Such Vision!

This is not going to be an article about golf or its players. Watching The Masters golf tournament this weekend is always a favorite yearly ritual of mine. You don't have to be a golf fanatic to appreciate the absolute beauty of Augusta National Country Club. It might be one of the most remarkable places in the country, and it was the vision of golf's greatest player and ambassador of all-time, Bobby Jones.

Jones bought the totally undeveloped property some 80 years ago, and had the vision of creating someplace so striking, so fantastic, that the greatest golfers in the world would beg to play and compete against each other on golf's most magnificent stage. They still do.

I love his vision. Actually I admire people who have the foresight to create something that they will leave behind that will age well and be more admired as the decades roll on. These visionaries are rare, but gifted. I am a romantic about this to some regard; my hope is that they were motivated by vision first and foremost and by the monetary gain a distant second.

Henry Ford had a vision the gave horses the next 100 years off, and it worked. We're still driving cars. The Wright Brothers had a vision that man could fly, and we do. Amazing there, that everything that still flies today, including the Space Shuttle, does so on their vision and principles that they discovered. For my money, the Wright Brothers so changed our entire world, in every regard with their vision, my personal belief is that they were the most important people of the 20th century.

President Kennedy envisioned man walking on the moon, and they did. And Abraham Lincoln's vision was that we were better off as one nation not two, and he was right. The Founding Fathers had a crazy vision, that you could actually have a nation that was free, and not run by Kings. They too were right. People with this amazing vision are just regular people, with they just dream a bit larger than the masses.

But back to Augusta National for the final hole. I do have my disagreements on some of their rules and policies. I believe many are outdated and in need of change. I firmly believe that if Bobby Jones were still alive as golf greatest visionary ever, he would believe that the professional women should be allowed to hold their biggest tournament on golf's most hallowed ground.

If you've never watched The Masters, you should catch at least a small bit to share in Jones' vision, and see this magnificent stage he created. You don't have to love golf to love beauty. And Augusta National is beautiful. Thank you Bobby Jones, first for the golf, and mostly for the vision.