AUGUSTA – As the opening round of the Masters gets underway, you see a contingent of Augusta National members in their traditional green jackets scurrying about, tending to their assignments, socializing and enjoying themselves.

They form an exclusive club, much akin to the U. S. Senate.  However, Augusta members are seen and not heard.  Character is considered when someone is evaluated for membership.  And for sure, they maintain exemplary conduct in their daily lives.

You might not have your membership revoked for a D.U.I. arrest, but have you ever heard of an Augusta National member experiencing such a citation?   Some say that there have been members who became non-members by allowing an unsavory character to play the golf course as a guest.

While there are rich men who are members, wealth is not required to join Augusta. Billionaires cannot buy their way in.  Ordinary folk have become members over the years.  

Whatever the criteria is for membership, nobody knows, the guess here is that it helps to love the game of golf and enjoy a reputation for being a gentleman.  

One of my favorite Augusta members is Bill Griffin, who grew up in Rutledge, which is 103 miles west of Augusta and learned to play golf at the Monroe Country Club.

He became a good player and one of his favorite places to play was the Athens Country Club which he played while a student at the University of Georgia where he was graduated in 1972 with a degree from the Terry College of business.

It is doubtful that any graduate of UGA has made more friends in life than this Morgan County native who has played rounds with many of the great names in golf, including Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, among others.

In his prime years, he maintained a scratch handicap.  All in his circle of friends wanted to partner with him.  And nobody was more fun to play with.  He always underscored the principles of good sportsmanship and forever honored that long-standing rule of calling a penalty on himself if a rules violation occurred, such as his ball moving as he initiated his backswing.  He would never improve his lie in the rough or elsewhere even if no one could see him.  

Naturally, growing up a hundred miles from Augusta, he became a Masters fan by the time he entered high school.  While a student enrolled at Georgia, he and several of his friends, including Wayne Tamplin, Whitey Hunt, and Edward Hudson made the Masters a “must” every April.

With an austere budget, they would sleep in the car at the Piggly Wiggly shopping center across the street from the golf course.  They would “freshen up” in the morning at the Texaco station nearby and head to the golf course, following Arnold Palmer in the King’s prime years.

Little did he know that someday he would become friends with Arnie and was able to play several rounds with him when Bill became a member of Oakmont.

Eventually, he rose to the presidency of Oakmont and kept that job for eight consecutive years.  That is unheard of for those upper echelon private clubs of America.  Such presidents, like with Rotary clubs, serve for one year.

Bill is highly regarded by the hierarchy of the United States Golf Association.  Owing to his USGA and Oakmont affiliation, and using golf as an asset in business, he has played all the highest rated golf courses in the country.

His greatest love, outside his family and golf, however, is the University of Georgia.  He can’t do enough for his alma mater.  He has helped raise millions of dollars for UGA including the business school, the Honors College, and the Athletic Association.

He has given countless hours and generously of his own resources to the work of Steve Stice who has done extensive research in the field of human stem cells and exosomes and has made considerable progress toward the rehabilitation of strokes.  

His love and loyalty for UGA can be best be characterized by paraphrasing John F. Kennedy at his inauguration in 1961: “Ask not my fellow alumni, what your university can do for you, ask what you can do for your university.”

The Augusta National Golf Club should be as proud to have him as a member as much as he is honored to wear a green jacket.