The Masters is the only men’s major championship always played at the same course: the legendary Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia. That means players aren’t just competing against each other, they’re battling the exact same fairways and greens year after year.

The tournament was founded in 1934 by amateur legend Bobby Jones and businessman Clifford Roberts after Jones retired and decided to build his dream course from scratch.

Before it was called the Masters, the inaugural 1934 event had the much longer name “Augusta National Invitation Tournament.”

The winner’s prize isn’t just money. It’s the famous green jacket in Pantone 342C, nicknamed “Augusta Green.” Champions must return it to the clubhouse after one year, even though it technically belongs to them.

If a golfer wins multiple times, he doesn’t get a closet full of jackets. He continues wearing the same one from his first victory unless it needs to be refitted.

The exclusive Champions Dinner began in 1952 thanks to Ben Hogan. Only past champions and select club members are invited, making it one of the most elite dinner parties in sports.

Every Masters begins with honorary tee shots from legendary golfers, a tradition that has featured icons such as Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, and Gary Player.

Since 1960, a relaxed Par 3 Contest has been held the day before the tournament starts. Winning that contest is widely considered a curse, since no player has ever won both it and the Masters in the same year.

The course opened in 1933 on land that was once an indigo plantation and later a plant nursery. Augusta’s famous flowers aren’t just decoration, they’re part of its roots.

The first Masters winner, Horton Smith, earned $1,500 in 1934. Today, the prize fund is $21 million.

In 1935, Gene Sarazen hit the legendary “shot heard ’round the world,” holing out from the fairway for a double eagle on the 15th hole to force a playoff he would go on to win.

The tournament wasn’t played from 1943 to 1945 because of World War II. During that time, cattle and turkeys were raised on the course to support the war effort.

From 1960 to 1978, the Masters was dominated by Palmer, Player, and Nicklaus, who combined for 11 wins and became known as “The Big Three.”

Nicklaus holds the record for most Masters victories with six, including his stunning 1986 win at age 46, making him the oldest champion in tournament history.

Tiger Woods became the youngest Masters champion in 1997 at age 21, winning by an astonishing 12 strokes and rewriting the record books.

Woods later completed the “Tiger Slam” at Augusta in 2001 by winning his fourth consecutive major championship. It wasn’t in a single calendar year, but it was still an extraordinary run.

Gary Player became the first non-American to win the Masters in 1961, proving Augusta was no longer just an American stage.

In 1968, Roberto De Vicenzo signed an incorrect scorecard that cost him a chance at a playoff, leading to his famous remark, “What a stupid I am.”

In 1975, Lee Elder became the first African American to compete in the Masters, a landmark moment in the tournament’s history.

Seve Ballesteros became the first European winner in 1980, ushering in a new wave of international champions.

Greg Norman endured one of the most dramatic stretches of near misses at Augusta, including losing a six-shot lead in 1996 in what remains one of golf’s most painful collapses.

In 1995, Ben Crenshaw won just days after his mentor passed away and said afterward, “I had a 15th club in my bag,” a poetic nod to carrying his mentor’s spirit with him.

Left-handers have built a surprising legacy at Augusta, with champions like Phil Mickelson and Bubba Watson proving the course doesn’t favor just one swing style.

Mike Weir became the first Canadian to win a men’s major when he captured the Masters in 2003.

Adam Scott became the first Australian to win the Masters in 2013, sealing the victory in a playoff under fading light.

The 2020 Masters was postponed to November because of the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the rare times the tournament wasn’t played in its traditional April slot.

Augusta National did not admit its first female members until 2012, when Condoleezza Rice and Darla Moore joined the club.

Cell phones are strictly prohibited during the tournament, meaning patrons actually watch the golf without distractions.

Cameras are allowed only during practice rounds from Monday through Wednesday. Once tournament play begins on Thursday, photography is off limits.

Former President Dwight D. Eisenhower was a member of Augusta National and famously disliked a pine tree on the 17th hole, later nicknamed the “Eisenhower Tree.” It was ultimately removed in 2014 due to storm damage, not presidential frustration.

The Masters is as famous for its pimento cheese sandwiches as its golf, with concession prices historically kept surprisingly affordable compared to most major sporting events.

Nearly everything served at the tournament, from cups to sandwich wrappers, features Augusta’s signature green so litter blends into the landscape and doesn’t stand out on television broadcasts.

During practice rounds, players often try to skip golf balls across the pond on the 16th hole, a playful tradition that reportedly began in the 1980s and has since become a fan favorite.

The tournament even has its own theme song, “Augusta,” written by singer-songwriter Dave Loggins, which has opened Masters broadcasts since 1982.