As you meander along the pathway, just past the Butterfly and Aquatic gardens, you'll see him in one of the most unforgettable moments in golf: A 46-year-old Jack Nicklaus, club thrust high in the air, just after making birdie on No. 17 as he rallied back on the back nine for a final round of 65 and his sixth Green Jacket.
For just a moment you'll forget it's not the 1986 Masters Tournament, and the Golden Bear you're looking at on the green in front of you is a bronze sculpture -- part of the displays at the Augusta Golf & Gardens Home of the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame.
Since the Gardens opened in March, just in time for the 2001 Masters, thousands of visitors have strolled through the winding gardens nestled on eight acres on the Savannah River in downtown Augusta.
The gardens are the first phase in what will be the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame, an impressive 55,000-square-foot main building which will house the Hall of Fame rotunda, highly technical, interactive exhibits and displays, a 150-seat theater, gift shop and much more.
Even in the stifling heat of Augusta in July, the blooms are in full force. The fragrant roses, the rich foliage artfully arranged in the many small gardens, the trickling fountains and a roaring waterfall all drown the outside world, creating a serene, peaceful haven in the bustling city.
That's what brought two Florida visitors to the gardens on a recent morning.
Horst Teubner and his wife, Eleanor, recently moved from New York to Hobe Sound, Fla. Even though he's been an avid gardener for years, the new hot dry climate of the South is forcing him to relearn all of his horticulture skills.
"I can see what plants do well in hot weather," Mr. Teubner said. The couple's daughter, Sharon DeGaetano of Evans, brought her parents for the visit.
"It's a very restful, peaceful, nice garden," Mrs. Teubner said.
Construction began on the Gardens in January 1999, and the grand opening was held on March 31.
Behind the serpentine walls of the Gardens, visitors will find smaller, more intimate gardens.
The Rose Garden features a vivid array of miniature roses enclosed by a circular trellis that some day will be covered with climbing roses. Two towers flank a Pergola Garden, one with a temperature gauge and the other with a clock. A light mist will emerge periodically from the Pergola, providing both a cooling effect for visitors and a dramatic backdrop for the sculpture of Arnold Palmer.
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