Viewers are outraged about ESPN's new promo for The Masters featuring Noah Kahan's cover of 'Georgia on My Mind.' Screen grab: ESPN
By Ben Axelrod on

When it comes to golf, tradition reigns supreme. And while it was only first introduced six years ago, ESPN’s promo for The Masters featuring covers of Ray Charles’ “Georgia on My Mind” has become a beloved piece of the sport’s biggest tournament.

But while previous versions have stuck to the Augusta-based event’s Southern roots, this year’s added some Northern flare. As first reported by Marketing Brew earlier this week, ESPN’s promos for the 2025 Masters feature a rendition of the Charles song sung by Vermont native and folk pop singer Noah Kahan.

Speaking to Marketing Brew, ESPN VP of live sports and audience expansion Rachel Epstein said the decision to go with a Kahan cover for the commercials is a part of a strategy to appeal to a younger demographic.

“We’re always going to be fairly traditional and reverent in terms of how we visually showcase the tournament,” she told the outlet. “But just knowing that the Masters—certainly Augusta National and ESPN—are constantly looking to engage and reach younger audiences, music just felt like this important and powerful device that we could use…to engage and be relevant with younger audiences.”

While nobody could fault ESPN for aiming to attract the all important younger audience, it’s fair to wonder how many members of Gen Z/Alpha are going to be more likely to tune into a golf tournament because Noah Kahan sings covers a 1930 song in its promo. Especially when considering the early returns on Kahan’s cover, which have hardly been positive following the promo’s debut this week.

Although it’s often easy to pile on anything that strays from tradition, it’s not a stretch to say that Kahan’s folk pop style doesn’t match The Masters’ general ethos. Perhaps that’s the point — to appeal to a demographic that wouldn’t have previously been inclined to watch The Masters. But even Kahan fans seem to agree that this is a clunky fit.

While ESPN has used other covers of the Ray Charles classic in recent years, the decision to go with an artist whose style strays so far from the original version appears to have been a bridge too far for many viewers. In terms of sports-music travesties, this isn’t quite CBS eschewing the Luther Vandross version of “One Shining Moment” for the 2010 NCAA Tournament. But unless The Masters actually sees a significant boost in young viewers that it can directly tie to the the Kahan song, it’s hard to imagine that this change will have been worth the negative reaction.

About Ben Axelrod

Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.

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