By Marc Lawrence

Friday, April 10

HANG IT UP ALREADY

Many myths stem from Augusta's obsession with perfection and privacy—making the place feel almost too pristine to be real.

So much so that Augusta National is serious about its no-phones policy, and not even former major champions are immune. 

According to a report in Golfweek, Mark Calcavecchia, the 1989 Open champion, was escorted from Augusta National by security in a phone-related incident.

Calcavecchia, like most major winners, is invited to Augusta National every year as an “honorary invitee.” He won the 1989 Open Championship and played in 18 Masters, most recently in 2008. His best finish was a solo second in 1988.

“I’ve got nothing negative to say about Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters, so I think we should literally hang up right now,” Calcavecchia told a reporter for Golfweek, and then proceeded to end the call.

Stories abound of Masters patrons who have run afoul of Augusta National’s cell phone ban.

In 2011, a journalist stepped outside the media center to take a call and was immediately asked to leave.

He was fortunate; his ban only lasted the rest of the day. For others, the ban lasts a lifetime.

Offenders are taken to a building painted dark green, so unlike the stately white cottages that Augusta National officials want the world to see on TV every April, it blends into the background. Parked nearby is a mobile command truck for the Georgia state police, the kind of vehicle you find at major crime scenes.

This, according to a Georgia county sheriff stationed at Gate 6A, is where the worst scofflaws at the Masters are taken. They are escorted inside the building, where a security official fills out an incident report and confiscates the badge that admits them to the course. They are then escorted off the premises.

Forever.

"The green jackets don't care," said the sheriff.

"They tell us to rip off their badges and bring them there, and if they won't come, that's fine, too. They just take the number on the badge and that's it”.

They're banned for life.

Which gives pause to the question: What’s the penalty for walking too briskly on the grounds, or ordering a sandwich that isn't a pimento cheese or egg salad?"

FYI: In case you didn’t know, there are still banks of courtesy pay phones (landlines) available on the grounds at Augusta National during the Masters. (See phot atop this page). They serve as the official alternative to the strict no-cell-phone policy. Patrons can use them for free to call anywhere in the world - no coins or payment needed.