Tuning into the Masters, viewers not only see a lot but they hear a lot, as well. One common sound is the chirping of the birds at Augusta National. But are those birds real? CBS golf analyst Mark Immelman says yes.
Immelman was a guest on this week’s episode of the Awful Announcing Podcast and was asked about the birds by host Brandon Contes.
Contes began to ask the question. But before he could even finish, Immelman began laughing, adding, “They’re real. Stop it, they’re real.”
“You know, it’s funny you say that because I have so many people say to me, ‘Ah, you guys are piping in bird sounds,'” Immelman continued. “And I’m like, ‘No, we’re not.’ So the one morning, we were in rehearsals, I was just in my booth, for Amen Corner. And I said to my director, Mike, who’s an Emmy Award-winning director — he’s done multiple Super Bowls — and this is his one golf tournament he does a year. So I said to him, ‘Mike, I want your camera crew, while we’re rehearsing, to find every bird that you can and get them on the monitor for me.’
“And we saw everything from a hawk, to multiple cardinals, to mockingbirds. I got a picture, I, in fact, put it on social, of a bluebird sitting on top of a pin flag.”
Immelman indeed did share that photo on Masters Saturday this year.
“If you live in Georgia, with one parab mic on course, to be very close to the tee on 13, where there’s trees and stuff everywhere, you’re gonna have some mockingbird going berserk,” he added. “And you’re gonna hear it. No, those are real.”
Listen to the full episode of the Awful Announcing Podcast, which features Mark Immelman talking about his media career, Jim Nantz, Tiger Woods, the state of the PGA Tour, its rivalry with LIV, and more. Subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts. For more content, subscribe to AA’s YouTube page.
