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A Patron’s Guide to the Masters, a Tradition Unlike Any Other

anthony crupi
·7 min read
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Perhaps no major sporting event is more shaped by tradition than the Masters, which all but sighs under the weight of its glorious signifiers. Among the elements that have become synonymous with CBS Sports’ crown jewel are the blooming azaleas, the caddies in their white coveralls and the totemic Green Jacket, the shade of which (Pantone 342) was selected to match the course’s 3/8-inch fairways. When experienced first-hand, the sublimity of Augusta National Golf Club is almost overstimulating; the TV version is merely gorgeous.

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The beauty of Bobby Jones’ course—Augusta is essentially a botanical garden with a world-class country club plopped down into the middle of it—is as rigorously upheld as the rules of conduct set down for its visitors. To the uninitiated, the terms of entry may seem rather precious—the use of cellphones is prohibited, and “patrons” likely would have an easier time smuggling in a flamethrower than a folding chair tricked out with armrests—but the draconian measures ensure a level of decorum that is commensurate with the mystique of the place. (Even the “get in the hole!” vulgarians who blight seemingly every other televised golf tourney know enough to leave that sort of thing back at the frat house.)

If Augusta at times seems weighed down by a certain sniffy punctiliousness, so be it. Mythos demands reverence; if you want to make a lot of noise with your face while wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the likeness of the monster truck “Grave Digger,” steer yourself to the nearest cockfight. Those who pass through the front gate effectively agree to behave as if they are entering a sacred space, and that aura-enforced propriety extends to the event’s media partners as well. In exchange for the four-day stopover in golf’s Elysium, CBS happily cedes near-total control of its presentation to the club’s brass during the first full week in April.

As encapsulated by Jim Nantz’s now-iconic tag line, the Masters is truly a tradition unlike any other. What follows is a breakdown of how this 88-year-old celebration of sport and Southern manners differs from every other sports broadcast under the sun.

How many people watch the Masters?

While the Masters is the highest rated of the four major golf championships, the size of the audience largely depends upon whether Tiger Woods is sporting his Sunday best come the final round. When Woods put the finishing touches on his storybook march to redemption in 2019, the clinching round averaged 15.4 million viewers, when the deliveries for the live broadcast and an encore presentation were combined. No golf broadcast since has come close to that mark, although an Easter Sunday out-of-home lift helped boost the turnout for Jon Rahm’s win to 12.1 million viewers a year ago.

If the TV audience hasn’t been anywhere near as robust as it was in 1997—the same year a certain 21-year phenom scared up 20.3 million fans with a 12-stroke victory over runner-up Tom Kite—the recent addition of OOH numbers to the Nielsen sample has helped boost CBS’ overall deliveries.

How much does CBS pay Augusta to air the Masters under the terms of its rights deal?

Not a red cent.

Besides being one of the world’s most mythologized sporting events, the Masters is a singular media property. As revealed by the late Pat Summerall in his 2008 autobiography Summerall: On and Off the Air, CBS maintains the rights to broadcast the Masters as part of a “year-to-year handshake agreement with the club.” While Augusta could clear as much as $125 million in TV money each spring under a standard media deal, the club does not charge CBS (or Thursday-Friday host ESPN) a rights fee. Which isn’t to say that they’re losing money on the unorthodox, if still strictly-codified, arrangement; by all accounts, Augusta stands to generate some $150 million this weekend in gate, merch and concessions.

How much advertising revenue does CBS generate during the Masters?

As part of its unconventional, annually-refreshed Masters arrangement, CBS agrees to forever do things the Augusta way, limiting its commercial breaks to four minutes of airtime per hour. That works out to roughly a quarter of the average broadcast spot load.

With the exception of televised soccer, there is no sports environment less cluttered by commercial interruptions than the Masters. As a result, the ad revenue is essentially an afterthought; together, the three sponsors (IBM, AT&T and Mercedes-Benz) last year paid an estimated $23.8 million to air their spots during the final two rounds, an amount that offset CBS’ production costs.

What are some of the other broadcast restrictions?

Augusta has the folks in the CBS booth on a pretty tight leash. According to Summerall’s book, the broadcasters aren’t allowed to mention the Masters’ $18 million purse or so much as acknowledge the existence of the logos on the duffers’ clothing. “To this day, announcers can’t mention what brands of shoes or clothes a player is wearing or what equipment he is using,” Summerall wrote. “That would be free advertising.”

While Nantz, the retiring Verne Lundquist (CBS’ 69th go-around in Augusta will be his last), Dottie Pepper and the rest of the crew are pros’ pros, their predecessors occasionally ran afoul of the club. In 1966, commentator Jack Whitaker made the mistake of referring to the crowd tailing Billy Casper as “a mob,” which earned him a ban from all future CBS broadcasts of the event. Then, in 1994, analyst Gary McCord joked that the greens were so meticulously clipped that they appeared to have been “bikini-waxed,” a bit of wordplay that marked the end of his time behind the mic.

If CBS only breaks even on the Masters, why does it kept renewing its stewardship of the broadcast.

In a word, prestige. The built-in exclusivity makes the Masters one of the most desirable sports properties on the dial, and CBS’ production all but ensures that it’ll never go to a rival network—and certainly not one of those fly-by-night streaming platforms.

Which isn’t to say that there aren’t some monetary gains to be made off the tourney. Some downstream effects are immediate; for example, the installment of 60 Minutes that led out of last year’s Masters saw its target demo increase 77% versus the previous week’s total, as 1.48 million adults 25-54 tuned in. As such, CBS commands premium rates for the ads that air during the post-tourney broadcasts of the newsmagazine.

But it’s the intangibles that may be the biggest selling point for CBS—and its sponsors. On the Monday after the final round, the ad sales execs will hit the course with favored clients and reps from companies which maybe could stand to spend a little more cash with the Tiffany Network. One legendary CBS sales boss used to fly his most loyal clients down to Augusta every year to thank them for their business. While asking your assistant to send a box of Gran Habanos and a bottle of ’85 Chateau Lafite Rothschild to your blue-chippers isn’t a heavy lift, nothing makes a bigger impression on a blue-chipper than 18 holes at the club that’s harder to get into than Taylor Swift’s birthday party.

I’m neither a member nor a deep-pocketed CMO, but I still want to attend the Masters. What’s it going to cost me?

Ticket resellers are moving four-day passes starting at $6,944 a pop. But the grub’s cheap! For the low, low price of $1.50, you can wrangle one of Augusta’s classic pimento cheese sandwiches, and a Crow’s Nest beer will set you back $5. (A frosty one at last year’s PGA Championship went for $17.) But don’t let the cheap brews get the better of you; this isn’t the Phoenix Open, and you’re not there to play virtual beer pong. This is hallowed ground; behave like you’re reliving your days among the red Solo® Cup set and you’ll get the hook faster than Adam Scott’s backswing.

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