Masters menu: Even sportswriters can afford it

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- I'll leave all the tributes about the magnolias, azaleas and pines to the poets. My praise for the Masters has always been centered around what it charges for customers to eat and drink on the Augusta National course.

I had a proper breakfast, but burned up those calories about two-thirds of the way through walking 18 holes to follow Zach Johnson's round of golf Thursday. There is a concession stand at Amen Corner, where the 11th green, 12th hole, and 13th fairway are all in plain-sight to the patrons, as they're called here. I already knew what the food selections were and that they were cheap, but that didn't mean I couldn't marvel at it once more.

So I got a barbecue pork sandwich and a soda for $4.50. I just got an involuntary smile while typing that. Because I like a good food bargain, and I like tasty barbecue, and both were had in one fell swoop.

I'm not one for the famous pimento cheese sandwiches, which go for $1,50, half the price of the barbecue. I had one too many of those things the first year I came here. If I'm spending $1.50, I'll get egg salad instead.

Domestic beers are $3, imports are $4. That's how they're labeled. The taps don't even note what kind of beer they are. It's just "domestic," "import" and "light."

By the way, do you know a sportswriter's two favorite kinds of beer? Free and Free Light.

Tomorrow I might tell you about the restrooms on the course, which have attendants. The men's room at Amen Corner had one attendant yelling where the open urinals were, and another attendant making gestures like he was on an airport runway bringing in planes to gates.

I guess I just did tell you about the restrooms on the course.