By Iain Carter BBC Five Live golf correspondent

Want to know what it takes to win the Masters?

Experience and the ability to chip. All this talk about length off the tee being vital might be off the mark. That's certainly the view of leading coach Pete Cowan, who's here looking after Lee Westwood and Darren Clarke.

Clarke and Westwood survey the course during Masters practice

We chatted as we watched his charges honing their skills, and Cowan was itching to be inside the ropes.

That privilege for coaches disappears once Masters week begins and only players are allowed to stride the fairways.

Cowan remembers advising Ian Woosnam on the Sunday before the tournament in the days when he could get between the ropes and see the true perspective of the course.

He says only then do you appreciate the difficulties the competitors face with their short games.

So if you're looking for a decent bet, go with someone who knows their way round and can chip brilliantly.

Of course, Tiger Woods fits the bill, but if it's not him, look at the in-form Phil Mickelson, Europe's last winner here Jose Maria Olazabal and Padraig Harrington - if the Irishman can click into gear.

Speaking of Woods - he's looking to the future and reckons he'll relish becoming a golf course designer.

Woods is a fan of the Royal Melbourne course

What would be his hallmark? Replicas of the glorious historic courses in Victoria, Australia, like Royal Melbourne.

One thing is for sure - they won't feature the artificial humps and hollows of so many modern courses.

Woods calls them "elephant burial grounds" and he hates them.

Having told you about the fast-food emporium that is the town of Augusta, the perfect antidote can be found down Magnolia Lane.

One of the joys of covering the Masters is breakfast in the clubhouse.

Their poached eggs and corned beef hash are perfect - as is the OJ.

I thought producer Graham McMillan and I had it bad as we struggled through Atlanta airport's tortuous security on Sunday, but our journeys were nothing to those of our colleagues John Murray and Alistair Bruce-Ball.

ABB, as he's known, was coming from his stag weekend in Barcelona and his flight to Heathrow was delayed by two hours.

His taxi driver took the law into his hands to get him to Gatwick for the transatlantic leg and he boarded with 30 seconds to spare.

John, meanwhile, was coming from Manchester and arrived at the airport only to find his ticket had been inadvertently voided.

It was only re-instated with 10 minutes to go before the gates closed and, in the process, the document changed from economy to club class.

He was then asked to swap seats on board. Being the obliging chap he is, John did so with no argument - and was rewarded with a bottle of wine.