Our first look at an eerily quiet but still stunning Augusta National

Augusta National Golf Club opened to photographers at 7:45 a.m. Monday morning and Golf Digest’s Ben Walton was there to get an early sense of what a fan-less November Masters might look like. Short answer: Very quiet, but still gorgeous.

With the move from its traditional April date to late fall, it’s already apparent Augusta National will have a slightly different aesthetic. There will no blooming azaleas or dogwoods, but there will be a golden hue to the foliage. Even more apparent is that this year’s tournament will be absent thousands of fans who line the fairways and greens of every hole. A loss in atmosphere, perhaps, but given the dazzling backdrop, not a terrible trade-off for viewers at home.