Nicklaus hole honour and envy of golf world - Martin Dempster's Masters diary

Jack Nicklaus hole honour in final round

It’s a myth that the hole locations are always the same for every single round of The Masters, as shown by the one at the 16th for the final round.

It is normally located on the left side of the green in a position where balls feed down to the hole, giving a great opportunity for a hole in one.

The hole location at the 16th for the final round of the 89th Masters marked a milestone occasion | Richard Heathcote/Getty Images

On this occasion, though, it was over on the right side and had been cut there to match that of the final round in 1975 in honour of Jack Nicklaus on the 50th anniversary winning his fifth Green Jacket.

Talking of the 16th and memorable feats, this year was also the 20th anniversary of Tiger Woods making his iconic chip in from the back of the green to set up his fourth Green Jacket.

Augusta National member Michael McDermott played as a marker over the weekend in the 89th Masters | Harry How/Getty Images

Masters marker is now Augusta National member

It used to be local man Jeff Knox but, for the second time in three years, Michael McDermott was the envy of golfers around the world.

McDermott, an Augusta National member, played as a marker alongside Tom Kim in Saturday’s third round before heading out again on Sunday with Brian Campbell after 53 players made the cut.

“He played great actually," said Kim of McDermott, reckoning the CEO of a financial services firm in Pennsylvania would have shot in the 70s if he'd kept a score.

Knox, who filled the role on numerous occasions, showed recently why he’s regarded as one of Augusta’s best-ever amateurs by recording a wire-to-win in the Jones Cup Senior Invitational at Sea Island.

Augusta Regional Airport becomes a busy place during Masters week and it’s the same at other smaller airfields in the area | Contributed

Flying visits from rich and famous

The rich and famous travel to The Masters in style, as evidenced by the number of private jets flying into Augusta this week.

On Saturday, a staggering 284 were tracked by RadarAtlas flying in and out of the Georgia city.

It’s been the same all week, with the number being more than 300 on Friday and one jet making a 14-four flight from South Korea.

The influx from the skies means that both Augusta Regional Airport and Daniel Field are turned into a parking lot for private jets throughout the week.

Unfortunately for this correspondent, it will be a Delta flight from Atlanta to Amsterdam then a KLM one to Edinburgh once it’s done and dusted.

A general view of the Augusta National clubhouse, where Bryson DeChambeau spent a lot of time during his first visit as an amateur in 2016 | Jamie Squire/Getty Images

Bryson DeChambeau soaked up first visit

Like him or not, there can be no denying that Bryson DeChambeau is deep about the history of the game and its traditions.

Ahead of his first Augusta National appearance as an amateur in 2016, the American paid an advance visit, as is permitted by the Green Jackets.

As part of trying to get the amateurs prepared for the big week, they are given a tour of the property after driving up Magnolia Lane for the first time.

It’s reckoned that the clubhouse part of it normally takes 30 minutes or so but, due to him being so interested in everything, it was a two-hour plus job in the case of DeChambeau.