After nicking off the tip of a toe with a lawnmower a decade ago, Delores Beery decided her lawn needed a do-over. Over the course of four years, she and her husband, L.W. “Buddy” Nichols, replaced every blade of grass with pea gravel, river pebbles, river rock, mountain stone, flagstone and pavers. But the real mulligan came later, when they completed a 680-square-foot golf green in a portion of their backyard.
“I dedicated the course to the Masters,” Nichols says. “When you get to the No. 12 hole on my little course, you’re looking at No. 12 at the Masters.”
He’s referencing a large metal sign affixed to a fence that holds a full-color photo depicting one of golf’s most storied holes. Also known as the “Amen Corner” (along with portions of holes 11 and 13), the 155-yard, par-3 12th hole at Georgia’s Augusta National Golf Club often decides who prevails in the Masters tournament, one of the four major championships in professional golf.
“That’s where I sat when I got to go to the Masters a few years ago and saw the greats come through,” Nichols says of the photo, which shows the putting green surrounded by red and pink azaleas and white dogwoods in bloom.
Nichols’ course, completed in September 2017, includes a sand trap – white, like the Augusta bunkers – two water features, and a net at one end where he can practice chips and drives.