I have been trying for several days to write a blog post about The Masters, but I cannot come up with appropriately eloquent prose to convey the depth of my feeling. So instead of doing an injustice to the finest, purest sporting event in the world, I’ve decided to merely make a list of things I love about The Masters. It is long. And if you aren’t a fan, then it may seem silly. But if you get it, you get it. So without further ado, and in no particular order, here is what I love about that little tradition unlike any other, The Masters on CBS:
- Hearing Jim Nantz say, “a tradition unlike any other…”
- Hearing Jim Nantz say, “Hello, friends”
- Hearing Jim Nantz say pretty much anything
- Hearing Jim Nantz reminisce about his days at Houston, when he dreamt of calling Fred Couples’ Masters victory…and then having that dream realized in 1992
- The fact that Fred Couples is in his 50s and wears boat shoes, yet still seems to be in contention every year
- The crowd being called patrons
- The rough being called the second cut
- Azaleas and dogwoods in bloom
- Peter Oosterhuis describing how President Eisenhower campaigned to have the tree later named for him along the 17th hole removed because he hit it so often, and how President Eisenhower was ruled out of order by the club chairman.
- The year David Feherty described playing August National as “being tortured by a beautiful woman.”
- Waiting for Feherty to crack me up all week
- When it happens
- Nick Faldo referring to “the pull of Rae’s Creek”
- Caddies wearing white coveralls
- Green Masters hats
- Georgia pines against clear blue skies
- Late afternoon sun streaming through said Georgia pines
- Shadows on the 10th green
- Shadows on all the other greens
- Good lag putts that trickle 8 feet by
- 56 minutes out of every hour presented without commercial interruption
- Fine tolerances
- Horticultural names for all the holes
- The Green Jacket
- Butler Cabin interviews
- Amateur invites
- The theme music (“Augusta” by Dave Loggins)
- The fact that Fox (and its infernal robots) has absolutely nothing to do with the tournament
- Moving Day
- The first seconds of coverage on Saturday and seeing who is making a move on Moving Day
- Checking the flagstick on 11 to know what the wind is doing on 12
- Eagle roars
- Birdie roars too
- The way the leaderboard compacts on the front 9 on Sunday
- The tournament beginning on the back 9 on Sunday
- Playoffs at twilight
- Projecting the cut line on Friday
- Low Amateurs recognized in Butler Cabin
- The awkwardness of having one nervous man put a jacket on another nervous man on national TV
- Magnolia Lane
- Bill Macatee telling us that the 14th hole (Chinese Fur) is the only hole on the course without any bunkers
- The Crow’s Nest
- Ultimate risk reward par 5s
- The honorary starters on Thursday morning (Palmer, Player, and Nicklaus)
- Fairways like velvet
- Greens so fast that the concussive force of a golf shot landing on the green can knock another ball off the green (happened at #6 a few years back)
- White sand bunkers
- Traditional pin placements
- Shots from the pine straw
- Reminders from the commentators on how steep the course really is
- Memories of 1986
- “Yes, SIRRRR!”
- “In your LIFE have you seen anything like it?”
- Verne Lundquist
- Replays of Larry Mize’s chip-in on 11 to win in 1987
- Replays of Nick Faldo’s bomb on 11 to win in 1989
- Nick Faldo’s accent
- David Feherty’s accent
- Iced tea and Girl Scout cookies (my little tradition)
- Did I mention the theme song?
- The ultimate combination of God’s creation and man’s stewardship thereof
- Required imagination
- The shot heard round the world
- “At long last!”
- Watching the ball funnel toward the hole on 16 on Sunday
- Watching for aces at 16 on Sunday
- Leaders in the clubhouse
- “Fore please, [Name] now driving.”
- Azalea (the hole, #13)
- Leaderboard watching
- Finding out what was served at the Champions Dinner on Tuesday night
- Finding out who complained about what was served at the Champions Dinner on Tuesday night
- Is anyone still reading this?
- Close proximities of the holes
- The tiers on the 9th green
- Watching a good tournament unfold
- Phil Mickelson smiling and nodding at adoring fans (happens everywhere, but is more special at Augusta)
- Amen Corner
- The MacKenzie Bunker
- Approach shots to #2 on Sunday
- The Par 3 contest
- The 14th green
- Anticipation on Sunday before the leaders tee off
- Strategy at #3
- Bubba’s hook shot from the pine straw in the playoff in 2012
- Watching players putt off the green and into the water at #13
- Watching past champions make the climb up 18 to an ovation
- Watching Phil’s back 9 charge to win his first major in 2004
- A dozen other things I’ve forgotten but will remember as soon as I post this
- The theme song
- Hearing Jim Nantz say, “a tradition unlike any other…”
- Hearing Jim Nantz say, “Hello, friends”
- Hearing Jim Nantz say pretty much anything
- Hearing Jim Nantz reminisce about his days at Houston, when he dreamt of calling Fred Couples’ Masters victory…and then having that dream realized in 1992
- The fact that Fred Couples is in his 50s and wears boat shoes, yet still seems to be in contention every year
- The crowd being called patrons
- The rough being called the second cut
- Azaleas and dogwoods in bloom
- Peter Oosterhuis describing how President Eisenhower campaigned to have the tree later named for him along the 17th hole removed because he hit it so often, and how President Eisenhower was ruled out of order by the club chairman.
- The year David Feherty described playing August National as “being tortured by a beautiful woman.”
- Waiting for Feherty to crack me up all week
- When it happens
- Nick Faldo referring to “the pull of Rae’s Creek”
- Caddies wearing white coveralls
- Green Masters hats
- Georgia pines against clear blue skies
- Late afternoon sun streaming through said Georgia pines
- Shadows on the 10th green
- Shadows on all the other greens
- Good lag putts that trickle 8 feet by
- 56 minutes out of every hour presented without commercial interruption
- Fine tolerances
- Horticultural names for all the holes
- The Green Jacket
- Butler Cabin interviews
- Amateur invites
- The theme music (“Augusta” by Dave Loggins)
- The fact that Fox (and its infernal robots) has absolutely nothing to do with the tournament
- Moving Day
- The first seconds of coverage on Saturday and seeing who is making a move on Moving Day
- Checking the flagstick on 11 to know what the wind is doing on 12
- Eagle roars
- Birdie roars too
- The way the leaderboard compacts on the front 9 on Sunday
- The tournament beginning on the back 9 on Sunday
- Playoffs at twilight
- Projecting the cut line on Friday
- Low Amateurs recognized in Butler Cabin
- The awkwardness of having one nervous man put a jacket on another nervous man on national TV
- Magnolia Lane
- Bill Macatee telling us that the 14th hole (Chinese Fur) is the only hole on the course without any bunkers
- The Crow’s Nest
- Ultimate risk reward par 5s
- The honorary starters on Thursday morning (Palmer, Player, and Nicklaus)
- Fairways like velvet
- Greens so fast that the concussive force of a golf shot landing on the green can knock another ball off the green (happened at #6 a few years back)
- White sand bunkers
- Traditional pin placements
- Shots from the pine straw
- Reminders from the commentators on how steep the course really is
- Memories of 1986
- “Yes, SIRRRR!”
- “In your LIFE have you seen anything like it?”
- Verne Lundquist
- Replays of Larry Mize’s chip-in on 11 to win in 1987
- Replays of Nick Faldo’s bomb on 11 to win in 1989
- Nick Faldo’s accent
- David Feherty’s accent
- Iced tea and Girl Scout cookies (my little tradition)
- Did I mention the theme song?
- The ultimate combination of God’s creation and man’s stewardship thereof
- Required imagination
- The shot heard round the world
- “At long last!”
- Watching the ball funnel toward the hole on 16 on Sunday
- Watching for aces at 16 on Sunday
- Leaders in the clubhouse
- “Fore please, [Name] now driving.”
- Azalea (the hole, #13)
- Leaderboard watching
- Finding out what was served at the Champions Dinner on Tuesday night
- Finding out who complained about what was served at the Champions Dinner on Tuesday night
- Is anyone still reading this?
- Close proximities of the holes
- The tiers on the 9th green
- Watching a good tournament unfold
- Phil Mickelson smiling and nodding at adoring fans (happens everywhere, but is more special at Augusta)
- Amen Corner
- The MacKenzie Bunker
- Approach shots to #2 on Sunday
- The Par 3 contest
- The 14th green
- Anticipation on Sunday before the leaders tee off
- Strategy at #3
- Bubba’s hook shot from the pine straw in the playoff in 2012
- Watching players putt off the green and into the water at #13
- Watching past champions make the climb up 18 to an ovation
- Watching Phil’s back 9 charge to win his first major in 2004
- A dozen other things I’ve forgotten but will remember as soon as I post this
- The theme song
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