Georgia man reflects on attending 57 straight Masters

Herb Waterhouse saw Ben Hogan win his second Green Jacket, Sam Snead win his last, Arnold Palmer win all four of his and Jack Nicklaus win all six of his. Now 79, the Duluth, Ga., man recalls more than a half-century spent soaking up Augusta National's history and beauty.

By T.J. Auclair, PGA.com Interactive Producer

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- This year marks the 73rd playing of the Masters Tournament.

Herb Waterhouse, 79, has been here at Augusta National for the last 57 of them.

Talk about a tradition unlike any other.

Waterhouse, a native of Duluth, Ga., has been to every Masters since 1953 when he was 23 years old.

"Back then you walked up to a wooden box office and purchased a daily ticket," Waterhouse recalled on Thursday as he stood in front of the famous Masters scoreboard adjacent to the first fairway before heading to his seat behind the 18th green with his wife, Mildred, and grandson, Max, to take in the first round. "I remember the 1953 tournament vividly, seeing Ben Hogan win his second Masters beating Porky Oliver by five shots even though Oliver shot a 279, which would have won or tied all previous tournaments."

To put Waterhouse's incredible, more-than-half-century feat into perspective, consider this: along with Hogan, he's seen Sam Snead win the final of his three Masters in 1954; all four of Arnold Palmer's; all six of Jack Nicklaus'; two by Gary Player; all four of Tiger's; as well as multiple wins sprinkled in by the likes of Tom Watson, Seve Ballesteros, Ben Crenshaw and Phil Mickelson, among others.

When Waterhouse is asked to pick out one particular competitive Masters moment that stands out above the rest, he doesn't hesitate for a second.

"That's easy -- 1986 was the biggest thrill for me, because I pull for old folks," joked Waterhouse, referring to Nicklaus' sixth and final green jacket triumph when he became the oldest champion in tournament history at age 46. "I saw his 40-foot putt on 16 that year and it was a fantastic thing to see. That and his jump on 18."

Overall, Waterhouse says his greatest Masters delight, more so than the golf, has been sharing the experience with friends.

Waterhouse has been on the Masters patron list "forever," he says, and had four badges to his name, along with four from a business partner, until several years ago when the number of badges was reduced in order to shrink the ever-growing waiting list.

Even still, Waterhouse maintained two of his own badges and his business partner hadn't lost any, giving them six all together. Over the years, Waterhouse and his partner would rent a house in Augusta for the week and cycle business clients and friends in and out to get mileage out of the badges. After watching the golf all day, they would enjoy grilling steaks and sharing drinks each evening back at the house.

"Let me say this, my favorite thing about the Masters is to bring people that haven't been here before and watch them in awe as they move around the Augusta National version of the Garden of Eden," he says, smiling as he thinks back to those times. "My favorite trip in here was in 1972. I had three guests with me who had never been to the Masters. We parked on the back side, right by the fifth and sixth hole. We walked in and the first shot they saw was Charlie Coody acing the sixth. So they thought it was easy."

Once the business simmered down in the mid-1990s, Waterhouse began taking Mildred along for the trip to Augusta each spring.

"It's wonderful sharing the Masters experience with my devoted wife," he said. "She enjoys the golf and the beauty of the flowers. But her favorite part of Masters week are the many pimento cheese sandwiches she devours."

Getting around isn't so easy for Waterhouse these days. Because of a couple of bad knees -- one of which will be surgically replaced next Tuesday -- he walks with a cane and his viewing of the Masters is pretty much limited to a seating section behind the 18th green.

"Before my knees went bad, my favorite place to watch the tournament was on the hill at No. 15," he said. "You were within just a few steps to watch No. 13 and you could see 15 and 16 over the hill. That was a good place to spend some time. And early in the morning we'd walk over to No. 2 and sit on the hill over there and wear a pair of binoculars to watch them play that hole."

And what about the timing of the knee surgery?

"I'm getting the knee replaced next Tuesday," Waterhouse said. "The doctor wanted to do it this week and I said, 'No, sir. I've already got plans,' and he made it April 14th for me. I think about the Masters all the time and I always look forward to it."