“Musician Kelley James, who mixes off-the-cuff freestyling directed at audience members along with rock covers and originals, has performed at every one. He has had Rickie Fowler and Charley Hoffman on stage, as well as NFL wide receiver Golden Tate. But James’ favorite memory is from last year, when he handed a guitar to GT Nicklaus—grandson of Jack Nicklaus—who was still riding a wave from his walk-off ace in a caddie bib at the Par-3 Contest the day before.
‘Man, I don’t remember what song we played, but Jack Nicklaus sharing the video clip might’ve been the high point of my life, because deep down, I’m a golf nerd,’ James says. ‘Augusta National is so reverent, but it’s a situation where once people leave the gates, they just want to let loose. It’s obviously going to be a majority male audience, but that doesn’t matter because everybody wants to have an absolute blast.’
Or, as Gary Spitalnik, co-founder and executive vice president of Wheels Up, tells people about the week in general: ‘It’s Coachella for CEOs.’
Whatever it is, the place isn’t Augusta. Come back any other week of the year to see that.” – Max Adler
Dom Furore
