As a 21-year-old first-time Masters participant, José Luis Ballester faces a tough task preparing for the first major of the year at Augusta National. And his preparation became even harder on Monday when his coach was ejected from Augusta’s range for a sartorial offence: wearing shorts.
Ballester earned his spot in the Masters field by winning the 2024 U.S. Amateur at Hazeltine. Adding to the potential nerves is the fact that Ballester, who goes by the nickname Joséle, is paired with two-time Masters champion and World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and two-time PGA champion Justin Thomas on Thursday and Friday.
That’s considerable pressure for Joséle, who will primarily be playing college golf this year as a senior at Arizona State University. To help him prepare to compete at Augusta National for the first time, he brought along his head coach at ASU, Matt Thurmond.
Coach’s Big Shorts Mistake
Thurmond is also in an unfamiliar position this week at Augusta. It’s the first time a student of his has been in the Masters field.
Augusta National is renowned for its strict rules, but some of the rules for patrons differ from those for players and their teams inside the ropes.
And Thurmond learned that the hard way.
On Monday, Thurmond was near the Tournament Practice Facility, the official name for Augusta’s tournament range and practice area. He saw one of his former students hitting balls, so, with his coach’s badge around his neck permitting access to the practice area, he went to say hello.
One problem: he was wearing shorts. While patrons are allowed to wear shorts during Masters week, players and their coaches are not.
His stay on the range didn’t last more than a few minutes. Before long, a tournament official or member came by and politely “removed” Thurmond from the area for wearing shorts.
Thurmond shared the bizarre story via a post on X, in which he called his shorts mistake the “first bogey of the week.”
Strolled out onto the Augusta range today with my coach badge. Got removed for wearing shorts. First bogey of the week. Celebrated with an egg salad sandwich. Pants tomorrow.
— Matt Thurmond (@MattThurmond) April 7, 2025
“I went out on the range without thinking, gave him a hug,” Thurmond told Golfweek. “After about one shot and one quick hello, they came out and said, ‘I’m sorry, sir, you can’t be on the range in shorts.’”
Augusta National’s Strict Rules
Thurmond sent his X post announcing his removal at 20:49 BST on Monday. His late report is due to another of Augusta National’s zero-tolerance rules: no mobile phones are allowed on the property.
While there is some leeway for players, patrons must surrender their phones at the gates unless they leave them behind before arriving at the course. Thurmond left his phone in the car before heading onto the grounds and posted on X once he had left.
Among the other rules for patrons and members alike is that running is not allowed on the property. Should you pick up your pace, someone will correct you quickly.
In the clubhouse dining room, members and guests are required to wear sports jackets, and no hats are permitted.
While patrons are allowed to wear shorts, they must dress in “golf casual” attire. This means collared shirts are recommended, and jeans or other more casual clothing are not permitted.
Jason Day Gets Sweater Banned
People running up against Augusta’s clothing rules is not a new phenomenon. One notable example came at last year’s Masters.
Jason Day began Friday’s play at the 2024 Masters wearing a white Malbon sweater featuring gaudy block lettering. The sweater quickly became a topic of conversation. Then it disappeared.
It turns out that at some point on Friday, tournament officials asked Day to remove the sweater because it wasn’t deemed appropriate for the Masters.
“Yeah, they asked me to take it off—the vest—yesterday… the busy one,” Day said at the time. “Respectfully, you do that because it’s all about the tournament here, and I understand that. I respect the tournament. That’s why we’re here—to try and play and win the green jacket.”
As for Thurmond, consider it a lesson learned. Ballester, his student, tees off for his first-ever Masters round on Thursday at 15:15 BST.
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