It's that time of year again when our area is packed with pro golfers and fans. If you ride around North Augusta and Augusta you'd never think the economy was in the toilet. AT&T has taken over one huge area in our local golf course community and it has taken them two weeks to do it and countless dollars. Our two landmark houses; Rosemary and Lookaway Halls has been leased by Zack Johnson's sponsors and the electric bill alone would support a few families for months. When I was a lot younger it used to be easy to get in the Augusta National to see the play and the players but just like the Super Bowl it has become an event for the elite and the people with money which don't always go hand in hand. The week they are all here, players and fans, thousands of dollars are pumped into the economy which, by all reports, is all that the politicians in Augusta care about. The entire county looks like trash city until the few weeks before the out-of-towners arrive then a huge effort is made to "clean it up" for the guest. The most amusing part of that is if they fly in to our airport the road into Augusta proper is dotted with hovels and abandoned buildings and cheap prostitute motels and flea markets so that is the first impression Augusta gives to visitors. Of course the areas surrounding the National Golf Course are pristine. 99% of all businesses in town raise their prices for this event which just goes to show greed is alive and well.
I will say this however, I wish I could make the rounds of all the houses who brought their own chefs or hired the cream of the crop just to see and taste what they are cooking. Two years ago one company spent 45 thousand on catering for 6 days; can you imagine that.
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