WITH ITS LUSH and verdant landscaping, Augusta National — home of the Masters — is truly suited to the television screen.
Of course, Augusta’s landscaping and vivid color didn’t play much of a factor when the final four holes of the Masters was televised for the first time in 1956.
In the infancy of sports broadcasting, coverage of the Masters came in black-and-white and stayed that way for a decade.
Holes 15-18 were televised because cameras could only stray about 1,000 feet from the broadcast truck’s signal.
Things have certainly changed in the years since that first limited broadcast.
The 1966 Masters heralded the first golf tournament ever to be televised in color.
In 1967, the BBC beamed television signals from Augusta National via satellite for the first time.
By 1973, television broadcasts extended to the final two holes of Amen Corner, No. 12 and 13.
The slow growth of the size of the broadcast seems inconceivable to me, but I have to consider that I was born and raised with ESPN.
If at any time in my life I’ve wanted to watch a sporting event, I’ve been able to — except for a year “studying” in Thailand.
This year’s Masters will be the first I’ve ever watched in high-definition television, and I encourage those lacking an HD-TV to head out and buy one and to purchase whatever HD pack your cable or satellite company provides.
You’ll probably have to wait until next year’s tournament to get everything set-up, but if you have a friend or know a watering hole with an HD-TV, head over for at least the final round.
Trust me.
It’s going to be worth it based on the HD-TV broadcasts of other early season tournaments.
The blooms of a deep-south spring will fill your flat-panel screen in superb detail.
CBS loves to linger on the course’s azaleas, dogwoods and magnolia trees. You will, too.
Oh, and the game itself looks pretty solid in HD.
Get a sneak peek
Viewers this week can get a first glance at 10 senior golfers competing at the Masters.
This group of 10 has committed to playing in this summer’s U.S. Senior Open at Sallahee Country Club in Redmond.
Golfers include Ben Crenshaw, Raymond Floyd, Larry Mize, Mark O’Meara, Craig Stadler, Bernhard Langer, Sandy Lyle, Tom Watson, Ian Woosnam and Fred Couples.
As an avid gardener and the son of a Woodland Park Zoo groundskeeper, Couples must feel right at home at Augusta.
He has dominated the Senior Tour this year, winning three straight starts and three of his first four tournaments.
He finished second in the other.
Couples is the honorary chairman and “host” of the U.S. Senior Open this year as well.
For more information on the 2010 U.S. Senior Open, visit www.2010 ussenioropen.com.
For the Uni-Watcher
I was alerted recently to the presence of a site containing the day-to-day uniform details of Nike golf athletes.
My love of sports extends into a love of uniforms, and even though golf wear tests the limits of a uniform, I thought I would pass it along.
Visit www.sandbox8.com/2010/03/26/nike-golf-athlete-scripting-2010-masters/ to see the day-by-day outfits of those bearing the swoosh.
Golfers include Tiger Woods, Anthony Kim, Stewart Cink, Paul Casey and Justin Leonard.
Discovery Bay golf
Port Townsend’s Discovery Bay Golf Club’s Men’s Club tees it up for the first time this year on Wednesday, April 14.
The club’s commercial league begins with a non-league two-person scramble at 5 p.m. Thursday, April 15 and the course’s nine-hole Tuesday evening competition begins at 5:30 p.m. on April 20.
For more detailed information, visit www.discoverybaygolfcourse.com or phone the clubhouse at 360- 385-0704.
Vote for Cedars, again!
Cedars at Dungeness Golf Course in Sequim still sits in second place in voting for Western Washington golf courses in KING TV’s Evening Magazine “2010 Best of Northwest Escapes” voting.
You can vote by registering for KING TV’s Web site and visiting best.king5.com/the-cedars-at-dungeness-golf-course/biz/543766.
Players still needed
Cedars at Dungeness Men’s Club is in need of four more players as of Easter Sunday to fill out the roster for a pair of matches against Victoria’s Cordoba Bay Golf Club.
Cedars hosts Cordoba at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, and then makes the voyage across the Strait to play Cordoba on Tuesday, April 20.
The entry fee for the tournament is $78, and it includes two lunches and greens fees at both golf courses.
The trip to Victoria includes an overnight stay at a condo on the waterfront before catching the morning ferry back to Port Angeles.
For more information, phone the pro shop at 360-683-6344 or e-mail kojack@olypen.com.
SkyRidge Spring start
SkyRidge Golf Course’s spring opener is set for a 9 a.m. shotgun start on Saturday, April 17.
The event for the Sequim course will have a two-person scramble format with two divisions.
Each team will use 30 percent of its combined handicap with no more than a 10-stroke difference in their individual handicaps.
Cost is $100 per team and includes honey pot, KPs, range balls and lunch after play.
Phone the golf shop at 360-683-3673 to get in the game.
On tap at PTGC
Port Townsend Golf Club has two events coming up: the Men’s Club Spring Fling and Steak Feed this Saturday and the sixth annual Relay for Life Golf Tournament on Saturday, April 24.
The spring fling tourney includes a barbecued steak dinner following blind-draw scramble play.
Entry fee is $35 and includes the steak feed.
The Relay for Life Tournament is a four-person pick-your-own team 18-hole scramble.
Tournament fees are $45 for members and $60 for nonmembers.
The fee includes a round of golf, prizes, KPs, LPs and lunch.
Carts are not included in the fee but a limited number are available by reservation.
A raffle will follow play to benefit the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life program.
Phone the pro shop at 360-385-4547 for reservations to either event.
Port Ludlow ladies
I swear I’m not taking any cues from Augusta National Membership in placing the Port Ludlow 18- and 9-hole ladies groups last in my column.
The 18-hole ladies played a team game called Cha Cha last Tuesday.
One net ball is selected to count on the first hole, two net balls are selected on the second hole and three net balls count on the third hole.
The sequence is repeated throughout the round.
The team of Peggy Selby, Teddy Conover and Burleigh Smith took home first place with a score of 147.
Selby notched a birdie on Timber’s fourth hole during the round.
The 9-hole ladies played Blind Partners on April Fools’ day.
A draw for partners occurred after the round, and the winner is the team with the lowest combined net score.
Taking those honors were Sue Fechner and Kathy Snider with an 80.
Full results can be found on Page B2.
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Michael Carman is the golf columnist for the Peninsula Daily News. His column appears on Wednesdays. He can be reached at 360-417-3527 or pdngolf@gmail.com.