Augusta National is well known for being one of the most prestigious golf courses on the planet, if not the most prestigious.
Patrons turn up to Augusta National in their thousands every single year for The Masters, while millions of golf fans watch the yearly spectacle on their televisions.
While Augusta is famous for the thrilling Masters tournaments we have all witnessed throughout the years, the golf course is renowned for its incredibly stringent list of rules and regulations.
Three-time Masters champion Gary Player’s son is banned for life from Augusta, after he conspicuously showcased a box of OnCore golf balls – a brand endorsing his father.
That is something strictly forbidden at Augusta, while other rules include no phones allowed, no running and no sitting on the grass.
Oh, and you are not allowed to tip staff on the property either.
Some golfers have fallen foul of the rules as well.
Back in 1948, Frank Stranahan was disqualified from playing in the Masters after he used more than one ball during his practice round.
Playing more than one ball when chipping and putting is permitted, but not off the tee or from the fairways.
However, perhaps the most famous of rule-flouting examples involved a big mistake made by a patron during the 2012 Masters.
What happened to the patron who stole bunker sand from Augusta National in 2012
A hugely controversial incident occurred at Augusta during The Masters 13 years ago.
As the final group made their way through the 10th hole on Sunday of the Masters in 2012, Clayton Baker – a golf fan from Oklahoma – made what must have seemed like a fairly innocuous decision at the time.
However, it turned out to be a life-changing one for him.
As Baker stood beside the 10th fairway during the final round of the 2012 Masters, he made the split-second decision to run over to one of Augusta’s perfectly manicured 44 bunkers.
With a cup in hand, he collected some sand, and returned to the other side of the ropes alongside all the other patrons.
As a side note, the extremely rare bright white sand can only be found in the Spruce Pine Mining District in North Carolina.
In a book titled: ‘The World in a Grain’, it is claimed that the sand found in the Spruce Pine Mining District is, ‘the purest silica sand that has ever been found anywhere on earth’.
So perhaps it’s understandable why Augusta National are so protective of one of their most prized possessions.
Anyway, back to Baker and his poorly-thought-out plan.
Not long after he was back walking amongst other patrons, three security guards rushed over to him and knocked the cup of sand out of his hand, before throwing him to the ground, and handcuffing him.
Baker was then arrested and taken to the Richmond County jail, where he was put in a cell before posting a $285 bond to be released.
During an interview with NJ Sports, Baker explained how a friend had gifted him tickets along with travel on a private jet after he got really sick and he wasn’t actually sure how much time he had left.
“The previous fall, I had gotten really sick,“ he said. “They thought I had MS, but after all sorts of tests, it turns out I had Lyme Disease. But we didn’t know that. We thought I was dying.“
It’s perhaps understandable why, at the time, Baker wanted to take a keepsake from Augusta National home to Oklahoma with him.
However, it all ended in tears for him.
“They took me in and they threw me in a jail with all the criminals,“ Baker said.
His short stint in jail wasn’t the worst thing that happened to him, though.
The financial cost of Clayton Baker’s Augusta National mishap
Baker lost a $4,500 security deposit for the forfeiture of his Masters badge and had to pay for the costs of keeping the private jet waiting for him and his friends while he was in jail.
He also had to part with some serious cash after hiring lawyers to defend him. In total, Baker claimed the incident cost him around $20,000 and in the aftermath of the event, he said, “I was seriously depressed for weeks.“
We all know how strict the powers that be at Augusta National are when it comes to their rules and regulations.
Every single patron who enters the fabled Augusta grounds is fully aware of those rules as well.
However, in this instance, it has to be said that common sense should have prevailed, and it was definitely a case of the punishment not fitting the ‘crime’.
The good news for Baker is that he was never charged with any kind of offence. While his pockets were hit hard, his record remained blemish-free.
The story of Baker and his attempt to take home some of Augusta National’s precious sand is one that has gone down in history and whether he likes it or not, he will always be remembered for that incident in 2012.
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