Tee time in Augusta, Ga., means golf and so much more

They call their town the Garden City of the South, those folks down Augusta way. If you ever watch the Masters at Augusta National on television and marvel at the millions of colorful blossoms of magnolias, dogwoods and azaleas that line the fairways of Georgia's most famous golf course, then you might understand why.

The term "Garden City" does well to invoke images of the Old South and nonstop moonlight and magnolias, but, well, that's not quite what you'll find here. That's not to say there aren't flower-filled parks and private gardens — all manner of flora grows well in the Georgia humidity and heat — that existed here in the early 1900s, but they're not nearly as profuse as they once were.

While you may not find grand gardens in Augusta when you visit for the Masters, you will find great Southern restaurants, things to do and, yes, places to play golf. But first, you have to get there.

For a big city of 200,000, Augusta has a relatively small airport, but getting there is easier than ever for Masters Week. Augusta Regional Airport has several nonstop flights from Atlanta via Delta Air Lines, and American Airlines also offers connecting service through several cities.

Atlanta is just a two-hour drive away from Augusta straight down Interstate 20. But if you plan to arrive in style in your own or chartered aircraft, as several hundred do each year, there's plenty of plane parking at both Augusta Regional and Daniel Field.

From the airport, you should make a beeline to downtown's Augusta & Co., a combination visitor center, history museum, art gallery and marketplace, to learn more about the city and what to do and where to eat here. From golf to the "Godfather of Soul" James Brown, from Georgia-grown honey to Georgia-made whiskey, this showpiece is the best visitor center I've ever seen.

Ready for golf? Any time is tee time in Augusta, just not at the storied links of Augusta National. You can't play there unless you know somebody, who also knows somebody, and if that person knows somebody, and only then if that somebody is one of the few, very few, members of Augusta National. And then there's always the chance you still might not get to play. It's the Fort Knox of golf.

But not to worry. You can always boast that you "played Augusta" at any number of golf courses around the town, among them Forest Hills and Goshen Plantation in Augusta and Champions Retreat in Evans. Or play at Aiken Golf Club, the Reserve Club at Woodside Plantation or Palmetto Golf Club in nearby Aiken, S.C. In North Augusta, try the River Golf Club or Mount Vintage.

As much as there's plenty going on inside the gates of Augusta National during Masters Week, myriad events are happening outside of the gates, as well.

I'll start with the Augusta Mayor's Masters Reception on April 6, at the beginning of Masters Week. Called Augusta's premier kickoff event, this is your chance to have fabulous food, listen to music, and mix and mingle with some of golf's great contributors. The family-friendly event is at the downtown Augusta Common, a one-acre park of open space with benches, pretty Georgia brick and pigeons, sometimes lots of pigeons.

The Rock Fore! Dough is a Masters Week tradition held each year on the Tuesday night of the Masters. This year it is on April 7. It's Augusta's most rocking concert with the proceeds supporting youth golf programs at First Tee of Augusta. This year's lineup features Train, Scotty McCreery, Jordan Davis and more.

Other music events are the Major Rager on April 8 at the Country Club Dancehall and Saloon. And there's ParTee on the Green, a dance party featuring community dance groups, line dancing and live bands. It's also on April 8 at the Augusta Common.

All that action is going to leave you hungry. Augusta is all about great food with more than 400 restaurants and bars. Locals flock to these Southern-inspired eateries, and you should, too. Among them are Frog Hollow Tavern with its Georgia-inspired menu, the Boll Weevil Café and Sweetery's homemade desserts, the mix of Charleston and Texas at Noble Jones (think catfish stew or meatloaf ranchero), Sconyers Bar-B-Que for pit-cooked barbecue that's so good it was served at the White House during Jimmy Carter's administration, and Craft & Vine featuring handcrafted cocktails, a wonderful wine list and gourmet small plates (think deviled farm eggs and wood-fired salted pretzel bites with pimento cheese fondue).

As you might guess, hotel rooms are at a premium during Masters Week, if you can find one, that is. Hotels sell out early, like a year beforehand, so the demand is always high for new hotels to complement historic inns such as the Partridge Inn, the first hotel in Georgia to become part of the Historic Hotels of America, and the Olde Town Inn and Queen Anne Inn, both in historic Olde Towne and close to downtown restaurants and shops.

The newest kids on the block, chains but nonetheless new, are welcome additions during Masters Week. They are the Hyatt House Augusta Downtown with a fun rooftop bar and patio, and the Crowne Plaza North Augusta, just across the Savannah River in South Carolina and near SRP Park, where the minor league Augusta GreenJackets play ball.

It's completely unnecessary to be a golf fan or even a Masters patron — that's what the spectators are called — in Augusta during that busy week of play. But everywhere there is golf, golf and more golf in this Garden City of the South.