Cool article by Michael Goldstein
Deflated from the adrenaline kick of Masters Sunday I found myself sitting on the couch with glazed eyes and the golf channel blaring replays at me. The golf channel, entirely dedicated to professional golf, can be simply too much. Is the Tiger of old back? Did Rory prepare properly? Where are all the Americans? Is Dustin Johnson's swing awry? Yawn...
One problem with the concept of a golf channel is that there are plenty of inane conversations going on to fill time. And there are so many replays - I've heard Gary Player giving the same interview about 30 times and it's driving me crazy. Not to mention the analysts sprouting baseball-esque stats about all the players (guys it's not rocket science that most of the guys are "0-for" at the Masters). So I was about to make the effort to get off the couch and change the channel when one conversation pricked my interest.
This particular conversation was led by Frank Nobilo, the straight-shooting, unshaven Kiwi who keeps everything mildly tolerable on cable channel 39. His question: is the golf course Augusta National the best sporting stage in the world?
Frank's reasoning was that, year after year, some of the most thrilling sports viewing happens on Masters Sunday. It is a sports drama like few others. The atmosphere is electric - roars reverberate around the property as though five football matches are being played alongside one another. As a Masters virgin, I quickly learned what a Sunday afternoon "Tiger Roar" sounded like, and it didn't take much to guess a subsequent roar was in the "Tiger makes eagle to get a share of the lead" category.
The back nine of Augusta National is made for drama. The par-fives of 13 and 15 are simply fantastic holes where the guys can shoot all kinds of numbers. While the chasing pack are playing these holes and the cheering is growing louder, the leading groups are struggling through the immensely difficult holes at amen corner. The organising green jackets set the course up to enhance this drama and pins are placed in swales that encourage birdies and even eagles. Adam Scott was barely milimetres of acing the 16th hole, which would have surely sealed the title for him in the most spectacular fashion ever seen.
On Sunday afternoon no fewer than eight players held a share of the lead at some stage. Some players were charging up the scoreboard with birdies, others were feeling the pressure and stuttering around the course. The spectators were glued to the results and the reactions from the crowd as the scoreboards changed were like a blind Mexican wave circling the fairways. Those who say that a certain player doesn't look at the scoreboard are kidding themselves - they can't ignore the drama that is going on around them.
And then you've got the spectators' experience which, through years of trial and error, has been perfected by the Augusta National committee. It's easy to see the action, you get up close with the players and there are no issues with futile things like food, toilets or even expensive beer. If you need a break from the cheers and the action engulfing you, it's easy to shut your ears off and look around the blazing streaks of azaleas and graceful dogwoods set off against the green canvas.
So with Frank having evoked the emotions that I'd experienced for the first time just hours earlier, it got me thinking - is this the best sporting stage going around?
I went back to a few sporting experiences I've been lucky enough to be part of: the Boxing Day test at the MCG; the All Whites' final qualifier against Bahrain; the Open Championship at St Andrew's; the Ryder Cup in Wales. All were fantastic events, but the Masters has them for dead.
Of course there are other annual sporting stages which are undeniable bucket list nominees: Flemington for the Melbourne Cup, the Monaco Grand Prix, the Tour de France or the Superbowl. And then there are the more irregular events which take years of buildup before their climax like the Football or Rugby World Cup Finals and, of course, the Olympics. Having not been to any of these events it would be impossible for me to comment for sure.
So I'd be interested to hear people's thoughts. But one thing I know is that when you get the stage that is Augusta National Golf Club, fill it with passionate spectators and add a few dozen professional golfers, the guaranteed result is both a surreal live sporting experience and a television drama like no other.
