Coaches series: Frank Beamer remembers his time at Augusta National

After hitting his tee shot to within nine feet of No. 12 pin at Augusta National, Frank Beamer stared down his putt and sank the birdie attempt.

“I thought, ‘This hole doesn’t seem too hard to me,’” he said of the two-decade old shot. “That was the first time I ever played Aug­usta and I was for­tunate because the flag was in the back-left corner. If it had been front-right like they do for Masters Sun­day, I would have been in trouble.”

Beamer, 69, coached Virginia Tech from 1987 to 2015 and has played Augusta National about a dozen times. He was close friends with member Harry Easterly, former president of the United States Golf Association, and was able to play multiple times with Easterly, who passed away in 2005. Since his passing, Beamer has been invited by Easterly’s son, Frank, who is also an Augusta National member.

The former Hokies coach typically shot in the high 80s or low 90s.

“I never shot anything worth remembering, but it’s hard to describe how much of a treat it was playing Augusta,” Beamer said. “The first time I saw the course I was totally in awe. I mean, you see it on television but when you get there it’s completely different. You couldn’t find a weed out there if you wanted to. You know, what did it for me was thinking back to all the history and how many times I’ve watched the Masters Tournament on television. There aren’t many golf tournaments I sit and watch from beginning to end, but Sunday at Augusta is a yearly deal for me.”

As for future plans to play the course, Beamer made it clear his schedule is open.

“Now that I’m retired, I don’t have any demands,” he said. “Look, even if I do have demands I’ll rearrange them for Augusta.”