Big tee sculpture to points to Augusta caddy history
The deserted space off Gordon Highway retains very little of its past. Although once a bowling alley, none of the hardwood lanes, snug shoe shelves or complicated mechanics that once returned and reset balls and pins remain. It is open and empty, a shell that echoes with each footfall. And yet, it is full of history – unexpected and, in many ways, unexplored.
At the center of the space, mounted on the trailer that will eventually take it to its permanent home, sits a giant golf tee. It has, as of late, been the chosen canvas of Augusta artist Baruti Tucker. Tucker was contacted by local art entrepreneur Ed Durant with the idea of painting the tee, which will be mounted in front of the Sand Hills Community Center, with scenes commemorating not only Augusta’s golf heritage, but also those Sand Hills residents that helped build it.
The result is an ode to the caddy culture at the Augusta National, and the often unheralded African American men who helped shape the history, traditions, and legacy of the club and the Masters golf tournament. Rendered against the celebrated backdrop of the Augusta National, it depicts the caddies in a way they are rarely seen – front-and-center and the focus of attention.
A native of Staten Island, New York, Tucker stands tall next to his creation. His hands are paint-stained, the result of his preferred method of working. He uses his hands, rather than brushes and other traditional tools, to create his dynamic images. His work has, traditionally, centered on the African experience, the African diaspora, and the cultural iconography that has developed around those ideas. The result is a style that incorporates both elements of abstraction and Afrofuturism. He has not, he said, painted many fairways and greens.
“I am not a golf person and, the truth is, I never really even considered the (Augusta) National,” he said. “I certainly never considered it a part of my history and my community. This has been very enlightening in that way.”
He said learning about the Black community in Sand Hills that worked not only as caddies, but as the skilled craftsmen that kept the grounds, kitchens, and facilities pristine opened his eyes to a special relationship they had with the Augusta National, but the land itself. He said that while his own institutional knowledge of that history was limited, it still resonates with people with roots in the Augusta area.
“I was surprised, in fact, when I showed people the process and the progress,” he said. “They would often get very emotional. They responded in a way I did not expect.”
Ed Durant said the plan is to mount the tee so that it points toward the Augusta National, an as-the-bird-flies signpost toward the institution so many in the Sand Hills neighborhood had and intimate and profound relationship with. He said his hope is the piece sparks conversation about not only the history of the club and course, but the relationships formed between the club and community, the people who worked there and even the players and the men who successfully guided them from hole to hole.
“When you look at someone like Jack Nicklaus and his caddy (Willie Peterson), you see there is more – much more – to this story than is usually told,” he said. “That was our motivation.”