Like much of the southeastern portion of the United States, Augusta, Georgia was severely impacted by Hurricane Helene last September. And for Augusta National Golf Club, home of the Masters, Mother Nature impacted some of the course’s most iconic holes.
The damage done by Helene, however, won’t be a major part of the CBS broadcast. Speaking on a press call in preparation of next week’s Masters Tournament, CBS’s lead golf producer Sellers Shy said that the network will not show any before-and-after images of the golf course pre and post-Helene. “We’re covering the tournament the way it is presented to us and the way the club would like to present it. So [before-and-after images are] not in the cards,” Shy stated.
During the call, CBS analysts Dottie Pepper and Trevor Immelman discussed how trees on certain holes, such as behind the 15th green, behind the 11th green, and on the rights side of the 9th hole, have been removed due to hurricane damage.
More than anything, this is likely an optics-based decision for CBS and Augusta National. Helene devastated the region, causing immense amounts of property damage and nearly 250 reported fatalities. Discussing how the hurricane took down a few trees on a golf course seems a bit distasteful in that context.
Augusta National Golf Club has always been incredibly particular in how the Masters is presented as a television product. The club’s unique partnership with CBS, in which the network does not pay a rights fee to air the tournament, allows Augusta National a substantial amount of editorial control over the presentation. That control ranges from minor influences, like referring to fans as “patrons,” to more significant decisions like the placement of cameras.
The decision over how to handle Helene’s impact on the course seems to be another example of the club exerting its influence to ensure the tournament is presented in just the way it’d like.
Longtime Masters viewers will certainly notice the differences in the course. And if a missing tree becomes relevant to the broadcast, it’ll likely be discussed, if only briefly. But otherwise, the storm will not be a major point of emphasis throughout next week’s broadcast.
