{"id":227638,"date":"2019-04-10T20:52:21","date_gmt":"2019-04-10T20:52:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/golftoday.co.uk\/cbs-and-augusta-national\/"},"modified":"2022-10-06T11:53:09","modified_gmt":"2022-10-06T11:53:09","slug":"cbs-and-augusta-national","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/golftoday.co.uk\/cbs-and-augusta-national\/","title":{"rendered":"CBS & Augusta National"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

No other golf event\u2014then or now\u2014commands the lofty fanfare as The Masters<\/a><\/strong> at Augusta National Golf Club each April. The stature and reach of the event engages only three primary commercial sponsors\u2014Mercedes-Benz, AT&T and IBM. All blue chip\u2014all corporate\u2014all working hand and glove with the club. You will neither see McDonald's hawking its burgers and fries during the telecast nor any beer company touting the virtues of its barley and hops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The leadership of Augusta National have had only one television partner\u00a0since commencing in 1956 -- CBS<\/a><\/strong>. The club has smartly ensured\u00a0control through an annual contract renewal with the New York City-based company.\u00a0Thereby giving the club the wherewithal to always keep the network in line with its objectives and not the other way around.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"CBS<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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 CBS started telecasting the event with\njust six cameras and covering the final four holes 63 years ago. By 2007\nmore than 50 cameras were used and the early season event gained dramatically\nfrom viewership eager to see golf's first major championship after months of\nwinter hibernation.
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\nIndustry analysts have long said Augusta could make even more money for\nexchange of a longer term television deal but\ncontrol remains the uppermost non-negotiable priority for the\nclub's leadership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 In addition to the minimization of\ncommercials during the telecast \u2014 CBS does not mention the first prize\namount or the total amount of money for the purse. There's also no\ndiscussion of Augusta National members or how one becomes one. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

 Amazingly, how a club maintained a white\nmale-only membership for many years until 1975 when Lee Elder broke\nthe color barrier was also a taboo topic. With the ubiquitous reach of\ncolor-TV\u2019s throughout America in the 1960\u2019s the showcasing of the course, in\nall its spring time glory, became even more pronounced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 The role of CBS is less of a journalistic\nendeavor -- commenting as it sees fit -- and more in alignment via a self\ncensorship role. In 1966 famed broadcaster Jack Whitaker\u2014was banned for\nhighlighting a crowd of people as a \u201cmob\u201d instead of the much preferred\n\u201cpatrons\u201d designation. Augusta National does not have \"rough\" just a\n\"second cut.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Years later in 1994 the same edict was\nsentenced for the irreverent analyst Gary McCord who whimsically said the\n17th hole was \u201cbikini waxed,\u201d and golf balls going over the same green would\nlikely be in \u201cbody bags.\u201d McCord became persona non grata and has not returned\nsince. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 In 2003, protests led by Martha Burke\nconcerning the lack of female members at Augusta National took place and much\nof the media world\u2014golf-wise and beyond\u2014paid attention. If you were waiting for\nCBS to discuss the topic during the telecast you'd still be waiting. CBS is\nthere to tout the club and its traditions -- leaving the real journalism role\nfor others to pursue. In short, the club determines the focus of the event and\nCBS follows that dictate knowing full well the ramifications if deviating.
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\nAdditionally, there is no sponsored graphics\u2014no on-course announcers and\nno blimp providing aerial coverage. Although Augusta National and CBS\nhave both denied the club retains a censorship role it would be hard to\nimagine that the exits for Whitaker and McCord were just happenstances and that\nthe Burke embargo was because there was no time during the telecast to\nmention what was happening just outside the gates of the course. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

 The international coverage has been equally\ngrand with key outlets in other golf locations in the United Kingdom, Ireland,\nSouth Africa, Canada, portions of Europe and South America and a number of\nkey countries in Asia and with Japan and South Korea involved.
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\nNo matter the internal controls applied, the missing link for Augusta National\nwas having a delivery vehicle capable in taking golf beyond the stodgy\nblue-blood lines that dogged the game for so many years. On cue, a chiseled\nfigure from western Pennsylvania emerged. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Arnold Palmer took golf to the masses and\nThe Masters hooked its ascension to the Palmer whirlwind with \u201cThe\nKing\u201d winning no less than four times between 1958 and 1964. Palmer built\n\u201cArnie\u2019s Army\u201d during The Masters\u2014 although originally courtesy of\ntroops at nearby Fort Gordon on hand for the event. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 The interplay between blue bloods in\nconcert with common folk took golf from a game of the few\nto one for the masses. Television wedded golf, The Masters and Palmer\ninto an overpowering juggernaut. On the heels of Palmer came the long time dominance\nof Jack Nicklaus\u2014fast forward to the era of Tiger Woods. Who can ever forget\nthe improbable 6th win by Nicklaus in 1986 or the beginning of the Woods era\nwith his record setting 12-shot win and equally stunning 270 total.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMaybe\u2026YES SIR!\u201d

Jack Nicklaus\u2019 win at the 1986 Masters will forever be one of the most iconic victories at Augusta National. pic.twitter.com\/zhHxXJSopR<\/a><\/p>\u2014 CBS Sports (@CBSSports) April 9, 2019<\/a><\/blockquote>