Snead, Hogan and Byron Nelson, who assumed the role of dinner emcee, are all gone now. But each had held court in his own corner of the room before the sit-down dinner began.

The current members pack around a large, rectangular table that is dressed with white linens and a few simple floral arrangements. The club chairman and reigning champion are seated at its head. Fred Couples said he usually pulls up a chair near Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Raymond Floyd. Fuzzy Zoeller always sat next to Herman Keiser, the 1946 champ, because Keiser’s grandson had asked Zoeller to take care of him. On one occasion, Keiser, who died in 2003, was missing. He had dozed off on the toilet, Zoeller said. “I had a hell of a time finding him,” he recalled.

That was nothing compared to Zoeller’s putting his foot in his mouth. When Tiger Woods romped to a 12-stroke victory it 1997, it prompted an insensitive wisecrack from Zoeller, who advised Woods “not to serve fried chicken and collard greens, or whatever it is they serve.” He later apologized.

(Of this year’s meal, Zoeller said: “Just make sure Schwartzel doesn’t burn the steaks and we’ll have a good time.”)

Woods, only 21 at the time, served cheeseburgers, chicken sandwiches, french fries and milkshakes. The late Gene Sarazen objected to Woods’s choice — “Who ever heard of a cheeseburger for dinner?” — and, as attendees always have the option of choosing food from the club’s regular menu, ordered a steak. So did the 1971 champion, Charles Coody, who said he wasn’t allowing Woods to get off with too cheap a bill. But the chairman at the time, Jack Stephens, liked Woods’s meal: “Cheeseburgers and milkshakes go good with wine,” he said.

The Spaniard José María Olazábal doesn’t need to think long to recount his favorite memory from dinners past. In 1999, Gary Player, the three-time champion from South Africa, asked him about his confidence. Olazábal, who had been sidetracked by a debilitating foot injury, admitted it was low. Player squatted in the middle of the crowd and broke into a lengthy pep talk.

“Look at me,” he said. “Believe in yourself.” Player repeated the words several times with growing conviction. Inspired, Olazábal won his second Masters that week and served paella the following year.