Imagine walking with golf legend Bobby Jones at the Augusta National, taking in the senses and sounds of a Georgia spring.
Such a walk is easily imaginable now, thanks to the opening of the Augusta Golf & Gardens, Home of the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame. The Golf & Gardens portion of the project opened March 31, with the Hall of Fame portion anticipated to be a couple of years away.
FORE! Augusta, a private foundation, is leading the efforts to raise the funds necessary to complete the attraction and construct the 55,000-square-foot main building. It will house the Hall of Fame rotunda, as well as highly technical and interactive exhibits and displays and a 150-seat theater.
"We hope now that the gardens are open, people will be excited about this," said Dianne Swain, marketing and special events manager for Augusta Golf & Gardens.
"It has been something to watch Mother Nature take over out there."
Located along the banks of the Savannah River, the 17-acre attraction features eight acres of display gardens, including:
- A Rose Garden, which features a vivid array of miniature roses enclosed by a circular trellis surrounded by floribunda.
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Augusta Golf & Gardens, Home of the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame, will participate in the Augusta Metropolitan Convention & Visitors Bureau's "Be a Tourist in Your Own Hometown" campaign in recognition of National Tourism Week.
On Saturday, May 12, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Augusta Golf and Gardens will give a $2 discount on admission to the gardens when "tourists" present a "Be A Tourist Pass."
The passes are available at the Augusta Metropolitan Convention & Visitors Bureau offices at Enterprise Mills and the Cotton Exchange Welcome Center.
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- An Azalea Garden that's as breathtaking as those gorgeous flowers seen during the first full week in April.
- A Pergola Garden flanked by two towers, one with a temperature gauge and the other with a clock. A light mist emerges periodically from the Pergola, providing both a cooling effect for visitors and a dramatic backdrop for a sculpture of Arnold Palmer.
- A Butterfly Garden that features a hardscape in the shape of the winged creature, sporting blue-pansy wings and replete with butterfly houses.
- A Coastal Garden that lends the feel of the tropics, with banana trees, birds of paradise and palms.
Each of the gardens includes a site to showcase a bronze sculpture of one of golf's great masters. Thus far, sculptures in the likenesses of Jones, Palmer,
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Raymond Floyd, Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson and Jack Nicklaus have been unveiled. The Jones statue eventually will be featured in the Hall of Fame building, while the other sculptures will be garden centerpieces.
Another spectacle is the 18-foot waterfall perched into the Savannah River levee. It's fed by the Golf & Gardens' own well system, which starts the flow to a koi fish pond and main lake.
Construction began on the Gardens component of the attraction in January 1999, and the opening fell on the eve of the 2001 Masters golf tournament. The opening allowed Swain and other Golf & Gardens officials to breathe a sigh of relief. Though all went smoothly with the gardens portion of the project, she noted that the site initially was all old warehouse space with few trees.
Three hundred trees were brought to the site. One cluster of trees from the former warehouse site remained; it was seen as a natural fit to become the home of the azalea garden.
Eventually, the 18-acre site will feature several structures within a village concept, including a conference center and a golf and garden shop.
"Ten years down the road, there will be a lot of things that will attract people here," said Swain.
"We are 'The Garden City.' Now we can say we have gardens."
Admission to Augusta Golf & Gardens is $7 for adults, $6 for seniors, students and military and $5 for children. Children 5 and under are admitted free. Hours, which may be adjusted seasonally, are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday.
To learn about special events or other information, call (706) 724-4443.
