The Masters tournament is all about tradition. There’s the green jacket the winners wear; the champions’ dinner; the white jumpsuits of the caddies; the Par 3 contest on the day before the competition; the $1.50 pimento cheese sandwich; and on and on. Despite the veneer that nothing has changed at Augusta National Golf Club since the inaugural tournament in 1934, the Masters have quietly become the most technology-forward tournament of golf’s four majors.
It’s a fascinating turn of events for a competition that heralds its no phone policy; this year, the Masters not only invited numerous influencers to attend, but also upped the tournament’s own social media presence significantly. Scrolling through the content across various platforms offers fans and followers a rare glimpse behind the scenes at one of the most exclusive sporting events in the world, and that access is pure catnip for social media.
“Everyone’s trying to get there. Everyone can’t get there. Everyone can’t really experience it unless you’re there because there’s no phones,” Alayna Finau, married to pro golfer Tony Finau, says. “That’s what makes it special; no other tournament that gives you those feels.”
Influencers have found creative ways to share content around the tournament without having their phones to record anything on the grounds. First, there’s the literal influencing happening at Augusta, as some patrons are walking brand ambassadors on the course. For example, the Morehouse College Golf team, sponsored by Eastside Golf, wore the apparel to two days of the Masters, and were approached wherever they went on the course. “People were always stopping us and saying, ‘Oh, what school are y’all with? What’s this? What’s that logo?’ To be able to have people so interested in us, especially at a place like Augusta National is pretty special,” coach Edgar Evans Jr. tells T&C.
More traditional influencer content, including “Outfit of the Days” (OOTDs) and merch hauls, filmed off the grounds or before or after the tournament, is also prolific on TikTok.
Unlike other major tournaments, the Masters has tight control over its image, and owns its broadcasting rights. That means its social media channels are some of the only places to engage with what’s happening during the competition. “The Masters does do an excellent job of making sure that fans are getting what they sign up for,” Noah Kortkamp, the host of the Golfers Anonymous podcast, says. “You just don’t really see that level of depth—in terms of access—with some of these other tournaments. Even the other majors don’t go in depth like that.”
Even before increasing the brand’s presence on social media, the Masters was innovating in the broadcast space. As SportsPro notes, the Masters has always “been a hotbed of broadcast innovation. It was one of the first tournaments to have microphones at the tee and the green so viewers could hear the sound of shot swings and player conversations, while the first colour broadcast was in 1966. Eventually, broadcast hours were extended, cameras were placed on every hole, and the Masters was the first golf tournament to be broadcast in HD, 3D and 4K UHD.” This year, they are adding four extra hours of live coverage during the final two rounds.
Scheffler on practice day three.
It’s not just the broadcast and on social—the tournament has been making improvements to their official Masters App for the most avid fans to “track” their favorite player, and for the first time this year, that data includes practice sessions. Plus, there are livestreams on Masters.com and the app, including of “Amen Corner” (holes 11, 12, and 13), and other featured groups of players.
In addition, longtime Masters sponsor Mercedes-Benz launched an activation this week to integrate key data from the tournament—think scores, highlights, and more—to multimedia screens in select vehicles, so their customers can catch up on the latest goings-on while they’re parked. “We always want to innovate and do new things,” Nicholas Emma, Mercedes-Benz’s senior manager of brand experience, said. “We have a great presence on TV and with the hosted customers we have here. But we want to go bigger. To be able to go directly into our owners’ car and bring this to them, it’s a testament to the technology of our cars.”
For many, the Masters is the official start of the golf season. Not only is it the first of the four majors, the early April tournament date lines up perfectly with the start of the spring. Many golfers plan their first round of the year with Masters weekend. The Masters has realized, then, it’s more than just a tournament—it’s an influencer brand. “They’ve really done a good job of building excitement, not only for the tournament,” Kortkamp says. “Their content just makes you really excited for the golf season overall.”
Emily Burack (she/her) is the Senior News Editor for Town & Country, where she covers entertainment, celebrities, the royals, and a wide range of other topics. Before joining T&C, she was the deputy managing editor at Hey Alma, a Jewish culture site. Follow her @emburack on Twitter and Instagram.