The tradition was born in 1963. Fred McLeod and John Hutchison then became the first honorary starters of the Augusta Masters, those in charge of performing a kind of honorary kick-off of the first major of the season. The custom has grown to this day as a pillar of the museum that is this tournament where time seems to have frozen. Gary Player (88 years old), Jack Nicklaus (84) and Tom Watson (74), 140 appearances in the Masters and 11 green jackets between the three, teed off yesterday at the great temple of golf.
Augusta is Augusta, with its robust row of traditions as firm as stone. It matters little what happens outside these doors, what changes the world, society or technology. Here the countryside is the same, with its azaleas and its pines, the caddies They still wear white and everything remains in the same place for decades. If there was suddenly time travel, a jump to the past or the future, no one at Augusta National would notice. A spectator from the 1950s could land at the 2024 Masters and would hardly be surprised by the differences in clothing. The core of this particularity is the prohibition of entering the select venue with mobile phones.
LeBron James becomes the top scorer in NBA history and in the stands of the pavilion it is difficult to find a spectator without their cell phone between their face and a unique moment. The spectacle is consumed through the camera instead of one’s own gaze, as if it were more valuable to record on the electronic device a moment that dozens of cameras already record than to experience it in person, the differential value of being present there. The same thing happens in every sport, in every tournament, in every match. Less so in the Augusta Masters, a unique event in the world. Nobody had a cell phone in their hand when Tiger Woods won in the unforgettable 2019 edition, or last year when Jon Rahm touched the sky, or yesterday when the myth Nicklaus picked up a golf club again. And each viewer could feel those emotions on their skin.
“There should be more tournaments that do the same thing, restricting phones,” says Rahm; “The atmosphere here is so special precisely for that reason, because you have no distractions, it is pure love of sport. I wish there were more tournaments like this.” Augusta has her laws. Telephones are not allowed. Yes, smart watches, although not for sending text messages and emails, or for taking photos. Flags and chairs other than those of the Masters itself are also prohibited, all of that characteristic green so that the television image is idyllic. You can’t run on the field either. If someone is wearing their cap backwards, they will politely ask them to put it on with the bill facing forward. But if someone takes a cell phone out of their pocket, they will sign their sentence (there are traditional booths to call). “Violation of these policies will expose the pass holder to expulsion from the venue and the purchaser to permanent loss of their credentials,” the organization warns. Press accreditations incorporate a chip that allows the Masters to know where the journalist is at all times.
The Masters ensure their patrons live in the moment.
Augusta National enforces a no cellphone policy.
There is a sense of purity and timelessness that comes from this policy that I wish would be adopted by more events.
Living in the moment > capturing the moment pic.twitter.com/j7BTjYTZIl
— Rafa (@Rafael_Rubio__) April 11, 2024
An entry is a treasure. The partners control the flow of tickets at luxury prices. An amateur who intends to attend the Masters will have to pay around 1,500 euros to access a practice round (between Monday and Wednesday), and more than 2,000 for each of the four days (Thursday to Sunday). About 40,000 spectators step onto the Augusta meadow annually during the competition. And they leave behind them a trail of money. The course store is a gold mine with very long lines that turns over 10 million dollars every day (277 per second) because the Masters products can only be purchased there and during this week. The food, however, resists inflation: $1.5 for a pepper sandwich and $5 for a beer.
Everything is unique in Augusta, a giant that does not stop growing and where 1,500 private planes land this week. Next year it will open an underground parking lot for players and the next year it will build a three-story building with all the amenities for golfers and their families. The drones are already flying over the field, and it is not ruled out to extend the 7,550 yards that the course has today, perhaps up to the 8,000 red line. Of course, the cell phone has to stay at home.
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