Remember public phones? The Masters still offers old-school devices as alternative to cellphones

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Attending the Masters for the first time was a new experience for Thomas Abraham, and it wasn't just about the golf.

The 16-year-old from Houston had the rare opportunity to use a public telephone for the first time.

''It was kind of cool,'' said Abraham, who phoned a friend while attending the Masters Par 3 competition on Wednesday with his father, Sid. ''I've never used one before. I figured it out. If I had to use one of those (rotary) phones I probably would've had to ask my dad.''

Augusta National requires its patrons to leave their cellphones and other electronic devices behind. In place of those security blankets, there are several public telephone banks of those throwback devices from days gone by. They are a foreign sight for many in the younger generation who've never seen a phone with an attached cord.

Abraham is not unlike most teenagers — or adults, for that matter — who are very much attached to the world through their cellphones.

At some point, chances are, patrons check for their phone — patting their pockets, reaching for the clip on their belts, wherever it usually is.

And when they can't find it, well...

He wasn't alone.

"I've checked my pockets for my phone no less than 10 times today," said Ryan O'Connor from Little Rock, Arkansas. ''I was sitting in the bleachers on the 16th green and someone dropped a water bottle and it made a loud noise and I instinctively reached for my phone. Not there."

The line at the public phone bank can stretch up to 10 people deep at the height of the Masters. And while they provide an outlet for those looking to touch base with the world outside of Augusta National's gates, there are some issues that come with them.

Like, remembering phone numbers.

Bill Kehoe, 50, from Raleigh, North Carolina came prepared.

''I can't even remember my own phone number, let alone anyone else's number,'' Kehoe joked. ''They're all saved in my phone.''

One of the calls he made was to his 14-year-old son Connor, who was on a school fieldtrip to Washington. D.C.

Connor had asked his dad to call at a prearranged time while he was on a bus, and his 8th grade classmates were shocked when his caller ID popped popped up as ''Augusta National Golf Club.''

''You could hear all of the kids like, ‘Oh, that's so cool!,'' Kehoe said with a laugh. "But then they all started asking for merchandise so I had to hang up.''

The reasons patrons disrupt their round of watching professional golf to make a call.

Tyler Johnson and his wife Lauren called home to Roswell, Georgia to check on their 5-year-old son, who is staying with his grandparents, "just to make sure there's no blood,'' Tyler said with a laugh. As mom and dad alternated talking to their son, they took pictures of each other talking on the odd-looking black public phone.

"I think the last time I used one of these was 1999, before Y2K, I think," Tyler joked.

While not having a cellphone is an inconvenience for some, others have come to relish the liberating feeling of being disconnected from the world for a little while.

Fletcher Lord from Little Rock texted his wife after he arrived at the course around 6 a.m. and reminded her not to expect to hear from him all day. He then set out to enjoy a few refreshments on a sunny, 70-degree day amid the serene backdrop of blooming azaleas and tall pines.

''Once you get over the anxiety of not having your phone, it's a very freeing feeling because it forces you to just be here in the moment," Lord said.

He phoned one of his old friends from high school just to see if he'd pick up. He did.

''He didn't recognize the number obviously, but when he saw Augusta National pop up he said I better pick this one up,'' O'Connor said.

Then it was off to enjoy the day.

''Is not having a phone a pain?" O'Connor said. "No, I think it's actually good for me. Those emails will be there when I get back home.''

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