Many top Australian golfers will tell you their interest in golf began when they stayed up through the night watching the Masters, which is a little confusing given the coverage on TV starts around 6am. Let's start with some random facts about the club to get you in the mood . . .

1. Spectators are called "patrons" and are forbidden from running, taking off their shoes or lying down. Even slouching is frowned on, although screaming "get in the hole" despite the ball disappearing into the azaleas seems to be OK. Here's the crowd watching Tiger Woods tee off in 1998... 2. They say as you walk down Magnolia Lane towards the clubhouse, you are transported back to the 1950s - and that goes for food prices, too. MCG and Etihad Stadium, eat your heart out; if you want cheap food at a sporting event, Augusta is for you. You can pick up the specialty egg sandwich and a bottle of water for under three bucks. Or you can purchase a sausage biscuit for only $1.50. That's good news if you had to sell your granny to get a ticket. 3. Criticism of the course by TV commentators can result in expulsion, as Gary McCord discovered in 1994 when he said the greens were smoothed with "bikini wax", and was promptly taken off the air.

4. Organisers want the winning score to be between eight and 10 under par and use different pin positions in a bid to achieve that goal. In each of the past three years, they have been successful.

5. You cannot apply to be a member, or even ask about becoming one. It's rumoured Bill Gates did, which delayed his invitation by several years, but he's in now. In 2002, there was a high-profile stoush about the lack of women members but it took until 2012 for Augusta to admit its first two: businesswoman and philanthropist Darla Moore and former US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice. Here is Ms Rice, with one of the legends of Augusta, four-time winner Arnold Palmer.
6. This may be the most glamorous of all golf tournaments, but many others have stronger fields. Co-course founder Bobby Jones, who was an amateur but also one of the best golfers of all time, wanted amateurs to play a big part. This year there will be seven amateurs in the 97-man field. Former winners are also invited to play, so there will be several players in their 60s hobbling around the course.

7. The defending champion gets to host and choose the food for the champion's dinner on the Tuesday night before the tournament. In 1989, Scotsman Sandy Lyle served haggis. In 1986, German Bernhard Langer served schnitzel. Britain's Nick Faldo selected fish and chips and Canada's Mike Weir served elk. And in 1998, former champion Fuzzy Zoeller created a storm when he said he hoped Tiger Woods wasn't offering fried chicken.

The key holes

Because the TV coverage focuses on the back nine, and this is where most of the drama happens anyway, let's concentrate on the closing holes. The Augusta site was previously a plant nursery, hence the holes being named after flowers or shrubs (here's a gallery of aerial views of the course).

11th: White Dogwood, 462m, par 4

With an average score of 4.35 over the history of the Masters, this is the most difficult hole on the course. It is as long as many par fives and has a pond guarding the left of the green. It's also the first of the famous three-hole stretch called Amen corner, where so many tournaments have been won and lost. This is perhaps the most famous of Greg Norman's many Masters heartbreak holes, as this was the scene of Larry Mize's extraordinary chip in from 35 metres to defeat Norman in a play-off in 1987. Norman went from thinking he might have two putts from the edge of the green to win, to virtual oblivion. Mize has never been known for his exuberance, but he won plenty of fans with a sensational jig that was followed by his efforts to calm the crowd so the Shark could attempt his putt to keep his hopes alive. Not surprisingly, though, Norman missed.

12th: Golden Bell, 142m, par 3

This is a short but potentially deadly hole that has wreaked havoc over the years, mainly because the swirling wind makes club selection difficult and players may be hitting anything from a wedge to a six iron. Not to pick on Norman, but he's had his fair share of woes here too, losing his ball in the azaleas over the back of the green in 1999 and plopping it in the water during his calamitous collapse in 1996, when starting his final round six shots clear of Nick Faldo and ending it six shots behind.

 

The Shark did at least fare better on the 12th than Tom Weiskopf, who hit five balls into the water there in 1990 and finished with a 13. It is one of the few holes at Augusta that hasn't been lengthened but still rates one of the toughest.

13th: Azalea, 466m, par 5; 15th: Fire Thorn, 485m, par five

The two easiest holes on the course will feature birdies and eagles galore, given both can comfortably be reached in two. But Rae's Creek in front of the 13th green and the pond on 15 make them the classic risk and reward holes. Two of the few holes whose average score is under par, no thanks to Tommy Nakajima, who took a 13 on the 13th in 1978. On the flip side, Jeff Maggert holed his three iron for a two in 1994. And the 15th was the scene of one of the most famous shots in history: Gene Sarazen's "shot heard around the world". He holed his second shot there in 1935 with a four wood and went on to win the title in a play-off.

16: Red Bud, 155m, par 3

This is one of the most famous holes on the course due partly to the usual pin position on Sunday near the bottom of a slope that funnels most tee shots towards the hole and results in several birdies. And if you are Tiger Woods and have a massive contract with Nike, you can miss the green and then watch your chip shot roll relentlessly towards the hole before the ball stops on the edge of the cup just long enough for millions of viewers worldwide to see the Nike logo freeze, wobble and then disappear below ground.

That little bit of Tiger magic in 2005 earned him his fourth US Masters title. It was at Augusta he burst onto the scene as a 21-year-old when he won his first major, by a record 12 shots.

18th: Holly, 425m, par 4

Since the tee was pushed back 50 metres in 2002, the drive has become much harder, with bunkers on the left and trees on the right catching anything remotely wayward. Naturally, the scene of many of the most emotional moments in golf, when you hole out, take off your cap, raise your arms aloft, oblivious to the sweat patches and wait for your kids to run onto the green. The player who has celebrated the most here is Jack Nicklaus, whose six victories were capped off in extraordinary style in 1986, when he played the final 10 holes in seven under par at the age to 46 to win by one shot. Can you guess who was second? Poor Greg Norman, of course!

The Australians competing this week

With the withdrawal of Marc Leishman, there are now five of our boys in the field, two of whom are among the favourites.

Adam Scott Scott became the first Australian to slip on the winner's green jacket when he beat Angel Cabrera in a play-off in 2013 and he has missed the cut just twice in his 13 visits to Augusta. He has also been in the top 15 in 13 of his past 16 major championships. He was world No.1 for 11 weeks last year and is now ranked sixth. The key this week will be his putting. His experimentation with a standard-length putter in the past few weeks led to a first missed cut in three years and a dire ranking of 184 in the putting stats. The broomstick he won with here is outlawed from next year, but not surprisingly he's reverting to it this week.

Geoff Ogilvy Ogilvy's waning fortunes looked to be mirroring those of his beloved St Kilda football club until a stunning victory in the Barracouda championship in Reno on the US tour last year (pictured above) not only lifted four years of winless gloom but qualified him for the Masters. His form has fluctuated since then and he is still nowhere near in the sort of touch that won him the US Open championship in 2006. Now the world No. 103, he is a big outsider this week but has made the cut in each of his seven appearances at Augusta, with a tie for fourth his best in 2011. Was known for his fierce temper and magic putting stroke, but you wouldn't pay to see either at the moment.

Jason Day Norman has tipped him and he is probably the most likely Australian champion having already won a tournament this season and proved his love of Augusta with a second and third-placed finish in the past four years. He says he is confident and fit after an injury-plagued 2014.

Antonio Murdaca Secured his place by winning the Asia Pacific amateur at Royal Melbourne in October by seven shots, despite going into the tournament ranked Australia's ninth best amateur. The 19-year-old is a Happy Gilmore fanatic and described his qualification for the Masters as "pretty cool" – somewhat like his prospects.

Marc Leishman (withdrew)  Leishman has been by the bedside of his wife Audrey, who has been battling a life-threatening illness. She is on the road to recovery but Leishmam was not in a position to play. He said it was with "deep regret and incredible relief" that he is pulling out, with Audrey seemingly out of danger. He tied for fourth in the 2013 Masters.

John Senden Most players take a few years to get used to the course and Senden has steadily improved in each of his five visits, finishing tied for eighth last year (pictured), which secured him another invitation. A big Cold Chisel fan. If you are too, you can follow him on Twitter: @johnsendengolf

The favourites

Rory McIlroy The world No. 1 is so good he's started hurling his clubs into the lake to even things up. But this is the only major he hasn't won and the Northern Irishman has a best of eighth in six visits to Augusta.

Jordan Spieth He's 21 and already a superstar. Won the Australian Open by six shots with a stunning final round and was second in the Masters last year. Already a winner this season and ready to win a major.

Bubba Watson Like most people, he's never had a golf lesson. Unlike anyone else, he has won two of the past three Masters championships (pictured here taking the green jacket from Adam Scott in 2014). He can also bomb the ball over 300 metres and happens to be in great form.

Phil Mickelson A favourite with the patrons, a three-time winner at Augusta and, like Bubba, a left-hander. Hasn't won for two years, though, and at 44 may struggle to hold off the young guns. (Pictured above sinking a birdie on the 18th in 2012.)

Henrik Stenson The Swede rose to world No.4 in 2009 and then lost his touch so completely that he couldn't even win his home club championship in 2011 and fell to world No. 230. He's back now though at world No. 2. He's pictured here playing out of deep mud at a tournament in Florida in 2009.

Dustin Johnson Considered the most athletic, and one of the "hottest" professionals on tour. Johnson missed the last six months of last year, with Golf Magazine claiming he had tested positive for cocaine and had been suspended. The PGA Tour though said he was taking voluntary leave to sort out personal issues. A huge talent and huge hitter who hasn't been a challenger here yet, but may well be this week.