PAUL MCGINLEY was blown away by the attention to detail that makes the Masters so special.
And he revealed two secrets golf fans might not know about Augusta.
McGinley played in the Masters twice in his career, finishing T18 in 2002 on debut then missed the cut in 2006.
Now he heads to every April as part of Sky Sports’ coverage of the first major of the 2025 season.
And the former Ryder Cup captain cannot get over how it keeps on getting better and better – with .
McGinley, 58, told SunSport: “Augusta is the bar. Augusta is the leader in terms of agronomy, running a golf tournament, , everything.
“Augusta is the standard bearer for the game of .
“Every year you go back, something new happens that makes it work even more seamlessly.
“To give you an example, there is a merchandising area where you can buy beer and cold drinks. It's in the middle of the golf course. Historically, they needed refills during the day.
“So one off-season they built a huge refrigerated area underneath and then were able to bring all the drinks in overnight before the following day's play, kept them cool and minimised the numbers of carts driving down.
“Another thing is the merchandising tent, well it’s a building that has extended over the years.
“There are probably 40,000 patrons attending every day and everybody wants to buy merchandise because it’s the only place you can get stuff with the logo on it – they don’t have a shop and you can’t buy it online.
“Firstly, they don't rip you off with the prices. They're very moderate prices. They're really good quality. There is always a queue, it’s like a line at Disney.
“But then you get to the checkout and pay. Then you move to the next counter.
“That's UPS or FedEx and you just give your address. They take all of the stuff from you and ship it that night.
“So by the time you come back from Augusta, all your stuff is back in your house and you don't have to lug it around the golf course during the day.”;
McGinley vowed he would not go to Augusta until he qualified in his own right.
And when did so, he made sure to get their early, checking in first out of the entire field to secure the No2 on his caddy’s boiler suit – with No1 reserved for the defending champion.
But nothing could fully prepare him for the .
McGinley added: “I was so excited about being there. I was the first to register and couldn't wait to get out on the golf course.
“I played the back nine and remember standing on the 12th tee.
“The pin was front left. There was no wind. It was a beautiful morning.
“We couldn't understand it. It was like 115 yards to the front of the green. We are thinking this is way too short. It can't be the back tee. It's not this short. The hole's got to be longer than this.
“Of course, by the time Thursday came around, the tee box was another six or seven yards back, the pin was on another 25 yards and the wind was swirling.
“What was a wedge in very sterile conditions now becomes an eight iron or maybe a nine iron. You've got all this confusion.”;
In his predictions with SunSport, McGinley revealed Rory McIlroy may well win the 2025 Masters “if the golfing gods shine on him”; but tipped Bob MacIntyre and Shane Lowry to cause a shock and be in contention.
But he also named to miss the cut on Friday.
The world No3 has four top-ten finishes at Augusta in his seven appearances, including eighth in 2024.
He followed that up by winning both the PGA Championship and The Open either side of T7 at the US Open but missed eight weeks at the start of 2025 with an intercostal strain and a small tear in the cartilage around his ribs.
- Sky Sports is the home of golf. Watch live coverage of The 2025 Masters, exclusively on Sky Sports Golf and NOW from 10-13 April.
