You won’t find any magnolias or dogwood trees at the Augusta Country Club, but that doesn’t prevent a lot of people from confusing the course in Manchester, Me. with its more famous counterpart, Augusta National Golf Club, in Augusta, Ga.

It happens every year around the Masters and this year was no exception. In setting up a petition to protest the fact Augusta National has no female members, organizers mistakenly went to the Augusta Country Club website and retrieved staff e-mail addresses.

“They confused us with Augusta National and started this snowball effect of women starting petitions all over the country,” director of membership and marketing Randy Blouin said. “It was a standard e-mail signed by each individual. I didn’t go through all 5,000 of them.”

Blouin, who said the club has long welcomed members of any race or gender, did not respond to the e-mail, nor did he forward them to Augusta National. The confusion is nothing new.

“We probably got 10 calls the last couple of weeks, wondering how to pick up tickets.,” Blouin said.

Blouin got a call from one lady who asked if she and her husband could walk the course.

“I told the lady you can actually come out and play,” Blouin said. “She said ‘my husband will love this.’ “

Blouin said he got a hint of a southern accent before responding “I have to ask you, were you calling Augusta National?”

The confusion goes back several years with perhaps the most publicized incident occurring in the late 1980s when a group from Japan got rerouted from Laguardia Airport to Augusta, Me. instead of Augusta, Ga.

“They sent them up here and they came into the club,” former pro Pete Hatfield said. “They thought it was Augusta National.”

The group bought a lot of merchandise from the pro shop and asked if they could take pictures of the ninth hole.

“It was hard conversing with them,” Hatfield said. “Finally it dawned on me what was happening.”

Hatfield said the group was good natured about the mistake and former general manager Al Biondi told then they could play golf and gave them lunch.

Hatfield recalled a phone call he got during the Masters one year from England asking him who was leading the tournament.

“I thought it was our weekend tournament and I said Mark Plummer,” Hatfield said. “The guy said ‘Mark Plummer? Who the hell is he?’ “

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The weekend forecast of rain is welcome news to courses in central Maine.

“We’ve had to water all over the course,” Natanis general manager Rob Browne said. “We could actually use some.”

Natanis opened March 17 and had all 36 holes open last weekend. Groundskeepers began mowing last week and have been lowering the height on the greens a little at a time.

“We’re in phenomenal shape right now,” Browne said.

Springbrook opened March 30, its earliest opening in 28 years according to owner Joe Golden.

“This is the first time we’ve mowed fairways in April,” Golden said. “We’ve irrigated a few times. It’s really uncharted territory.”

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The Maine golf industry generated $270 million in 2011, according to a study by University of Maine economists Todd Gabe and James McConnon. The study includes expenditures by golfers and related multiplier effects. The industry supports 4,936 full-and part-time jobs in Maine that provide $90 million in revenue.

The study is based on surveys from the state’s 144 golf courses at the end of the 2011 season as well as visitor spending figures from the Maine Office of Tourism.

“Golf ranks right up there with activities such as hunting, fishing, skiing and snowmobiling in terms of participation by visitors to Maine,” Gabe said.

Courses reported that 31 percent of their players come from out of state. Maine ranks 32nd nationally in terms of statewide demographics for playing golf.

“It’s noteworthy that the many of the states with the best demographics for golf are located in Maine’s primary tourism market,” Gabe said. “Places such as Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey and Maryland have some of the most favorable population demographics for playing golf, which explains why so many tourists to Maine are likely to hit the links.”

Added Nancy Storey, the executive director of the Maine State Golf Association: “Despite its draw, golf has been under-recognized as a major contributor to Maine’s tourism industry. Golfing tourists are traditionally more affluent, older and willing to spend money on luxury accommodations and dining, meaning that their economic contribution per person is significant.”

The report is available at the School of Economics website, [ http://www.umaine.edu/so ]www.umaine.edu/soe.

CHIP SHOTS: Belgrade Lakes Golf Course plans to open April 28 . . . The Augusta Country Club is hosting a pair of big events this summer, beginning June 19-20 with the Charlie’s Maine Open. The Women’s Amateur will be held at Augusta on July 23-25 . . . The eastern Maine Seniors will hold a tournament at Natanis on April 30 . . . Ladies league play begins at Cobbossee Colony on April 28 . . . Clinton Golf Course plans to open May 12.

Gary Hawkins — 621-5638

ghawkins@centralmaine.com