The Masters: 'It is a tragedy': The old, the new and a game that does not stand still

The only indication this was the modern age was the sight of a drone lingering in the Georgia sky.

STILL GOT IT: Gary Player hits the ceremonial tee shot on the first hole during the first round of the Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club. Pic: AP Photo/David J. Phillip

In a fractured world, tradition is security. A green-jacket-donning figure will rise above the crowd at the first tee to slot in those white place names. The honorary starters don’t need a resume announcement or elaborate welcome. This is how it is.

Before the Augusta National chair greeted Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson, he turned to the crowd and offered a simple good morning. “Mornin’” came the immediate reply. Southern hospitality is a currency in these parts and the Masters is marketed on it.

The only sign that this was the modern age was the sight of a drone lingering in the sky, its buzz drowned out by the squall of two cormorant-looking birds wheeling around.

What a scene. The mythology around the Masters can grate but it can’t be stressed enough how rare it is to have been in a venue that cares about the experience. They ban mobile phones and kick out everyone, even major champions, for breaking that rule. 1989 Open winner Mark Calcavecchia was reportedly ejected on Tuesday for flouting the policy designed to create a mindful atmosphere. They price their pimento cheese or chicken salad sandwiches like it’s the 1980s and they still fight ticket touts with a determined rigour that all sporting administrations could learn from.

It is a changing place too. The demand for merchandise is such that the crowd for that traditional opening ceremony appeared diminished due to the lure. Talk on the course was of an hour queue. All week there has been a tortuous focus on the gnome, with the whispers suggesting that this could be the last of the species. Chair Fred Ridley was asked about its precarious future in his annual national address. He assured the asker the question “was not trivial,” before pausing over his response.

“I have been asking that question for several years and they won’t tell me the answer. So I can’t help you.” They can’t fight the tide. Life’s sole guarantee is that things do not stay the same. Audiences evolve. People change. Even these pines will fade away. There is an old. There is a new.

Six-time Masters winner Jack Nicklaus, who turned 86 last January, had his son tee up his ball for him before skewing a drive left over the patrons. He winced in horror momentarily before laughing at his own mishit. The three legends then made their way to the adjacent press building for an immensely enjoyable hour-long session where they shared their wisdom on navigating the course and the game and life.

“I had carpal tunnel surgery about five, six weeks ago, and I was worried about being able to hold onto the golf club and hurt somebody,” explained Nicklaus. “That was my issue today.

“I'm fortunate that I got it over somebody's head. I didn't hit it very well, but I got it over their heads and didn't hurt anybody.” Three-time Masters champion Gary Player’s contributions at these gatherings have become a must-see spectacle and at times a curiosity in recent years. Most recently, he was left frustrated at not being allowed a game at Augusta National with his grandsons.

Yet on Thursday he was a crucial spark to a convivial party. Showing proper appreciation to the greats is a noble gesture for any sport, but all three were bright enough to make sure they could use their platform. On the ongoing debate about the golf ball and number of competitions players are required to play in, Player drew comparisons with his mine-working father who would have given anything to play golf every day.

“How many people in the world can have the opportunity of making tens of millions of dollars and being fussy about it?” He is still capable of the withering zinger. On the wall nearby was a framed portrait of the iconic 12th hole, Golden Bell, an iconic par 3 where players have to battle swirling winds to clear Rae’s Creek.

“It is a great example for golf architects to realise you don't have to make the holes all that long. That's an 8-iron and it has crippled more people than polio.” 

All three of them were firmly in favour of golf's rollback and a need for the game's stakeholders to act. It is the elephant in the room with all sorts of far-reaching implications. Beside that 12th is a 13th tee that has already been lengthened. The new back tee debuted in 2023, stretching the hole from 510 to 545 yards.

It will likely require further extension in the future. So, the rollback has to happen.

“Only for professional golf,” reasoned Player. “Leave everyone to golf as it is. They are the heart of the game, but professional golf is not. With regard to professional golf, cut the ball back 60 yards.

“It is a tragedy. We got away from the concept of golf when it started originally, a par-5, a par-4, and a par-3. There is no such thing as a par-5 in the world today.” Consider the costs. Fertilisation, machinery, water. A generation is coming who have been conditioned in the gym to push even further.

"I don't know where we go. What's going to happen in 30 years' time is going to be beyond one's imagination."

They walked out of the white-pillared clubhouse, beneath the big oak, to applause and exited the stage to the same. The Masters started with a endearing warmth and a timely lesson. There is no denying the steady march of modernisation, change’s restless hand reaching out to steer the way, but that doesn’t mean you must blindly succumb to it or resist certain advancements. Ritual serves as a reminder. Be appreciative for what we have. Be conscious that certain values always belong. 

Be ready to respond to what comes next and be wary of what we’re losing along the way.