TEE-TIME TALES: The lengths to which greenkeepers go to keep Augusta pristine and rich advice from a three-time champion – while caddie raises eyebrows

Published on: April 10, 2025

Golf’s first major of the year got underway in fine fashion on Thursday afternoon
The course was in pristine condition, while one star’s caddie left fans curious

By MIKE KEEGAN

The lengths to which greenkeepers go to keep Augusta pristine have few limits.

Eagle-eyed observers have noticed fairway mowers here feature a curious addition in the shape of a tennis ball attached to a piece of string. The reason? Mowers go out in lines and if your colleague in front has a problem — dripping oil or anything damaging the course — you throw the tennis ball to alert them.

The cutting stops until the problem is fixed.

Another curious feature here are the banks of landline telephones, which are popular given mobiles are barred.

The lengths to which greenkeepers go to keep Augusta pristine have few limits

Gary Player, meanwhile, thinks he has the answer to the secret to defying age in the sport

Ignore the ‘c**p’

What is the secret to defying age? Gary Player thinks he has the answer.

The three-time Masters champion was asked when he last ate fast food following Tiger Woods’ admission that he had dined at Arby’s every night on the way to winning in 1997. ‘Well, you don’t reach 90 if you eat a bunch of c**p,’ explained the forthright South African, who will celebrate his landmark birthday in November.

‘I want to live to 100 because I love people. I love golf. I just love life. I’ve got a young girlfriend. I’ve changed my life. How about that, at 90, finding a girlfriend!’

Keegan Bradley’s caddie, Scotty Vail, raised eyebrows with his white boiler suit, which left much of his chest exposed

Button up!

Eyebrows were raised on opening day by the plunging neckline of Keegan Bradley’s caddie, Scotty Vail.

The bagman for the Ryder Cup captain had several buttons undone on his white boiler suit, leaving much of his hirsute chest exposed. Bradley has one of the heaviest bags in the game and, given the unrelenting hills of Augusta, perhaps Vail was trying to make a point under sunny skies.

Following last year’s tournament, he posted on social media: ‘Thankful to be done for the week… body couldn’t take one more day!’