Most people would rest after hearing the word 'worse' from a doctor, but Charles Coody heard it and started getting ready to leave. After spending 30 days in the hospital with mononucleosis, the 25-year-old had only one thing on his mind at that time: Augusta National.

"Doc, if you let me out, I'm going," Coody said, "because this might be the only chance in my lifetime to play there."

The warning was plain: if there was a relapse, "It would be worse than the original infection."

Coody borrowed a Cadillac convertible from a Fort Worth car dealer, pointed it east, and drove through five states to get there. The moment he turned down Magnolia Lane, every mile made sense.

"When you drive down Magnolia Lane, you've never seen anything like that," Charles Coody said. "We had more rocks than grass back home. Now you're in golf heaven."

He missed the cut that week, his body still running on fumes, but he came back and came back again.

Green Jacket That Made It All Worth It

At the 1971 Masters, birdies on Nos. 15 and 16 in the final round helped him past Jack Nicklaus and Johnny Miller by two strokes. It was also payback for 1969, when three closing bogeys cost him a real shot at the title.

Now 88, Coody is back for the 2026 Masters. Post-polio syndrome has taken away his ability to play, but not his love for the place. He rides a cart, walks the greens when he can, and helps friends read putts.

"It's a special feeling of pride and accomplishment to have done something very well, at least the one time," Coody said, "and come here and put on the Green Jacket."

This visit feels different, though. He has hinted it could be his last unless his grandson, Pierceson Coody, ranked 51st in the world, earns a Master's invitation. A back injury forced Pierceson to withdraw at Houston last week, just short of the top 50.

For Charles Coody, that one stings. Some roads to Augusta are never easy.

Read more at Club Golf!

Written by

Sneha Abraham

Edited by

Siddharth Shirwadkar