Are you making the pilgrimage to the Masters? Here's the skinny on Augusta deals and meals

Best Places for Fun After Dinner
To catch the day's highlights, head to Somewhere in Augusta (706-739-0002, somewhereinaugusta.com) on Washington, where 35 HD screens await. For live music, the Soul Bar (706-724-8880, soulbar.com) downtown on Broad Street will have you back up on your (tired) feet in no time.

Best Place to Stay
Hands down, it's the Partridge Inn (706- 737-8888, partridgeinn.com). Dating to 1892, this is Old South grandeur at its Gone With the Wind greatest, right down to its creaky stairwells and wraparound porch. Superior dining and the best Sunday brunch in Augusta takes place at the Partridge's Verandah Grill. Considering that nearly every other hotel in town is a second- or third-tier chain establishment, the Partridge soars. (As does its prices. Rooms go for $750 for a king and queen, $900 for a suite.)

Best Escape from the Golf
Augusta's Riverwalk stretches for five blocks along the Savannah River. Gardens, historic buildings and monuments will take your mind off the fact that all five of your players missed the cut in your office pool.

Best Rainy Day Activity
The Augusta History Museum (706-722- 8454, augustamuseum.org) is full of all things old, highlighted by both a Masters past-champions exhibit and a special collection devoted to lifelong resident James Brown. An interactive feature allows you to dance in step with the Godfather of Soul — I'd pay money to see a few of the ancient Augusta National members shimmying in their green jackets.

Best Traffic Advice
Be patient. This year a new spectator entrance and parking area has been created off Berckmans Road, so the usual traffic snarls on Washington might be a thing of the past — or not. Expect a glacial pace on highways and side streets until they work out the kinks by 2010.

Best Day to Attend the Masters
Wednesday is the most crowded but offers the greatest variety. Buy your trinkets early — and have them shipped home, so you don't have to lug them around. Watch the lads on the big course in the morning, then camp on the hill between the 8th and the 9th holes on the par-3 course an hour before the par-3 contest starts at 1 p.m. Spring for the souvenir Masters beverage cups (they'll hold up for years) and try a pimento-and-cheese sandwich, just to say you did. They're so cheap ($1.50), you'll have plenty of coin left over for the more edible Masters club sandwich for a paltry $2.50. Leave the par-3 a little early and walk Amen Corner in virtual solitude.

Exhale.