The Eisenhower Cabin At Augusta National

Apr 04, 2019

It was designed by a local architect in combination with the Secret Service as a place where a US President could stay safely

The Eisenhower Cabin At Augusta National

The Eisenhower Cabin at Augusta National, seen at the Masters, is a residence fit, if not actually for a king, then for a head of state. Literally. It was built for a US president and partly designed by the Secret Service.

Ike Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in World War II, had become a member of Augusta National in 1948, six months after he had had a two-week vacation staying at the cub. He told reporters it had been his “best vacation in years.”

In 1953 Eisenhower was elected President of the United States.

A regular vacation at Augusta had become part of his life, and he wished to continue this as President. (Indeed, in his eight years as President he visited the club 29 times.)

Tiger Woods tees off with the Eisenhower Cabin in the background. (Photo by Robert Beck /Sports Illustrated/Getty Images)

So Augusta had to provide somewhere fit for a President to say in. A new cabin had to be built. (When I first heard about the Augusta cabin my mind’s eye had conjured up something a kin to a grand log cabin. Nothing could be further from the truth, as the picture shows.)

This cabin was paid for by Augusta members and designed by a local architect in association with the Secret Service.

This particular white house looks much like other cabins on the property, but is bigger and has facilities the others lack. For example there is a basement designed to accommodate the Secret Service.

Local architect Lowrey Stulb and his firm, Eve and Stulb, were given the contract. Stulb was the son-in-law of Ed Dudley, the club’s first professional.

Work on the three-storey, seven-bedroom cabin began the day after the 1953 US Masters had finished. Stulb recalled.

“We had construction crews in Monday morning at eight o’clock after the tournament that year.

We had until October 1. On October 1, they turned keys over right on time.”

Stulb was given a golf charm by the president and first lady. On it was a depiction of the cabin and replica signatures of the Eisenhowers, as well as Cliff Roberts and Bobby Jones, who founded and ran the club.

The Eisenhower Cabin is near Augusta’s 10th tee, and has the Presidential seal above the door.

The Presidential Seal above the door of Eisenhower Cabin at Augusta National

Eisenhower’s stays there followed a regular pattern of work in an office in the morning, and then in the afternoon he would hit some practice balls and then play a round, often in company with Cliff Roberts and the club pro. In the evening Ike liked to play bridge.

Eisenhower is not the only president to have stayed there. Ronald Raegan did so in 1983 with senior figures in his administration when planning the invasion of Grenada.

During Reagan’s visit there a gunman broke into the club and took hostages in the pro shop – the gunman wanted to talk to the President about job losses.

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