Family time before build-up to battle: Par 3 contest, everyone's delight

This year, despite severe snowstorms up and down the East Coast, the warmer weather has teased the azaleas to be in full bloom just as the Masters week begins

The Par 3 contest day, always on the Wednesday preceding the main event on Thursday, is a festive “family” day when the children/families of players, all dressed in formal white caddy wear, play with them joyfully to help release all the tension of the build-up to the battle for the 2018 Green Jacket, and engage at close range with patrons who cherish the opportunity to be virtually within the ropes. The contestants steal occasional glances at the now quiet battlefield that sweeps down majestically from the hill of the first tee into the bowl that constitutes the first nine of