As Urban Meyer turned onto Magnolia Lane after being invited to play Augusta National in the mid-2000s, his mind drifted back to his childhood in Ashtabula, Ohio. Growing up, the Meyer family didn’t religiously follow golf, but each April there was one event Bud Meyer watched with his son.
“My father and I never missed watching Sunday at Augusta,” Meyer said. “The first time I was invited to play Augusta National, I teared up driving down Magnolia Lane. It brought back all the memories with my father.”
Meyer, who has won three college football national championships (Florida 2006, 2008 and Ohio State 2014), was first invited to play Augusta National as a guest of member Lou Holtz. After teeing off on No. 1, Meyer and Holtz saw a golf cart driving toward the fairway.
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“So we’re on No. 1 fairway and Jim Nantz shows up on a golf cart,” Meyer said. “He followed us for four holes. Nantz, us and Augusta – it was pretty surreal.”
A few years passed without Meyer returning to Augusta National, when his phone rang in 2009. The Gators had recently captured the 2008 BCS Championship and a University of Florida graduate wanted to congratulate the coach on the victory.
“We win the national championship and I get a phone call from Fred Ridley — a friend of mine,” Meyer said of the now-Chairman of the Masters Tournament and Augusta National Golf Club. “Fred says, ‘I have great news for you. As a gift for the championship, we’re going to invite you and Tommy Shannon to Augusta.’”
Shannon quarterbacked Florida from 1962-64, and later became principal owner of Outback Steakhouses in California. Meyer, Ridley and Shannon were nearing the end of their round when Florida’s football coach found a wooden bench on Augusta National’s second nine and sat down. Meyer gazed at his playing partners, then spoke from the heart.
“I’ll never forget what he said,” Shannon recalled. “Urban looks up and goes, ‘I would rather be here with you people, at this location, on this day, than anywhere else on earth.’ It almost brought me to my knees. It was an incredible moment. That’s a statement you don’t say often. You look at your wife and say it when she gives birth to your child — you say it in moments like that. It was such a sincere ‘thank you’ from Urban to Fred. I was just a victim of circumstance. I happened to be there.”
During his visit with Ridley, Meyer stayed in Butler Cabin and also played the Par 3 course. His highlight was a birdie on the famous par-3 No. 12.
“I remember looking outside my room and seeing the fireplace where the green jacket ceremony takes place,” Meyer said. “Playing with a guy like Fred Ridley was incredible. It was an experience I’ll never forget.”
Nick Saban’s round that got away
Six National Championships. Eight SEC titles. Two Walter Camp Coach of the Year awards.
But once, on a spring afternoon at Augusta National Golf Club, Nick Saban did the unthinkable — he choked.
Since arriving at Alabama in 2007, Saban has annually been invited to play Augusta National. He admits to still getting butterflies on Magnolia Lane and plainly states, “Augusta National is my favorite place to play in the world.”
“When you walk in, you really wouldn’t know if you’re in 1940, 1960, 1980 or 2010,” Saban said. “There’s such a tradition that it’s almost eerie — in a good way.”
During his rounds at Augusta National, Saban’s achieved moments of greatness. On No. 3, he once short-sided himself on the left side. The pin was five paces onto the green, leaving Saban facing his kryptonite: an uphill chip.
“Ask any of our Alabama golf guys,” Saban said. “I love to practice at the (Jerry Pate (Golf Center) and they’ll tell you I’m the worst chipper in the world. I really am.”
Saban addressed his ball at the bottom of the hill and elected to play a flop shot. The ball landed gently, stopped next to the hole, and led to a tap-in par save.
“It was the hardest shot ever,” said Saban, laughing.
With a front pin location on No. 4, Saban hit his tee shot to the back edge of the green. His caddie pointed toward a spot 10 feet left of the hole and told Saban, “Pretend you’re stopping it here.”
Saban struck the putt, watched as it nearly halted, then regained traction toward the cup.
“I felt like I was putting to Atlanta,” he said. “The damn thing went down the hill, took about three minutes to get there, and dropped for a birdie.”
Those are Saban’s favorite shots at Augusta National. Neither, however, compare to what occurred five years ago. Prior to arriving in Augusta, Saban admits he was playing the best golf of his life. He was a regular at the Pate Center, and had his game readied for one of the toughest tests in golf.
Through 16 holes, Saban appeared unflappable. He was five-over par and seemed destined to break 80 for the first time at Augusta National.
“I par No. 16, and a voice comes from the group,” Saban said. “I don’t know if it was a caddie or a person keeping score, but they say, ‘You have a chance to break 80. All you have to do is bogey these last two holes.’”
With the outcome in mind, Saban double-bogeyed No. 17. He double-bogeyed 18. He shot 81.
“It was a major league choke,” Saban said.
In the years since, Saban has used his Augusta collapse as an example to his players in Tuscaloosa.
“When you start thinking about the outcome, it’s a distraction on what you have to do to get the outcome,” he said. “That was so true that day.”
