Ah, Masters Week...
I'm not sure if there's any week of the year that perks me up as much as Master's Week. Those of you who can't relate to watching golf on tv probably punctuated that sentence with a pffft. Only four minutes of advertising per hour, the best players shooting it out on the most beautiful and unique golf course in the country, and Jack Nicklaus is in the field. Sit back with your favorite beer, turn up the silence, and let the screen wash over with green.
They say there's no place like Augusta National. It's part golf course, part living museum. Not a single blade of grass is out of place. Every year after the first practice round the players are asked what it's like out there. "Perfect" is always the most common description.
Augusta National really is alive. Every year it changes to address a vulnerability that the players exposed the year before. Almost every year they add some new, perfectly crafted devilry to the mix. A new fully grown tree here, a longer row of bushes there, tightened fairways, deeper bunkers, modified slopes, a little extra undulation here, less there. New problems and new surprises that conspire to keep the scores up. All this "new" within a wrapper loyal to tradition first. It's an interesting contradiction that helps make The Masters the best golf tournament of the year.
If you disagree with this, you're wrong. And I could stick my tongue out to prove it. Masters week also heralds the new season, and in this climate, spring is a Very Big Deal. In the backyard we have little flowers shooting up through what looked like permafrost only a week ago. Now we have the sounds of geese flying in formation, people actually walking to their destinations, that unmistakable smell in the air, and you know...an infusion of optimism. Winter takes its toll. I NEED Masters week. It's like a tune-up. Frankly, I feel like skipping down the street. Anyone else get like that?
No?
Just me?
Kay.
Oh, and did I mention that Jack is back in the field? (Albeit with a heavy heart.) Who's gonna win? I don't know, and unlike football games, I don't really like guessing golf outcomes, for whatever reason. But I like reading other people's predictions.
11 Comments:
I predict that you will fall asleep in your old-man recliner, while the screen is awash with green, before you get to see who wins.
At least, that's the way it was with my retired uncles and grandfather when they watched golf. Are you retired, these days?
6:40 PM
Retired? If only.
Recliner? Like the kind with a handle? As if.
You do realize that the game is played on the weekend, right? O-tay.
I usually don't sit through an entire broadcast of golf. But the Masters is different. I can sit there and watch and after five hours it'll seem like ten minutes has passed. The Masters is like watching your favorite players wend their way through a poem.
Force yourself to give it a try this Sunday. Give it an hour, and I say you'll watch the rest. Even if you couldn't care less about golf. Betcha.
10:30 PM
First: Retief Goosen
Second: Phil Mickelson
Third: Ernie Els
Fourth: Padraig Harrington
6:53 AM
i predict no one who is predicted to win will win. and i mean that in the sense of, like, the top ten predictions, the usual suspects. i can predict, however, and with great accuracy, that i will not be able to watch as much as i'd like. not even frigg'n close.
9:24 AM
Rain is killing the PGA this year.
Ernie wins it by three strokes.
10:30 AM
Ron Mexico.
Sorry, I just think that is the funny. I will go now.
10:57 AM
Ye Olde Scoreboarde
2:59 PM
You know I agree with you about the Masters 100%. Plus Jack is in the field. Somewhere in my heart every time I see Jack play, I know that there's just a little bit of a chance he could make a run and make the cut. I want it to happen. Pelase don't tell me it can't.
I have a feeling Tiger will make a run. He's going to win at least one major this year. He's coming around.
7:45 AM
well, at least one of my predictions came true. i am, however, happy for tiger. all's well with the world.
7:30 AM
I guess I was kinda right about Tiger. However, I'm now a full-fledged card-carrying Chris DiMarco fan. Everyone else used to crumble under the pressure of a Tiger charge. DiMarco stood his ground, and hit some amazing iron shots. It took Tiger one of the best shots in all of golf history to beat him.
(start Darth Vader voice) Impressive.
9:58 AM
Couldn't agree with you more. That was the most exciting final round I've every watched. Especially since Tiger showed vulnerability. I was so glad DiMarco showed up the last round and Tiger didn't just run away. DiMarco should have won. He missed so many makeable puts on the front. And I did sit in my chair drinking beer and never blinked an eye. I have fell asleep watching a Bills game. You can get tired watching Bledsoe get sacked or throw an int in the red zone. To me, this Masters was the best drama any sport could create.
7:29 PM
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