The Masters Has Many Traditions That Make It Quirky and Unusual

Read more: Concession prices at the Masters are still ridiculously cheap

Source: NYT

Read more: The Masters golf tournament bans cell phones and that rule is not going to change anytime soon

There has been one deer sighting in the last 65 years and visitors often talk of never seeing a single squirrel.

Source: NYT

Bird sounds are heard during television broadcasts, but there is a rumor that those sounds are artificial.

"Also, there are no birds, squirrels, insects or any other living creature indigenous to planet earth at the Masters. Nowhere on the property. Well, okay, there must be some somewhere. But the Post's Dave Sheinin and I made a multi-day quest for a single bird sighting. So far, none. Those bird calls that you sometimes hear on the Masters broadcast? The source remains undiscovered." — Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post.

Augusta National insists that all birds are real and native to the area.

Golf Digest tested the water on one hole in 1996 and found food dye.

Source: Golf Digest

The players, though, don't like to talk about it because it is forbidden.

In 2011, Monte Burke of Forbes interviewed golfers about the best fishing spots on the PGA Tour. When Augusta was brought up, he described their responses as "squeamish" and they only admitted to hearing there were some good spots.

A former caddie was willing to tell Burke that the best spots are the creek in front of the 12th hole ("full of bream"; seen above) and the pond at the 16th hole ("brimming with bass").

For a long time, there was a legend of a single palm tree on the Augusta National Golf Club. It was said to be hidden by larger trees on the fourth hole and only golfers who hit a terrible shot into the woods had seen it. But when the fourth hole was lengthened, many trees were removed and now the palm has been revealed and is featured on the hole now.

When the change was made in 2019, Fred Couples went to visit his "secret" tree.

"First thing I did today was walk to the fourth green," Couples told Golf Digest. "I did that because the palm tree is visible. Once upon a time, while chasing misdirected shots, my buddy Tom Callahan and I noticed a palm tree hidden in a forest to the right of the fourth green. Research showed that it was the one and only palm tree on the property. We thought of it as our secret."

Source: ESPN

They are to be called "patrons." In fact, weekly passes to the Masters are called "patron badges."

Source: The Age

Source: SI

Players still must use local caddies if they play at Augusta outside of Masters week.

Source: ESPN

Source: NYT

Patrons can also arrive early, stake a claim to a small plot of land on the course, place their chair, and then wander around the course without losing their spot. Most own the official green Masters chair which goes for $30 in the shop. There is also an unwritten rule that it is acceptable to sit in an unoccupied chair as long as you are willing to move when the owner returns.

Augusta National holds an "Appreciation Day" after the tournament when all volunteers get to play the course.

Augusta is its own universe with a tenuous connection to the outside world (see: all the ridiculous anecdotes in this slideshow).

But WWII affected Augusta just like it did the rest of the country. During the war, Augusta didn't have the manpower to maintain the course, so they set 200 cattle loose on the grounds in hopes that they would "trim" the grass by eating it.

Unfortunately, it backfired as the grass was not being replanted and the cows turned to the azaleas and bark of young trees.

The idea is that this will keep the plants from flowering too soon before the tournament.

Read more: This year's Masters may help disprove a bizarre conspiracy theory about the tournament and its flowers

Read more: Augusta family next to Masters golf course keeps turning down millions for their 1,900-square-foot house

It's nearly impossible to become a member at Augusta.

You have to be nominated by a current Augusta member, and new initiations generally aren't accepted unless someone quits or dies. The total membership hovers around 300.

After that, their jacket can only be worn when they are at Augusta National.

Read more: Tiger Woods did not win a fifth green jacket for his victory at the Masters

Past winners who get a lifetime invitation to compete in the Masters are not taking spots from younger, more deserving players.

Read more: How to qualify for the Masters, the world's most prestigious golf tournament

Golf cart drivers who are hired to drive the players around Augusta National also pick up the golfers at the airport in the Mercedes they will be using. The cars also have a number in the back window so that employees can always identify the players by which car they are in.

Read more: What it's like to drive Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, and other pro golfers around at the Masters, according to one woman who did it

Getting a patron badge is a lot like Green Bay Packers season tickets. There is a waiting list and it has been closed since 2000. A limited number of single-day tickets are sold via lottery each year. Those are $140 for the tournament rounds and $100 for practice rounds.

Read more: Masters tickets are cheap for a major sporting event, but only the Super Bowl is harder to get into

Twenty-four people were arrested outside Augusta in 2012 for trying to scalp tickets.

The course is strict about who it lets into the tournament and it's illegal to sell tickets within 2,700 feet of the gates.

In 2012, Clayton Baker made headlines when he made a quick run to a bunker to get some sand to take home. He was quickly arrested and thrown in jail. The charges were ultimately dropped, but he says the incident cost him $20,000 and led to depression because of how he was treated.

Read more: A man who was arrested for taking sand from the Masters recounted how it cost him $20,000 and left him 'seriously depressed'

Read more: The Masters' new pro shop at Augusta National will make any golf fan drool

Read next