Members of the media in town this week to cover the Masters Tournament can thank Clifford Roberts for the spacious and state-of-the-art facilities available to help them cover the event.

After all, it was the desire of the late tournament chairman to make sure everything about the Masters was first-class. Even though he did not live to see the current Press Building, which opened in 1990, he no doubt would be impressed by the cavernous facility.

Most sports writers consider the Press Building to be among the best of its kind.

Not only is there a seemingly endless supply of free sandwiches and soft drinks in the upstairs lounge, those lucky enough to have an assigned seat in the main portion have the whole tournament at their fingertips. Giant-screen televisions, a digital scoreboard and headphones to listen to interviews being conducted on the ground floor of the building are just a few of the amenities.

It's a far cry from the Quonset hut that served as the media headquarters from 1953 to 1989. The hut was a cozy and intimate setting, but it was a noisy and cramped venue that had grown outdated.

Edwin Pope, who has been covering the Masters since 1947, remembers a much more informal atmosphere in the old days.

"The press tent was literally a press tent, located over by the first fairway," said Pope, now a columnist for The Miami Herald. "It had planks on the floor and 12 or 13 typewriters. Each one had a big barrel of whiskey beside it, in various stages of emptiness. Mostly empty."

The Press Building, just off Augusta National's first fairway, offers easy access to the golf course. In addition to the main press area, the building houses an interview room, separate quarters for radio and television, photo labs and an Internet room.

The main arena seats about 400 people, mostly daily newspaper and magazine writers. They can follow action on the course in a variety of ways:

l Two big-screen television sets show tournament coverage and player interviews being conducted downstairs.

l Nine television monitors, each with a live feed to one of the back nine holes, are grouped together.

l An electronic scoreboard, measuring 7 feet by 27 feet, gives up-to-the-minute scoring.

l For those who prefer tradition, a group of volunteers operates the manual scoreboard that gives hole-by-hole scoring for each competitor.

For those looking to take a break or catch up with old acquaintances, the Charles Bartlett Lounge is the perfect spot. Located upstairs in the building, the lounge is named for the former golf editor of The Chicago Tribune and was dedicated April 10, 1968.

Reach John Boyette at (706) 823-3337 or john.boyette@augustachronicle.com.