Masters feels growing Payne as Augusta looks to future

Augusta National chairman Billy Payne drives a golf cart along one of the roads at the course during player practice rounds ahead of the 2015 Masters at the Augusta National Golf Course in Augusta, Georgia April 6, 2015. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

AUGUSTA, Georgia (Reuters) - Once resistant to opening club doors to blacks and women, Augusta National, the manicured and staid home of the Masters, has often embraced change as enthusiastically as most Americans welcome higher taxes.

But in recent years, the club that did not admit its first woman member until 2012 has displayed progressive vision and long-range planning as it focuses its considerable resources and efforts on growing the game around the world and expanding the club's boundaries at home.