Another year of the Masters, another year of the Augusta area being invaded by outsiders, another year of confusion.
Here are some tips that might assist our 7-days-per-year visitors in their trip to the Garden City:
Best thing Augusta is known for other than the Masters: Hometown of "The Godfather of Soul" (James Brown), actor Lawrence Fishburne and opera legend Jessye Norman.
Best seat at the Masters: Behind the No. 12 tee, where you can see five different shots -- the second shot on No. 11, putting on No. 11, tee shot on No. 12, putting on No. 12 and tee shot on No. 13.
Best place to take a nap: Patrons can often be found snoozing on the slope to the right of the green on No. 18.
Best place to use the restroom (where the lines are always the shortest): Behind the No. 12 tee at the state-of-the-art restroom facility, which includes cupholders for drinks.
Best place to scope out singles: The college crowd always hangs out on The Hill overlooking the No. 6 and No. 16 greens. Coincidentally, the beer tent is nearby.
Best golfers to approach during the practice rounds: Ben Crenshaw, Tom Lehman, Davis Love III, Larry Mize, Nick Price and Gary Player are fan-friendly golfers who always pose for pictures, sign autographs and give out golf balls.
Best place to eat near the course: If you're tired of gobbling down pimento cheese sandwiches, Vallartas Mexican, Olive Garden and Lone Star are all within walking distance of the course.
Best Augusta-oriented place to eat: When you visit a town, you ought to try several places that are non-chain and nowhere else in the country. The French Market Grille seems to win the Green Jacket every year in this category.
Best sports-related thing Augusta is known for other than the Masters: The city and its suburbs have produced countless big-name athletes over the years, such as Duke point guard William Avery, former college coaches Pat Dye and Dick Sheridan (North Augusta), NFL (should be) Hall of Fame punter Ray Guy (Thomson), NFL brothers William "The Refrigerator" and Michael Dean Perry (Aiken), and a projected first-rounder in this spring's NFL draft -- Jamal Reynolds (Aiken).
