Masters of the Media

The build-up to the 2006 US Masters

With days to go before the start of the '06 US Masters, the anticipation for the first 'major' of the year is being fuelled by slick media presentations.

Sports and news channels from around the world cover the tournament buildup with reviews of past tournaments, features on the course, and interviews with golfing stars of past and present.

This brings me to the point of this article, the inevitable discussion of changes made to the 68 year old course. Augusta National is renowned for the difficulty of its greens (severely fast and sloping); this year's tournament also sees the addition of nearly 300 yards in length.

The players obviously have differing views on this matter and the media reports have fairly represented the player's opposing stances. Luke Donald, for example, is an accurate iron player but isn't a long-hitter; so he holds negative views of this year's course (but still remains among the favourites for the green jacket!).

The media now has a grip on the imagination of the viewing public, the underdogs (Donald etc) versus the big-hitters (Woods etc). This is great for the game of golf, the sport has always tried to evolve with times (from feather stuffed balls to titanium drivers) before it got left behind. This year Augusta lengthening the course to keep up with technological advancement is a natural progression.

Personally, I enjoy good iron play and a short par 4 (as much as anyone), but feel this is a necessary step and by implementing it, Augusta has created even more interest from a hungry media looking to champion David against Goliath.