Patrons get invitation to post score on tournament
How did you get your ticket? Where did you stay? Who came here with you?
Those are some of the questions Augusta National Golf Club is asking Masters Tournament patrons this year.
Augusta National has placed more than a dozen touch-screen computers under a tent near the No. 8 tee for patrons to give their opinions on topics ranging from parking accommodations to tournament merchandise.
Many patrons who took the survey said they felt somewhat honored to be asked.
"They have had a history of being not all that interested in what people think," Savannah resident Bob Woodruff said after taking the five-minute survey Tuesday. "Now it seems they are getting more interested in the welfare of the people. It's a big change from 30 years ago."
The survey marks the first time Augusta National has sought patron feedback on the tournament.
Aside from seeking demographic information -- it asked visitors to provide their ZIP code and ethnicity -- the survey appears to gauge patrons' feelings about changes in how the tournament is run. One question, in particular, asked visitors whether they would like to see large video screens on the course.
"That seemed like kind of an oddball question," said William D'Angelo, a first-time Masters visitor from Staten Island, N.Y.
First-timer Ted Sowko, of Pittsburgh, said he was almost overwhelmed at the survey's level of detail.
"There were 10 or 15 options on the food and merchandise questions," he said.
He said his responses were 80 percent positive.
Joseph Hodges, of Tampa, Fla., said he was mostly upbeat, too.
"Aside from the security, which has gone a little over the edge since 9-11, they have everything else down pat," he said.
Reach Damon Cline at (706) 823-3486 or damon.cline@augustachronicle.com.
