Every sports fan likes to feel close to their favourite stars and get up close with the hallowed grounds of the world's iconic venues.
One Masters fan took his zeal for golf memorabilia several steps too far and found himself arrested, hauled away from Augusta, jailed and slapped with a massive financial penalty when he broke one of the famous course's strict spectator rules.
Clayton Baker was caught breaking the rule during the Masters, the year's first golf major, back in 2012.
According to NJ.com, he was "slammed facedown to the ground, handcuffed like the worst kind of felon and thrown onto the back of a golf cart" for his transgression in Georgia.
Advert
In addition to its remarkably rich and powerful roster of green-jacketed members, the Augusta National is renowned for its strict rules and willingness to enforce them to the letter.
Oklahoma resident Baker decided during the Masters in 2012 that he would slide under a security rope, sneak into a bunker on the tenth hole and use an empty beer cup to scoop up some "pristine" sand. Big mistake.
Baker claimed that the cup was smacked out of his hand by one of the three security guards who then threw him to the ground.
"The deputies from the Richmond County Sheriff's Office arrived, and before he could protest again, he was cuffed and told to blow into a tube to check his blood-alcohol level," reported NJ.com after catching up with Baker seven years later.
"He was booked for disorderly conduct, fingerprinted and photographed. His phone, his wallet and his Masters badge were all taken from him.
"Walking through the gates at Augusta National is not just a trip into one golf's cathedrals. It feels like entering an azalea-lined maximum security prison. Those sheriff deputies, with their round-brimmed hats, are everywhere. So are the private Securitas guards."
The subsequent ordeal, lived out in the glare of the US media, hit Baker hard.
"I was playing in a golf tournament... and guys who didn't know me were walking up with sand and saying, 'Here you go!'" he recalled. "I was seriously depressed for weeks."
He ended up $20,000 out of pocket as a result of legal costs and the loss of a $4,500 security deposit on the Masters badge that got him into Augusta in the first place.
"They made an example out of me. I understand that. I regret that. But the way they handled it? That place is a bunch of bullies."
Topics: Golf
Chris Nee