Augusta National
Yucatan National
The Augusta National Golf Club gets all of the accolades and notoriety, and rightly so, but the reality is that many of Augusta’s traditions and design features were borrowed from Yucatan National in Mexico’s Quintana Roo region of the Yucatan Peninsula. Site of the Mexican Mini-tour’s biggest event, the Yucatan Masters.
It’s well known by most golf historians that Bobby Jones traveled to the Yucatan on several occasions for Spring Break with his home boys from Georgia Tech in the early 1920’s. While there, aside from doing Peyote and playing shirtless 2-man beach volleyball, the young ‘Squire’ fell in love with Yucatan National and vowed to one day emulate it.
Ever since I made the cut in the 1991 Yucatan Masters, I have became the ‘de facto’ historian of the event, similar to the way Ben Crenshaw has for the U.S. Masters. Let’s look at some parallels.
Origins
Augusta National was built on the site of an old orchard and each golf hole is named after a tree or plant that once grew there.
Yucatan National was built on the site of an old whorehouse and each golf hole is named after a prostitute that once worked there. (commemorative hole pins for both golf course shown below)
Augusta commemorative hole pins
Yucatan commemorative hole pins
Landmarks
The Hogan Bridge celebrates the accomplishments of the two-time Masters champion, Ben Hogan.
The El Calderone Bridge celebrates the 1929 Yucatan champion, who admitted in his 1944 auto-biography that he blatantly cheated throughout the event.
The Hogan Bridge
El Calderone’s Bridge
Traditions
Notice the eery similarities in the camaraderie of the cocktail hour just before the annual Champions Dinner.
4-time Masters champion Arnold Palmer (left) with Chairman Hootie Johnson
Two-time Yucatan champion Manuel “Ray Ray” Reynoso (right) with Chairman Tuco Torres
Famous Hole Stretches
Augusta is known for “Amen Corner” which represents the approach on 11 through the tee ball on 13. Yucatan National’s famous stretch is dubbed “Maria’s Vagina” which is highlighted by a 190 meter forced carry over a giant crevasse on the Par 4 15th.
Amen Corner
Maria’s Vagina
Cabins
Similar to the world famous Butler cabin, the Yucatan Masters holds their winner’s ceremony in the Mario Lopez Cabin (renamed in 1996 after the Mexican born ‘Saved By the Bell’ star).
Butler Cabin
Lopez Cabin
