The Hairy Putter has Augusta on his mind

We’ve just passed one calendar of year of KMARK. Six Lucky Ducks received the first KMARK in their inbox and were treated to a thousand words on the Nuggets firing Calvin Booth and Mike Malone nine days before the playoffs. Three men (Calvin, me and Mike) stood on the same doorstep (unemployment) at the same time. Calvin’s gone on to do one or two whiny interviews. I’ve obviously built one of the largest micro-newsletters published in the last 12 months. And as for Mr. Malone? Well, Mike cashed in for $7.5m annually and will become the next head coach of this North Carolina Tar Heels. NOT BAD MIKE! Fortunately for you all, I was not extended the same offer. KMARK will continue to be published at its regularly scheduled (?) times each week. THANK YOU! Excited for another year.

Fore please! Now playing….the Hairy Putter:

And exhale! If you’re anything like me, you’ve been ignoring life’s responsibilities to absorb Masters coverage like it’s your job these last two days. Surely the golf itself has reached its typical highly consumable standard thus far, and even with Rory out to a 6 shot lead, I expect that to remain the same. Possibly better! I better not see images of greenskeepers with hoses tomorrow morning. The weather is perfect, the leaderboard is thick with intrigue, and even though Rory has one arm in a second consecutive green jacket, I’m agog with what this weekend can produce from a golf entertainment perspective.

But on the note of consumption, I’d like to take a detour off of Magnolia Lane for a moment and into the world behind the world that brings us the modern-day Masters Tournament each April. You’re by now abundantly familiar with the Masters app. It takes up a week-long residency on your phone and gives you remarkable real time insight into the tournament happenings up and down the leaderboard. Golf journalists and fans are now compiling “Top 10 shots you need to revisit on the Masters app tonight” lists and the experience has turned into yet another cottage industry produced by Augusta. You’re likely also plugged in enough to know that IBM drives the whole operation – hell, just check out their own case study. But what might surprise you is that the evolving digital experience around the Masters is manned at the site of a former IHOP just across the road. Yes, Augusta’s Global Broadcast and Content Center now occupies the site of a former strip mall. Your surprise might continue when I tell you this was made possible through real estate investment deals executed by Big Tree LLC and Greens on Washington Road Ventures LLC and your surprise will surely conclude when I tell you these are merely ANGC member entities under fairly straightforward legalese. 

“HP, I follow your drift, but what are you on about here?” you’re likely asking. Fair question. If you’re reading this, it’s highly probable you’re a key component of metadata targeted by the golf media industrial complex and for all intents and purposes, you’re experiencing golf’s Super Bowl as much online as you are through your television. Independent outlets are pumping out gobs of content to capitalize on eyeballs this week. There is plenty of good (Shane Ryan’s Masters Vibe Guide comes to mind) and decidedly too much tired content to document. But if you’ve been tapped in all week like I know you have been, you’ve likely noticed the Masters itself has taken creative baton and turned up the dials in all directions. 

I will save comments on the Par 3 Contest adjacent decisions, as I trust our audience can infer enough conclusions there. But rather, I’d love to call attention to the elevated videography, editing and photography found throughout the digital social-sphere in the run up to Thursday. Perhaps it's because the PGA Tour itself remains so stale despite baby steps, but I was a bit taken by the Masters branded creative direction which seemed to do one thing to great effect. Hire, empower, and trust the people with talent. The more I’ve thought about it, the more I realize that this has more or less been Augusta’s superpower all along (FINE I’ll mention the tax loopholes and trillions in net worth across its membership). When a question or opportunity arises, ANGC seems to consistently take the stance that getting something done isn’t worth it when getting something done right is possible. Course tweaks – both subtle and bold, steadfast and purposeful tradition, ultimate hospitality experience for patrons and viewers alike – these feel like expected byproducts of the Masters tournament. But in reality, they’re the result of compounding optimizations and intentional decisionmaking made possible by a yearly examination of the evolving petri-dish that is Augusta National Golf Club. The Masters aura of exclusivity might be cracking slightly in the digital age, as curious minds are able to glean more and more about how the sausage (chicken salad sandwich) is made. But what’s for certain is that Augusta and the Masters are thinking ahead and are poised to dominate the battle of golf-consciousness in perpetuity.