Is it possible to love the Masters and not be a golf fan? Yes it is. Quite easily in fact. I consider myself one of the devoted Masters aficionados who is utterly indifferent to the sport. The tournament begins today, which always goes into my Smythson as soon as I get it. My obsession first reached the internets back in 2015 when Michael Williams kindly let this golf agnostic write about the Masters for ACL. (what a guy!).
In a wild series of events Michael and I made it to the Masters twice and I wrote a story for the official website (also wild). This year I wrote a piece for Harry Rosen about what to wear to Augusta National (spoiler alert: not golf clothes).
When I think about the Masters, or any tradition, you can focus on the specifics or the broad strokes. The specifics: Verne calling the 16th hole, Dave Loggins’ soundtrack (yes, that’s his real name), the incredible broadcast with no ads, and the rest of it. The broad strokes are just as important: the arrival of spring, clearing your calendar for a few days, the first Riesling of the year.