What it's like to cover the Masters
Nice grass, for one thing.
When it comes to my job, the question I probably get asked more often than any other is what it’s like to cover the Masters.
The short answer? It’s surreal. Very literally. When you walk onto the course, you have to feel the ground to double-check whether that’s grass or turf. If you see a flower bush starting to wilt, check again the following morning — the entire bush will almost certainly be replaced with a freshie. The Masters may be the largest human gathering in the U.S. where nobody has their phones with them. And you find yourself asking strange questions. “Is that Justin Timberlake?” “Can Augusta just install brand-new hundred-foot trees?” “Is Bryson DeChambeau teeing off with Condoleeza Rice?” (Yes, yes and yes.)
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But there’s something extremely normal about the sort of fun it is to cover the event. Every year GOLF Magazine gets a rental house (multiple houses, in less restrictive times) where we can start and finish long work days with dinners, games, beers, stories. Early in the week, there’s a good chance of sneaking out for an evening nine at a local public course. And there’s a simple pleasure to being in the South in the springtime. After all, it’s not just Augusta National that has the flowers and greenery — the entire region is peaking in early April.
From a professional standpoint, it’s energizing to cover an event that puts golf, for one week, at the center of the sports world. From a personal standpoint, it’s fun to go for a morning jog, see the machinery of the tournament coming together all across town, smell the azaleas (and breathe the pollen) and wonder what might happen at the course that day.
(Here’s some visual evidence that I was there, staring down Jordan Spieth)
Augusta National is hardly without its faults. It’s hardly breaking news that the club has a history of resisting social progress of any kind (not to mention the lesser crime of taking itself too seriously). There’s a certain cognitive dissonance in holding up this course as the pinnacle of the sport when the things that it has historically represented — exclusion, elitism, general haughtiness — are golf’s biggest turnoffs in the general public.
But I’m cautiously encouraged by the club’s direction in recent years. The Women’s Amateur has been a massive success. Augusta’s growing support of local HBCUs is promising. They’ve shown a renewed commitment to helping the local community. And I didn’t realize how emotional last Thursday’s first-tee ceremony honoring Lee Elder, the first Black Masters participant, would be until I felt it in person.
So, yeah, covering the Masters is a lot of different things. But each day I have a simple, challenging job to find something interesting and write about that thing. That’s pretty cool.
What I wrote from Augusta:
(Links are in red.)
Augusta National’s abandoned ‘Ladies Course’ plans: Originally, Augusta National had plans for a ‘Ladies Course.’ What happened?
What Chicken Salad Means at the Masters: The Masters debuted a new chicken salad sandwich. No big deal, right? But the rollout taught us plenty about the culture at Augusta National.
Lessons from Augusta’s Practice Area: On Masters Friday, the driving range is a revealing place to be.
The Moment the Masters Changed: Lucky me! When the Masters suddenly got tight late on Sunday, I was sitting in the perfect spot to see the action.
What else I’ve been working on:
Non-Masters edition.
The Monday Finish: My biggest task each week has been churning out ‘The Monday Finish’ which is my way of recapping the week in golf. This past Monday that meant breaking down sights and sounds from on the ground at the Masters, but other weeks it means bite-sized thoughts on the players, courses and hot topics that took center stage that week.
Thus far, success! I’ve gotten some promising feedback from a bunch of you, and the numbers back up that our readers are eager to dive into a sprawling piece of Monday analysis.
Muni Mondays: Yeah, another recurring Monday franchise…Sunday nights are busy around here! This is basically my chance to highlight the under-the-radar stories of public courses across the country. Recent examples: Why one course is going from 18 holes to 12, why Topgolf is buying a local muni and my plea for every single course to offer mini-golf. You can follow those on IG:
Hanging with Abraham Ancer: I flew to San Antonio to meet Abraham Ancer, the world’s greatest male Mexican golfer and an aspiring tequila magnate. We were supposed to play golf and drink tequila — but then it was 31 degrees and pouring rain, so the tequila drinking started early.
What’s been making me happy:
This video of Hideki Matsuyama, Masters champion:
This video of Hideki Matsuyama’s caddie, bowing to the course post-win:
This photo of Hideki Matsuyama at the Atlanta airport, green jacket slung over the seat beside him:
What I’m looking forward to:
Going to a bunch of weddings this year. Going to MY wedding this year. Endless Seattle daylight. Cool mornings and warm sunny afternoons. Vaccination numbers continuing to climb. More major championship golf. Summer road trips. Ice cream season. Learning to fly my new drone.
And, most importantly, sending my next newsletter.
Tell your friends!