf Club in 1986 at the invitation of a member, knows the local courses nearly as well as Augusta-area golfers do. The Garden City has served as the spring break golf destination for the Dodgeville, Wis., man and his friends for 35 years.

“We just like to see how Au­gus­ta is 51 weeks a year,” Rundle said.

During the week before the Masters, Rundle’s group plays 18 holes a day at area courses, including Forest Hills, Jones Creek, Bartram Trail, Aiken and The River golf clubs. The group comprises about 16 golfers each year. Because some members have stopped coming and new friends have joined, Rundle said, 126 golfers have experienced his pre-Masters Week golf trip.

“As far as golf destinations go, you have Myrtle Beach and Florida, but we think this is a hidden gem,” Rundle said.

Most years, Rundle and his friends don’t stay for the Mas­ters unless they score tickets to the practice rounds. Rundle arrived at Augusta National with friend Robert Ziegelbauer as the gates opened Wednesday.

Ziegelbauer, of Haven, Wis., met Rundle’s group during the 2004 PGA Cham­pionship at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wis. He was invited to join the group’s annual tradition.

“We’re fast friends now,” Ziegelbauer said. “The whole group is from everywhere, and it’s fun to be around them.”

By visiting Augusta before the Masters begins, the group avoids higher rates at hotels, higher greens fees at courses and crowded restaurants. Experiencing the “local feel” of Augusta beats out competing with thousands of golf fans who flood the city for the tournament, Rundle said.

Ziegel­bauer heads to Au­gus­ta each spring to enjoy its warmth after cold Wisconsin winters.

When he lands tickets to the practice rounds, he often spends more time examining the grounds crews and employees who handle logistics for the tournament than he does the world’s best golfers.

“It is one impressive place,” Ziegelbauer said. “You won’t find another like it.”