The Masters grew out of amateur great Bobby Jones’s desire to start a golf club after he retired from competition upon winning the Grand Slam in 1930. Two years later, Augusta National was born.
Humble Beginnings
But the Depression years were a tough time to start a golf club, and in order to draw attention and build the membership, Jones and co-founder Clifford Roberts had the idea to start an invitational tournament.
From such seemingly humble beginnings, the Masters quickly became one of the most coveted titles in the game, thanks to the popularity of Jones and the spotlight of Gene Sarazen’s double-eagle-fueled victory in 1935.
The Perfect Stage
This was just the first example of the Masters and the Augusta National course providing the perfect stage for drama, bringing the best players to the top of their game. The great triumvirate of Sam Snead, Ben Hogan, and Byron Nelson combined for seven Masters victories. Arnold Palmer heralded the next era with four titles only to be superseded by Jack Nicklaus with six. The international era saw players such as, first, Gary Player, then later Seve Ballesteros, and Nick Faldo shine in Augusta. The latest greatest, Tiger Woods, also won more majors at Augusta—five—than anywhere else.
The Masters, Embracing Innovation
The Masters deservedly has a reputation as a bastion of golf tradition. Yet through the years it has also been innovative. It was the first tournament to install underground cable for real-time scoring and the first use leaderboards with over/under par scoring. It was the first major championship to switch to a sudden-death playoff format.
The 1934 inaugural was the first tournament other than the U.S. Open broadcast on radio; in 2000, the Masters was the first to be broadcast on HDTV; in 2019, its website was the first place where fans could see every shot on every hole of a tournament.
Through the years, the course has constantly been changed in order to keep up with the evolution of elite golf. Along with traditions, such as the green-jacket ceremony, these are just some of the reasons the Masters at 90 remains at the top of the golf tournament world.
This was first published in Essential Golf – you can read the complete magazine here.