Any favorite Augusta or Masters stories? Here's mine:
I was a guest of a big corporation for the Master's. They rented a very large home. Met Jackson Stephens at a party there. He just seemed like a easy-going old golfer to me. He couldn't have been more gracious and down-to-earth. Several of us talked with him for a half-hour or so. When he left, a friend told me Stephens was the chairman of Augusta and a billionaire (I had no clue). And, then he told me this story about Stephens (I later read an account of this story in a book about Augusta, so I'm fairly certain that its true):
A new member had begun complaining about the low stakes that all the members maintained on the course and in the card room. The new member said, "I made 40 million dollars on a single deal last year, and I'm betting for peanuts around here?". The complaining went on for a few days. Finally, Stephens got tired of it and walked up to the new member in the card room and said, "I understand you don't approve of our betting guidelines. Every member here will vouch that I pay all wagers promptly. So, here's what I'll do to accommodate you. Lets cut this deck. High card wins. We'll bet that 40 million dollars you recently came into." The new member declined the bet, and had no further complaints.