Countdown to the Best Weekend in Golf

If you are as passionate about the game of golf as I am, or even if you are just a casual fan, you know that the biggest tournament in the sport is less than a week away. The 2010 Masters Tournament will tee off in Augusta, Georgia on Thursday, April 8. For golf enthusiasts, it is four days that are steeped in tradition, superstition, the shot that got away, and that magical green jacket. This year may be even more riveting than usual, as a certain golfer who has received a fair bit of media attention recently is expected to make his professional return for this occasion.

The first Augusta National Invitation Tournament took place way back in 1934. Horton Smith claimed the championship and the landmark moment was captured on a radio broadcast. Five years later, the magical weekend was renamed the Masters. In 1963, Jack Nicklaus won the first of his remarkable six Masters championships. With this sixth victory, Nicklaus became the tournament's oldest winner. On the opposite end of the age spectrum, Tiger Woods became the youngest man to wear the green jacket in 1997. He also claimed the widest margin of victory in Masters history.

I could go on and on about all of the wonderful history and significance of the Masters tournament. It is four days of golf for which people like myself mark off their calendars months, if not years, in advance.

Is there an annual event to which you look forward every year? Do you have a personal countdown to the Super Bowl, the Academy Awards, your community's Fourth of July fireworks display? Let us know what deserves that big red circle on your planner!