Fifteenth International Conference on Sport & Society

Abstract

When commercials air to promote the Masters golf tournament, CBS refers to the tournament with the well known tag line of, “a tradition unlike any other.” This paper explores the reverence accorded the Masters despite a past that includes discrimination and sexism. The membership of Augusta National Golf Club maintains tight control over everything from the price of the pimento sandwiches (shockingly cheap) to the broadcast rights, which it negotiates on a yearly basis with the only broadcaster it has ever had, CBS. The Masters could secure more lucrative broadcasting rights, and ticket revenue. But it prefers control rather than revenue. Ticket lotteries allow any fan the possibility of walking among the Azaleas in what many consider the world’s most iconic golf tournament. Since the tournament was first played in 1934, the membership at Augusta have largely ignored social issues of race and feminism. The Masters was much slower than other parts of American society on integration; The first Black player invited to play in the tournament was Lee Elder in 1975. The club’s first Black member wasn’t admitted until 1990. The first female member joined in 2012. Today, the media is more likely to celebrate the women’s amateur tournament created in 2019 rather than ponder the past. Fans focus on the beauty of the golf course, and the green jacket that goes to the winner. The myths of the Masters are so powerful that they create a cognitive dissonance that allows the tournament’s less desirable traditions to be overlooked.