Jeffrey Short found the secret of seeing everything at the Masters: his buddy Tom Anderson.

"You have to get a good guide," the Fort Washington, Md., man said Thursday from his vantage point at the ninth hole of Augusta National Golf Club.

But after two years at the tournament, Short has learned a few tricks of his own.

"You have to get in a good spot, stay there for a while and back track," he said.

John and Susan Rogers of San Diego also had guides - their son and daughter-in-law.

"We're like sheep," Rogers said. "We just go where they tell us to go."

Just a couple of hours into their Masters experience, the Rogers understood one of the first rules to getting a good viewing spot.

"You have to get here early," Rogers said. "I can see that right now. After that, it's a waiting game."

Although there are 11 observation stands at various course locations - from the the first green to the 17th green - many Masters patrons choose to perch on one of the undulations on the course.

Tom Dabney and John Brown, both of Sarasota, Fla., put their chairs on the crest of a hill behind the 18th green, just under a TV tower.

"We kind of scoped it out before we picked that spot," Dabney said, binoculars in hand. "We saw the TV cameras and figured it would be a good place."

Others choose to walk, meandering from place to place and catching various golfers.

"Just keep walking," said Peter Bouton of New York, who's attending his fourth Masters. "There's a ton of best spots."

Perhaps the best of the best, he said, are the bleachers at the 12th hole - where patrons can see the green at 11, the 12th and the tee box at 13.

"It is just beautiful," he said.

Dick Uban of Connecticut knew where the best spot wasn't.

"It's not this one," he said, sitting on the low side of the green at No. 9. "We prefer Amen Corner. It's pretty over there."

Louise Green of Strongsville, Ohio, chose a spot Thursday along the first fairway - just across from the newly enlarged bunker - to watch the Seve Ballesteros, Steve Stricker and Kenny Perry grouping. She even had to move when Perry's tee shot was a little wayward.

"Everyone goes by, and we can see where the drives are," she said. "Now we are finally up to where we can see the green, too."