Mary Weed has had a lot of good seats.

Kenneth Ferrie skips his ball on the lake at No. 16 during Monday's practice round. "This wouldn't be anywhere near as fun if they didn't skip those balls," said Mary Weed, who rates a Masters practice round as her favorite to watch. (Kendrick Brinson/Staff)

The part-time Floridian was at the 2004 Ryder Cup at Oakland Hills in Michigan. She was at Tiger Woods' first Ryder Cup in 1997 at Valderrama in Spain. She was at the Houston Open in 1999 soon after the tragic death of Payne Stewart.

"That was so emotional," said Weed, who spends her summers in Michigan. "The players all wore knickers in tribute. I'll never forget that day."

All those days were knocked down a spot on her best-seat leaderboard. Weed, 70, was sitting in the bleachers at No. 15 at five minutes past 8 on Tuesday morning. She had her choice of any seat at Augusta National Golf Club. She set up where she had good sight lines of Nos. 15 and 16.

"I had dinner with friends Monday night," Weed said. "They told me this was the spot. They were so right. This is just the best I've ever had it at a golf course."

She waited about 90 minutes before she saw the first golfer. That's when skip school began for Weed. The tradition of practice round players taking a turn or three at skipping balls across the pond on No. 16 was a delight.

"This wouldn't be anywhere near as fun if they didn't skip those balls," she said. "I didn't know it was as hard as it was. The first four guys I saw couldn't do it. So it was a joy when they finally starting making it on the green."

When Henrik Stenson went to get a ball for another attempt, she softly clapped her hands beneath her chin. The look on her face was like that of a child watching a favorite cartoon.

It's the only place at the Masters Tournament where fans cheer the sight of a golf ball heading toward water.

"I like it because you see the iron wall come down and the guys actually act a little human," said Jerry Regnier, of Philadelphia. "They relax a little bit and show that they are still real people."

Gary Player organized his group. He got Tim Clark, Ernie Els and Trevor Immelman to join him in launching a four-ball barrage toward the green from the edge of the water shortly after their tee shots.

The practice-round tradition seems to grow every year.

The two security guards at the top of the bleachers at No. 15 shared a tale of how Sandy Lyle used his putter years ago to skip a ball all the way across that pond from the tee. Fans at the No. 16 bleachers start shouting "skip" as soon as the players leave the tee at No. 16.

"I like to be the first one to yell out skip," Regnier's son, David Regnier said. "That's my move."