Oh my Masters! What a week.

“The moments that I’ve allowed – or forced – myself to stop, to rest, to breathe, to connect. That's where life is, I’m finding. That's where grace is. That's where delight is.” - Shauna Niequist

Oh my goodness, what a week!

I am still processing every little bit of being at the Masters at August National this past Sunday ~ while also getting ready for lots of fun coming up here at the shop in Thomasville.

I appreciated all the responses to my request for Masters tips a few weeks ago! Thank you so much.

We felt fully prepared and were blessed to have great hosts in our dear friends, Karen and Hadley, who knew the best places to sit, eat, and watch on Masters Sunday.

Augusta National sure does know how to treat their patrons for a beautiful experience!

Here are my quick takeaways from our amazing day at the Masters (saving the best for last):

1. The communication ahead of time with clear expectations for everything from parking to etiquette was priceless.

2. Their branding and marketing is amazing! There are no outside sponsors, so everything is streamlined and beautiful. Of course, their merch is to die for! I myself snagged both a "Pimento" and an "Azalea" hat, and Chris got an "Amen Corner" hat (which I promptly stole and put on, hee hee).

3. On a related note, THE GNOMES! What is it about the gnomes? We got up at 4 am to get to the parking lot by 6:15 am to get in line for the gate opening at 7 am. We were in the 5th "wave" of people into the gate (everyone was so polite and the attendants kept us entertained and informed as to what to do the whole way) ~ so we arrived at the pro shop at 7:20 am. AND WE JUST MISSED the opportunity to buy a just-sold-out 2026 gnome. We consoled ourselves with a less-coveted mini gnome.

4. Etiquette, etiquette, etiquette: no running, hats facing forward at all times, no shouting at inappropriate times, etc. We could leave our chairs with our possessions on them at Hole 16 and walk the course knowing that no one would touch them. Oh, my goodness, how lovely!

5. And my biggest takeaway: no phones or cameras allowed. Being unplugged all day and the effect it had on our experience was honestly life-changing. Every single one of the 40,000 patrons was fully present and, as I mentioned above, courteous and friendly. We all actually TALKED to each other ~ even relied on each other. In our section at Hole 16, the two leaderboards in view (changed by hand, not digitally, by the way) were just far enough away not to read clearly. A young man in our section had binoculars and he kindly kept us all updated. We were in it together!

We met folks from all over, including New Zealand and Wales. Everyone was in a good mood. Of course, the course itself was perfect. And we all enjoyed witnessing history: Rory McIlroy winning back-to-back titles, only the fourth ever to do so.

Also, Thomasville's own golfer, Mason Howell, the reigning US Amateur champion, was paired with Rory for the first two rounds on Thursday and Friday, a dream he's had for 10 years, since he was a wee lad of 8 years old.

Therefore, every person who asked where we were from knew of Thomasville because of Mason's impressive presence. So fun!

Even if you are not a golf fan, I highly recommend putting the Masters on your bucket list for the whole patron experience!

I'd love to hear your take on attending the Masters if you have done so. I'd also love to know what other major events we need to put on our bucket list (Kentucky Derby? Wimbledon?). Email me at amy@thehareandthehart.com.

xo,