During the 10 years that Billy Payne worked to make the Olympic Games in Atlanta a reality, frustration was much more plentiful than quiet time. As president and chief executive officer for the 1996 Games, the former University of Georgia defensive lineman knew what to expect.
In an effort to create more opportunities to deal with the frustrations, he made it a point to play golf every Sunday morning by himself before church. It was during that time that he became passionate about the game, a passion that has now led him to one of the most prestigious positions in golf: chairman of Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters.
"I would have to say this is a great way to top a career," said the 58-year-old Payne, who's been a member at Augusta National since 1997. "I am honored, obviously, and humbled to be in this position and my goals will be to, first and foremost, preserve the traditions that make this place so special."
Payne succeeds 75-year-old Hootie Johnson, who led the club and the tournament through a tumultuous portion of its history. Radical changes to the Augusta National layout and the controversy over women as members there and the highly-publicized challenge of that policy by Martha Burk in 2003 kept Johnson and the Masters on the front page of newspapers.
Payne, who has been chairman of the Masters media committee since 2000, said Monday that, as he takes over officially in a couple weeks, there won't be many changes awaiting the players when they arrive in Georgia for the 2007 Masters.
"We'll be adding between 5 and 7 yards to the front of the tees on No. 11 and 15," Payne said. "Most of the tees average about 20 yards in length, and this will make those two tees more consistent and will give us more flexibility when weather and wind conditions dictate.
"We're also going to adjust the mowline (making the fairway a little wider) about 3-5 yards on the right on No. 11 fairway between the 280- and 300-yard mark," he said. "We'll also be removing the grass from under the pine trees to the right of the 11th fairway and replacing it with pine straw to make that more consistent with the rest of the course."
As for Burk, Payne doesn't anticipate sitting down and discussing the issue with her.
"I don't think that dialogue would be meaningful or helpful," he said.
Payne plays to a 6.8 handicap and said, the last time he played Augusta National in tournament conditions, he shot something "in the mid-80s."
His appointment continues something of a youth movement at Augusta National. Two weeks ago, 77-year-old Will Nicholson resigned as chairman of the competition committee and was replaced by 53-year-old Fred Ridley, a former U.S. Amateur champion and USGA president.
Payne is a partner with Gleacher Partners, an Atlanta-based investment banking firm and sits on the board of three companies: Lincoln National Corporation, Cousins Properties and Anheuser-Busch.
Payne said he'll continue to try to convince Arnold Palmer to become an honorary starter for the Masters, but he doesn't see much more major change on the way.
"We believe we have the course just about right now," he said. "We'll continue to support the ongoing efforts of golf's governing bodies for limitations on equipment, of course. But the majority of comments we heard from players this year were very positive about our golf course."
