The marble foyer is polished to perfection and crystal chandeliers dangle above spotless carpets in the posh Bobby Jones Pavilion -- the main party room at the reincarnated Augusta restaurant called The Clubhouse.
All in all, owner Greg Bell hopes it will be a perfect Masters Tournament season this year.
``Yes, we are doing hospitality this year,'' said Mr. Bell, president of Greensport, an Anderson, Ind., corporation. ``It's going fairly well, although we have to work with what happened last year.''
Mr. Bell and partner Gary Thornhill bought the ill-fated Clubhouse on July 1 and have worked diligently to shake the tragic image left behind last year.
One of the previous owners, ticket broker Allen Caldwell III of Martinez, renovated the former Green Jacket restaurant and opened The Clubhouse before committing suicide during Masters Week in 1997.
Since Mr. Caldwell's death, his former business partner in The Clubhouse -- BLP Inc. of Atlanta, owned by Englishman Brendan Lillis -- has worked to regain its reputation, including selling its share in The Clubhouse to repay vendors. Mr. Caldwell and Mr. Lillis, through another Lillis enterprise called World Golf Hospitality of Atlanta, entertained corporate clients at The Clubhouse during the 1997 Masters.
World Golf still intends to entertain at The Clubhouse, now operated by Greensport.
``We are focusing on being very much scaled back this year,'' Mr. Lillis said, without disclosing the number of guests.
Greensport investors want to make sure the community knows they aren't in business with The Clubhouse's former owners, Mr. Bell said.
``This is a new venture for us, and we're very excited about the banquet and corporate meeting business,'' Mr. Bell said. ``We hope people understand we're new owners and we have nothing to do with the owners of last year.''
Greensport, composed of investors who bought The Clubhouse, has no experience in the hospitality industry and owns no other holdings, Mr. Bell said. ``This is our first venture into the hospitality business,'' he said.
He hopes to capitalize on The Clubhouse's location on Washington Road -- almost directly across from the famed magnolia-lined lane leading to Augusta National Golf Club. In its earlier life, the building housed the Green Jacket, a landmark restaurant dating to the 1970s widely known for steaks and salads.
This year, Mr. Bell is hoping to rekindle the fondness once shown for the building -- this time by selling all 30 hospitality tables available for rent during Masters Week.
``This is where we try to make our money,'' he said. Hospitality tables this year cost $15,000 for the week. That's less than last year's prices, which topped out at $25,000 per table.
``We're trying to introduce ourselves,'' Mr. Bell said. ``We can also negotiate for shorter packages and evening rentals for less money. We're really flexible this year because we're new.''
For $15,000, corporate clients -- many of them upper-end executives and their clients and guests -- get a week of hospitality and services including food, beverages, entertainment and other perks. And they get a prestigious place to hang out during Masters Week.
Greensport is offering The Clubhouse as an executives' business center with drinks and food, a fax machine and even a secretary to type up a quick letter or memo.
There will be errand-runners available to dash out to buy souvenirs and mementos so visiting executives won't have to wait or haul around Augusta National shirts or highball glasses.
``The people who tend to come into this don't easily walk away from their business for the week, and they don't like standing in line,'' Mr. Bell said. ``So we want to provide everything they will need.''
Because Augusta National is a private club, corporations aren't allowed to offer hospitality booths or tables on the club grounds during Masters Week. So scores of companies offer hospitality at various locations across the Augusta area, mainly at rented homes at Jones Creek Country Club in Evans and West Lake Country Club in Martinez.
One item visitors often need -- but which The Clubhouse will not provide -- is Masters Tournament admission badges. Last year, Mr. Caldwell's failure to acquire enough badges to satisfy client bookings led to his death.
``We're not in the badge business, and that has hurt us somewhat this year,'' Mr. Bell said. Clients wanting tournament badges, he added, are being referred to professional ticket brokers.
Walter C. Jones of Morris News Service contributed to this article.
Owners give Clubhouse new image