An attraction that Dianne King says has become a Masters Week tradition will go by a different name this year.

What once was known as the Augusta Golf & Gardens, Home of the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame, was changed about a month ago to the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame's Botanical Gardens. Ms. King, the marketing director for the Gardens, said the change comes as the attraction is experiencing big growth in its visitor numbers, has recently opened a children's education garden and has plans that include building a museum to house the hall of fame, possibly in two years.

"We're just excelling in so many ways," she said of the attraction, which is located along Reynolds Street in downtown Augusta and offers a walkthrough of several gardens that have sculptures of golf legends.

Ms. King said that during the past 12 months, the Botanical Gardens attracted 50,000 visitors, 14,000 of whom were schoolchildren from Georgia and South Carolina. Of the remaining 36,000 guests, Ms. King said, 70 percent have been visitors from elsewhere in the country or the world.

"We've probably increased our visitors 25 to 30 percent over the last year," she said.

Ms. King said the peak time for visitors is March 1 through July.

Click on map for a larger image. (Staff/Augusta Chronicle)

"We get a big bulk of visitors Masters Week," she said. "We've become a tradition for Masters guests. ... I've been here four years, and I see some of the same faces come through."

A facility at the gardens is storing items for the planned Georgia Golf Hall of Fame. Officials are hoping to get the Legislature to approve buying a 4.25-acre swath of state land for a museum and possibly other development near the gardens.

The purchase has won the approval of the Senate and the House. A joint agreement must now be passed in the Senate and then signed by the governor.

Rep. Quincy Murphy, D.-Augusta, said the proposed sale would boost Augusta's economy.

"I realize it can be a tremendous tourism attraction," he said.

Ms. King said the museum would most likely incorporate interactive golf exhibits. If the building is given the go-ahead, she said, the first order of business would probably be to construct a rotunda recognizing the hall of fame's 65 current members - a list that includes Larry Mize (Stats | Bio) , Davis Love III (Stats | Bio) and Tommy Aaron (Stats | Bio).

This year's inductees are Jerry Greenbaum, Janet Dobbins Olp and Eileen H. Stulb.

Ms. King said a few new names are added to the members list every year.

One interesting aspect of the nominating process involves the attraction's Web site - www.gghf.org - where anyone can make a nomination using an online form, Ms. King said.

If you go

WHAT: The Georgia Golf Hall of Fame's Botanical Gardens
WHEN: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
WHERE: 1 11th Street, at corner of 11th and Reynolds streets
COST: $6 for adults; $5 for seniors, military or students; $4 for children ages 4-12; and free to children age 3 or younger. A membership ($35 per person or $65 for a family) allows free admission to Augusta's Gardens, and to 150 gardens and some zoos throughout the nation.
NOT ALLOWED: Smoking, pets and bicycles
CONTACT: 724-4443
Reach Preston Sparks at (706) 828-3904 or preston.sparks@augustachronicle.com.