Augusta turned upside down

When golf's galaxy descends on this small city each year, suburban homes turn into boarding houses, the quiet airport becomes a mini-O'Hare, little-used limousines are booked solid and displaced pets fill kennels. Caterers and restaurant workers become incredibly busy.

And, if you're going to Augusta for this week's Masters, you might want to pack your own towels.

Perhaps no more modest a U.S. city hosts a bigger event than the Masters, which brings in at least 225,000 people for the only major men's golf tournament held at the same site each year. That's well above the normal 192,000 population of Augusta-Richmond County.

When Bobby Jones invited the world's top players to Augusta in 1934, he couldn't foresee the impact the growing tournament would have on this quiet city of dogwoods and azaleas.

With only 5,500 hotel rooms, Augusta has developed a cottage industry of more than 2,000 homeowners who rent their homes for the week.

A quick inventory of local department stores gives the date away: Sheets, towels, pillows and rugs are in short supply as people stock up for their guests -- mostly golfers and corporate executives.

"It's amazing. You would think the pope was coming," said Elaine Gillespie, who plans to use her $1,900 rental fee to install hardwood floors.

The leases net owners tidy, tax-free profits of $1,500 to $15,000 for the week, minus the 7 percent commission charged by the two biggest rental agencies.

Years ago, Augusta schools used Masters week for spring break, allowing teachers, students and their families to head for the beach and avoid the crowds, or to stay home and pick up the numerous one-week jobs created by the tournament.

Some teachers work as maids or caterers, and many students work at Augusta National, doing everything from serving food to hauling equipment for journalists.

The Masters brings in an estimated $110 million in revenues, said Barry White, executive director of the Augusta Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Among those enjoying the boon are kennels, as hundreds of families evacuate but leave the pets behind; caterers, to serve the nightly corporate soirees, and limo drivers, a rare enterprise in the piney woods of eastern Georgia.

For the past decade, Babs and Norman Schaffer have fled the crowds and spent the second week of April at the beach -- Hilton Head, S.C.; Pensacola, Fla.; Cancun, Mexico, or Bermuda.

"I grew up in North Augusta and I've lived my golfing years," said Babs Schaffer, who charges $3,000 to $5,000 for their four-bedroom home. "I like to go on what I call a free trip."

Since 1995, the Schaffers have rented to the same well-known golfer she declines to identify. Renting to the same family makes the job easier.

"I know they won't freak out if I don't have 552 towels," Babs Schaffer said.

In addition to the trips, the Schaffers have used Masters money to install a pool, build an addition to their home and renovate their kitchen. She considers the Masters motivation for giving her home "a good spring cleaning."

Most agencies require homeowners to empty their refrigerators, clean out a few drawers for guests' clothes, and make closet space available. The rental agency Corporate Quarters requires a coffee pot and corkscrew.

Homeowners report that golfers are typically fussier renters than corporations and individuals.

"I had a golfer call me and tell me the pillows weren't fluffy enough," Diane Starr, president of Corporate Quarters, said.

Augusta's normally sleepy airport, Bush Field, is abuzz with private jets and expanded flights during the week. In a normal week, Bush averages 542 takeoffs and landings. During Masters week, that figure soars to about 2,500.

As a reminder to golfers who may head straight from the course to the airport, the airport has a prominent sign saying that spiked golf shoes are prohibited in the terminal.

Some Augustans even hang out at the airport to catch a glimpse of celebrities who don't come to town the 51 other weeks of the year.

"It feels almost like you're in another town and you're on vacation yourself," said Starr's daughter, Traci Ratley, who rents her home but stays in town to work at the family's catering business.

"All the parties and all the events -- everything is so beautiful."