talk birdie to me
for those of you who don't necessarily pay close attention to my instastories, you may not have known that i am a huge golf nerd...as in i literally play whenever i can and am even considering going to a golf camp for a weekend to master my game! but aside from that, i think we can all imagine how i reacted when i was given the opportunity to attend one of the practice rounds of the grand-daddy of all golf tournaments: the masters!
hot off the heels of my relaxing vacation in naples, i headed right to augusta, georgia where the annual tournament is held. even though i was only in the city for a few hours, it was jam packed with excitement! one perk of attending the practice rounds versus the actual tournament days is that you can bring your camera! although cell phones are never allowed so don't even try to bring them in (but they do have a little cell phone check in case you forget the super important rule)! i kept my camera accessories modest by only bringing my 50mm lens and trying to keep things low-key but there were people who brought massive telephoto lenses (aka the ones that you see on the sidelines of nfl games). although i could have brought my entire arsenal of lenses and used them all, i was so happy i kept things light because the walk to and inside the course was insane! thank goodness i wore my comfy oxfords (that helped me survive mykonos last year!) so there was no complaining on my end! and while i may have opted for a little more fashionable shoe choice, most people chose either golf or tennis shoes, which made sense given the extensive amount of walking we had to do!
after getting past the intense security, we headed straight to the gift shop (duh). i picked up a couple hats for my friend elle who is also an avid golfer and a few comfy sweatshirts for myself! the line to get into the shop was long but it moved very quickly as the inside of the shop mimicked an assembly line. i can only imagine, though, how ridiculous the lines are during the actual tournament days versus the practice rounds! one thing to note about the masters merchandise is that it's not available online and you have to be at the tournament to purchase their products! great incentive on behalf of the masters if you ask me!
once we had the goods, it is a tradition to get a cheese sandwich for lunch from the concession stand...costing a whopping $1.50. yes you read that correctly...one dollar and fifty cents! i wanted to stock up on a few more for the plane ride back to michigan too haha! we grabbed our sandwiches in a similar assembly line-like fashion with chips and a soda to accompany them and sat outside on the patio tables. thank goodness the heat wasn't too severe so we stayed and relaxed before beginning my stalking...err i mean watching of jordan spieth.
we decided to walk the back nine of the course and to say this course was the most beautiful i have ever seen would be an understatement! the greens were perfectly manicured and the flowers were at their peak blooming which resulted in phenomenal photos! while walking, we saw countless players. from tiger woods on the practice range, to dustin johnson, and of course the dreamiest jordan spieth, these players were absolutely incredible. to see how fast and far they hit the balls will forever be mind-boggling to me!
i was so thankful to spend even just a few hours on one of the most famous golf courses in the world at one of the most (arguably the most) famous tournaments! fingers crossed i can go again next year!
dress: kate spade (also love the shirt version here)
shoes: chanel (old, found them in black here and love these)
bag: saint laurent
bracelets: cartier
sunglasses: givenchy
