By David Westin
Chronicle Staff Writer
Magnolia Lane is such a famous stretch of road that it sometimes has trouble living up to its reputation.
The first time Tiger Woods drove down the road, as a 19-year-old amateur in 1995, he expressed surprise that it wasn't longer.
Other golfers, such as former Masters participant Fulton Allem, don't look at Magnolia Lane so literally. They know what the road means figuratively.
"When you cross those magnolias, your hair stands up," Allem said. "It happens to everyone. And the person who combs his hair best, wins the Masters."
For the record, Magnolia Lane is approximately 250 yards long and is flanked on both sides by a total of 60 magnolia trees.
From the entrance to Magnolia Lane, located off Washington Road, the road leads directly to the Augusta National clubhouse.
Magnolia Lane dates to pre-Civil War days. Originally, the 365-acre property that it led to was an indigo plantation. In 1857, Baron Louis Mathieu Edouard Berckmans purchased the property and turned it into Fruitlands Nurseries, one of the first commercial nurseries in the country.
When Berckmans died in 1910, the nursery ceased operations and the trade name was sold.
In 1930, a group of five men, including Clifford Roberts and Bobby Jones, purchased the property.
In his book, The Story of the Augusta National Golf Club, Roberts wrote that Magnolia Lane at the time was "said to be the finest thing of its kind" and that the road served as a "most impressive entrance" to the club.
See a virtual-reality panorama of Magnolia Lane.
|
See a VR of the landmark!
See a larger view of the photo!