The masters is too fabricated

[AmenCorner]

The coverage is a bit of overkill but what "superbowl" of a given sport isn't? It's a great tourney and I wish we could just get PURE coverage without all the extra. Just my view.

Don't they bring 58 minutes of every hour of coverage on Sunday? That's pretty good. And keep in mind the players don't stop for commercials.

Also, it's still "The Masters" not "The FedEX Masters" or "the Masters presented by"....you get the picture. Only thing that stinks is how the corporations control all the tickets...or so I've heard. I might be invited to a practice round next year, but only b/c of a corporation.

[Borf]

They always feel the need to point out many things like Hogans bridge, butler cabin, rae's creek etc...

The course is just famous for being famous, and where was the perfectness of the fairway on the 18th, when Immelman's ball landed in a divot!

[erova]

where was the perfectness of the fairway on the 18th, when Immelman's ball landed in a divot!

I too was shocked. I certainly thought ANGC had invented a grass seed that was capable of automatic regeneration, allowing divots to automatically grow in immediately after the shot.

What a goat patch indeed. Borf, if you ever watch a televised baseball game when the Red Sox are home, see if the words "green monster" are ever mentioned, or if the hole in the roof at Texas Stadium is ever brought up. I agree with the other posters on here--if you don't like anything about the Masters, then watch something else.

[msd3075]

Rich does not necessarily mean snobby. It's easier to perceive it as snobby, but so? That doesn't mean it is.

I was thinking about this over the weekend and how I could try to put what I'm saying in a way that was easier to get across. I was reading a car magazine, specifically an article about the new BMW M3, and I realized that what they were saying was completely analgous to what I was trying to get across on here. If you were to take a car like a BMW, there are people out there that only buy it or atleast think it's better than anyhting else you can drive because of the "tradition" and "experience" driving a Bimmer brings with it. Any car enthusiast will fall into two categories; one group loves the traditional styling, the 'superb" feel, and the aura that comes with driving one, while other drivers aren't affected by the status of the car and instead only by the actual driving dynamics, performance, and and other quantitative means. There isn't a right or wrong way between these two; it just depends on the person doing the judging. As for The Masters, some people enjoy the "tradition", the nostalgia, and the old-school attitude. Other people don't and find it annoying and "snotty". This thread was about each person stating how they feel and not about which was the correct viewpoint. The problem is when people think everyone has to view it one way or the other instead of just agreeing to disagree. To each their own.

[msd3075]

....and where was the perfectness of the fairway on the 18th, when Immelman's ball landed in a divot!

If anything, divots are a part of the game and should come into play. Are we going to take out all the hills in the fairway too so that every shot is from a perfectly flat lie? If they were able to fix all divots (obviously not possible), it would take that very real aspect out of the game.

This isn't a gardening tournament, it's a golf tournament.

[pjsnyc]

...The course is just famous for being famous, and where was the perfectness of the fairway on the 18th, when Immelman's ball landed in a divot!

Its the 18th hole on Sunday...and its the final group - it happens!!!

[AmenCorner]

They always feel the need to point out many things like Hogans bridge, butler cabin, rae's creek etc...

You must have missed the interviews where players like Palmer, Nicklaus, and Player talked about how much they loved and revered this golf course above any other. I mean, that isn't exactly consistent with famous for being famous.

The divot comment was obviously the fault of a previous caddy.

[BASHERBAKER69]

I agree with the car analogy to a certain extent. Augusta National Golf Club is like the Bentley of golf courses- stinks of money and could be percived to be a bit snooty.

The People who criticise are like a rusty 25 old Trans Am v8 (to use an American car- a Cortina is a British equivalent in terms of status). Anyway, they criticise because they perceive the likes of Augusta National Golf Club to be this rarified place that they will never get to or be part so they try to destroy its magic and its status. These people play at run down municipal courses, don't have much money or education, and have conceal and carry gun licenses just in case somebody tries to rob them of their worldly possessions on the first tee or in a bunker by the eighth green. They criticise the members of Augusta for being successful and having the right to choose who they admit, as they are envious of having the right and the discretion to selct those who they wish to play and mix with on the course and club house. People who have no money and no choice will be jealous of those at the other end of the spectrum.

Anyway, those in the middle, who own a nice Company Ford or such like, who are bright, educated and have good/reasonable jobs, a nice house and membership at a Country Club with 'intermediate' social status aspire to being a member at a place like Augusta, as they know that they can arrive there one day. They have the means and intellect to get there- and it is not beyond them. They don't need conceal and carry licenses at home or at the club because they have guards on the course and regular police patrols in their middle class neighbourhood, allowing them to be separated from the detritis that blights those who play at municipal courses and live in ghettoised housing estates.

Those at the top, who play at the likes of Augusta (and Pebble Beach) don't worry about anything- they have so much power and influence that thay can do virtually what they want. The middle classes adore them and the working class non- aspirational type despise them- the 'Augusta types'.

Class and prejudice is what this thread is all about.

[iacas]

Those at the top, who play at the likes of Augusta (and Pebble Beach) don't worry about anything- they have so much power and influence that thay can do virtually what they want.

Pebble Beach is a public course. It's pricy, but a round there still costs less than some drivers. Hardly "so much power and influence" required.

If you're going to rail against something, you should try not to reveal how uninformed you are in the process.

[msd3075]

I agree with the car analogy to a certain extent. Augusta National Golf Club is like the Bentley of golf courses- stinks of money and could be percived to be a bit snooty.

That is kind of what I was going for but not exactly.

A Bentley is obviously beyond almost everything else on the road and is perceived by the masses as a status symbol for the elite. What I was referring to is a BMW 3-series or so in the sense that is has more history, more prestige, and a longer history of being "great" whereas an Infiniti G35 or Audi A4 does not. I understand The Masters is not a near-level sports sedan, but if we were to put all the majors courses into a catergory like that, The Masters would be the BMW.

[Striper]

I just returned from spending a couple days at the Masters. It was my sixth trip to the tournament and I'm a little surprised by this thread. While I won't try to convince anyone that it is the best tournament on earth, I would offer this...

1. The tournament holds a lottery each year for tickets to the practice rounds. Anyone can enter the lottery and, if you win, you can purchase tickets for roughly $30. $30 will get you on to the grounds and course of Augusta National where you can sit or stand a few feet away from the best players in the world. Watch them work their craft and enjoy the beauty of the grounds. Hardly a snobby attitude towards admission to the course.

2. Beers cost $2, bottled water $1, sandwiches $2, potato chips $1. Good luck finding these prices at any other major league sporting event, much less a premier sporting event. Not exactly snobby.

3. They allow accredited patrons to bring a child under 16 into the tournament for FREE. Try doing that at an NFL, NBA, or MLB game. Snobby?

4. There are no corporate tents, advertising, promotional items or other displays of greed and capitalism. The course and players are the stars of the show.

5. Every patron ticket is general admission. You can sit, stand, or walk next to anyone almost anywhere on the course. There are no sky boxes or sidelines passes. Get there early and you can pick your spot on the 18th hole.

I could go on, but I won't. The members of Augusta National MIGHT be filthy rich, snobby, predjudiced, and in a different class. But for that one week of the Masters, they share their golf club with every patron and viewer who loves the game as much as they do.

[iacas]

I could go on, but I won't. The members of Augusta National MIGHT be filthy rich, snobby, predjudiced, and in a different class. But for that one week of the Masters, they share their golf club with every patron and viewer who loves the game as much as they do.

That's really well put.

I think the people who are perceiving snobbiness are looking for it. The fact that they attribute snobbiness to things like caddies wearing white coveralls is a testament to that.

[ERC7.5]

They always feel the need to point out many things like Hogans bridge, butler cabin, rae's creek etc...

...as well as the 18th at Oakmont and #17 at Sawgrass.....that has nothing to do with this particular venue or the tournament itself. It's called commentary.

[msd3075]

...as well as the 18th at Oakmont and #17 at Sawgrass.....that has nothing to do with this particular venue or the tournament itself. It's called commentary.

And that commentary was the initial topic of discussion.

[blue3715]

I love (actually hate) how the top staff at the Master's take over the broadcast and push CBS aside whenever they feel like it.. like the guy who pushed Jim Nantz aside and did his thing at the Green Jacket presentation in the cabin.

So funny how they think they are important. I can wait for 20 years when all these old dudes die off.

[Ruari]

... like the Bentley of golf courses- stinks of money and could be percived to be a bit snooty...

Oi, Basher, I object to that. It's only since Bentley introduced a low-cost entry-level vehicle (the $250,000 Continental GT...

) that anyone has suggested that those cars are anything other than the choice of the discerning gentleman (who never motors behind less than eight cylinders - John Bolster). I presume you really meant Rolls-Royce. To the subject: The Masters has made a virtue out of its 'heritage and tradition' and it has done pretty well to establish such things in less than 80 years. In a way, it can be thought of as a set, a stage on which the world's players perform. As stages are, effectively, artificial then it's inevitable there will be some artifice. There are also some aspects of the 'heritage and tradition' that I don't, personally, go a bundle on - the air of 'whiteousness', non white members and Tiger notwithstanding. Gives me a bit of discomfort. But is there, at the heart of this, an outstanding golf competition going on? you betcha. If it was truly 'fabricated' then the last rounds over the past two years would have been a bit more interesting, to be honest. The rounds would have been much, much shorter than 5 hours (for goodness' sake - five hours for a two-ball????) and the greens would have been designed to direct balls correctly hit INTO the hole, rather than leaving players with fiendishly difficult putts and ample opportunity to make fools of themselves. Despite some misgivings, would I want to go to Augusta National in Masters' Week? No question - given the chance, I'd be there like a shot.

[BASHERBAKER69]

hey, these guys are important and they have more influence in society than you or i know of- remember, people like Bill Gates etc are members there- we don't know how much influence they have in society, but my guess is that its more than substantial. Besides, it's their club and we are their guests.

[YogiTKE]

They always feel the need to point out many things like Hogans bridge, butler cabin, rae's creek etc...

Are you on here only to insult golf in the USA and to strike a nerve with everyone? Whatever problem you have with the Masters you have made it. You're only trying to bash on the Masters and not make intelligent conversation anymore. Move on and drop it.