Unlike golf's three other major championships, which are run by national organisations, the US Masters belongs to the members of one club - Augusta National in Georgia. The Club was the brainchild of two men. Bobby Jones, who retired from competition in 1930 after winning the 'old grand slam' (US Open, US Amateur, British Open and British Amateur) and Clifford Roberts, a Wall Street Banker and an acquaintance of Jones.

The Pair hired Dr Alister MacKenzie, a famous Scottish golf course architect, to design the layout, a task he started in the Spring of 1931. A year later the club opened. But unlike most clubs, where the majority of members live and work in close proximity to the course, the purpose of building Augusta National, as the name implies, was to invite members from all over the country. A kind of golfing retreat for the wealthy. The only local members were those brought in to help with the normal day-to-day administrative activities associated with most clubs. Thus the exclusive nature of Augusta National was born and by and large this atmosphere still exists today.

Most of these facts about the American Masters Golf Championships have been obtained from my copy of :

The Guinness Book of Golf - Facts and Feats

by Andrew Swales who is the golf statistician for Sky Sports

Anyone requiring a hard copy of results in the four majors, illustrated profiles of the all-time greats, then this is the book for you. Ideal for searching for elusive facts or simply for dipping into.