The Masters Golf Tournament gets underway on Thursday and the fine Masters website is streaming video of the practice range so that we can watch the pros hit the rock pile in preparation for the tournament. And the NY Times chimes in with this profile on new Augusta National Golf Club chairman Billy Payne. Finally, Golf Digest has its typically thorough preview of the tournament here.
But the prestige of The Masters is simply a signal for Scottish golf writer John Huggan to tweak the controversial changes that have been made to the hallowed course over the past several years:

In what is nothing less than a direct and disrespectful contravention of [Augusta National course designer Alistar] Mackenzie’s and [Augusta National founder Bobby] Jones’ original and delightful philosophy, the Augusta National that will this week host the world’s best golfers resembles nothing more than just another one-dimensional country club. Aerial photographs published in the April issue of Golf Digest graphically portray the tragedy that is the modern Augusta National. In place of what were once spacious and tightly cut fairways, rough has been grown and trees have been planted. What was once the most democratic of courses — one that allowed every standard of player to figure out his own way of playing each hole — has become a golfing Zimbabwe, a misguided dictatorship that has all but eliminated freedom of thought and expression.

Huggan is just getting warmed up, so read the entire article. Huggan better watch it or he will end up at the same place as CBS golf announcer Gary McCord during Master’s week.