EXCLUSIVE
‘You’re not going to believe this’ – I’ve covered Masters for 40 years and this is craziest rule golf fans don’t know about
From the super-cheap pimento cheese sandwiches to the blooming azaleas and perfect greens, there is nothing like The Masters.
Scottie Scheffler, Tiger Woods and Nick Faldo have all won the prestigious tournament.
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But even the best golfers in the world stand in awe of the annual rituals at Augusta National Golf Club, which features old-fashioned rules not found at any other major sporting event in the world.
Legendary broadcaster Bob Bubka still remembers covering his first Masters in 1986, and the longtime announcer exclusively told talkSPORT about his favorite 'hidden' rule.
"As soon as you get on the grounds, it's your favorite thing because it's such a truly favorite spot to be," said Bubka, talkSPORT's voice of golf.
"Where'd you ever hear of a golf tournament where you can't sit on the grass? No sitting allowed at The Masters on the grass."
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Jason Day drew attention last year for wearing a sweater that was impossible to ignore.
"It was a horrendous looking sweater," one fan tweeted. "Honestly everything he’s wearing is absolutely awful."
Day was eventually corrected by the powers that be at Augusta National.
Yet beauty normally reigns at The Masters, which started in 1934 when it was known as the Augusta National Invitation Tournament.
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Bubka sounded like he was describing an old movie when he captured the pristine course that saturates TVs across the globe for four days in April.
And he revealed several other Masters secrets.
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"It certainly is beautiful,"; Bubka said.
"Matter of fact, there's not a person that goes there that comes away saying, 'It wasn't as pretty as I thought it was.' It's always just the opposite. It's absolutely incredible. It's mind boggling.
"Most people don't realize how hilly it really is. And then one of the great things -- and I've loved this for years -- they show up on Saturday morning.
"The primo spot obviously is the par-3 16th hole and they try and get down there. As soon as the gates open, they walk, because no running is allowed -- and I mean no running allowed -- and they walk to their spot on 16.
"You're not going to believe this. They take their chair, they put it down. It's 8 o'clock in the morning.
"They can come back at noon, that chair will be in that exact same spot. Nobody will dare move it. And that's just how it goes down there."
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Chad Mumm, executive producer of Netflix’s Full Swing, received an up-close look at Augusta and was allowed to go behind the scenes at The Masters.
He echoed Bubka in praising the course's beauty, while also revealing his own favorite hidden touches.
“Every detail is top notch," Mumm exclusively told talkSPORT.
"From the player point of view, the locker room, the set up, the practice area, it’s all top flight.
"But from a fan point of view, even the parking lot — the general admission parking lots have beautifully manicured flower beds and there’s fresh pine straw laid out.
"I always tell people, ‘I’ve been to a lot of cool sports events, I still have never been to one that’s better run than the Masters.’ "
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The 2025 Masters will be held April 10-13.
Bryson DeChambeau, Collin Morikawa, Jon Rahm, Ludvig Aberg Rory McIlroy and Scheffler are favorites to win this year.
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LIV golfers will return to compete against PGA Tour members, but Faldo doesn’t believe that a full reunion is required.
“They should just go and do their own thing,” Faldo, an analyst for Sky Sports’ coverage of The Masters, exclusively told talkSPORT.
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