Sneak peak at Augusta National

Phil Mickelson has a green jacket waiting for him at Augusta National, but it wasn't enough to qualify him for the member Jamboree this weekend.

"I tried to get an application to join, but I couldn't find any around," he said Thursday at Doral Golf Resort & Spa.

Mickelson spent Wednesday at Augusta National, and it wasn't to prepare for the WGC CA Championship that started near Miami the next day. The Masters is very much on the mind of the two-time winner.

"The point was to see the changes and kind of get a feel for the course and get a visual," Mickelson said. "The ball chips and putts on those greens so different than any where else that going into my off week I wanted to have that mental picture of what I needed to practice."

Mickelson was curious to see the changes made, particularly to the 7th and 9th greens. While the softening of some slopes on the 9th were barely even perceptible, the extension of the back right on No. 7 might prove significant.

"The softening of the back of the 7th green, I thought that was the most dramatic change," Mickelson said. "It changes the hole because now long is okay. You can go over the green and get up and down possibly whereas before that wasn’t really realistic."

His review was more positive than that of Canadian transplant Stephen Ames, who said the alteration to No. 7 doesn't fix the problems caused by the recent lengthening of what used to be an intriguing short par 4.

"It's the only hole on the golf course that's really bad," Ames said after playing the course on Monday, the same day native Canadian and 2003 master champ Mike Weir took in his own sneak peak.

The players are starting to make more visits to Augusta National, and Mickelson said his timing this week was perfect except for the windy weather that prevented him from spending more time. He flew up there from Miami early Monday, picking up member Fleming Norvell on the way and meeting Warren Stephens at the club to fill out the group.

"The course is in tremendous shape," Mickelson said, noting that the upcoming Jamboree helped. "Great coverage of the grass."

He plans to go back to do his usual extensive preparation with Dave Pelz. Some notable other players who have said they might take an advance trip to Augusta in the two weeks left before the Masters starts are Tiger Woods, Ernie Els and defending champion Zach Johnson.

Mickelson's caddie, Jim "Bones" Mackay, walked the course with his boss Wednesday and was particularly impressed with the new spectator viewing area adjacent to the 16th hole. A bank was cut through what had been trees from the 6th tee down to the seating area across the pond from the 16th green, allowing viewing of three greens (6, 15 and 16) for more than 2,000 additional spectators.

Bones believes securing a spot near the top where you can watch play on the 5th green as well as the 6th and 16th would be his priority if he were just coming as a fan. With a stone staircase running from the top to the bottom of the hill and two new walkways giving access to the top and the middle of the bank from the rear entrance, it's an area that is likely to fill up fast.

"That would be the place I would want to stake out," said Mackay.