Why I’m Excited For The Drive, Chip And Putt

I haven’t sensed much interest in Sunday’s Drive, Chip and Putt Championship from Augusta National Golf Club, but I hope I’m wrong. The early morning festivities (8 am ET pre-game on Golf Channel, competition starts at 9 am) may have something to do with it.  And any inaugural event certainly creates hurdles to overcome, like explaining people to what this competition is all about. Grow-the-game fatigue might attract plenty of show wagering, too.

Yet how anyone who was once a child—I believe everyone reading qualifies—be anything but excited to see what these many talented Children-Americans get to experience? They get to set foot on hallowed grounds to perform their skills in competition other than 72-holes of stroke play. Pretty swell.

I suspect--and this is why I'm excited to watch--that every attribute The First Tee purports to teach, will somehow be tested, exposed, reinforced and codified in these young competitors, all while doing something they love. And we get to dream big on their coattails. That’s just my hunch at how it plays out. We’ll see Sunday.

Anyway, I’ll be at Augusta bright and early to take in this ambitious effort by Augusta National to spark competitive fires, provide life-changing moments and make the rest of us feel good about the game. Oh, and we get a first-ever Sunday sneak-peak inside the gates.

As for the rest of the week, I’ll be Tweeting and blogging whenever there is something to say. I’d love to do a daily clippings roundup, but at some point, sleep must beckon. A few warnings: Monday morning I’ll be on Morning Drive in the 9 am ET hour to talk about my first impressions of the course, and Tuesday I’ll hope you’ll joint me for a 1 pm ET Cover It Live chat at GolfDigest.com. The freshened site with its new The Loop super blog will feature daily chats with some of our big names, so hopefully you’ll make it a habit for the week as I think we'll be all over this Masters like never before.

First, a few links for Sunday: How the format for the Drive, Chip And Putt. And Golf Channel's plans for Sunday's coverage.