Golf fans almost universally agree that The Masters is the best week of the year the sport has to offer. The combination of tradition, beautiful scenery and the best players in the world competing for a coveted prize is not exactly a hard sell.
But one of the underappreciated reasons The Masters maintains its credibility as a top-tier event is the level of detail included in the incredible Masters Official App. A rare necessity for following a sporting event on your phone in an era where doing so can seem slow and tedious, the Masters app offers a staggering amount of sophistication, especially for a free app that’s only used one week out of the year.
The leaderboard is updated quickly and efficiently. March Madness enthusiasts think they’re fine with a four-screen setup until the Masters app tops that by offering six unique vantage points around Augusta National.
Fantasy teams, field information, individual player tracking, and advanced data are all available. The technology developed by Augusta National Golf Club and app partner IBM is so strong that Full Swing producer Chad Mumm recounted anecdotes about the respect shown by other app development teams.
An interesting fact about the Masters app. I spoke to a Netflix executive who said that engineers consider The Masters app to be the best streaming app in the world (outside of Netflix, of course). Hard to disagree. https://t.co/azKzuc55Ij
— Chad Mumm (@chadmumm) March 27, 2023
However, the singular feature that makes the Masters app stand out above all else is the unparalleled ability to see every shot taken by every player on the field within minutes of the shot being made.
Television production and technological advances in applications have greatly helped coverage of golf in recent years. Larger course sizes at other events and traveling television production crews also make it impossible to fit a camera on every player for every shot at nearly every other major golf event. Since Augusta National runs their own app on their own turf, they can place cameras everywhere on the course imaginable.
With the ability to view every shot, the app has turned golf’s biggest event into a virtual playground for golf enthusiasts. It has become a must for golfers looking for deeper plays in lesser known players. Instead of following the shots in a digitized hole on a screen as is done every week, each shot in Augusta is observed and studied.
Fun golf fan themes full of hidden moments have also emerged from the see-all-shot revolution. Whether it’s on reddit or the annual No Laying Up Twitter thread, there’s never a shortage of shots spreading throughout the golf community.
Starting a thread here about “shots you need to go back and watch” from the Masters app/website.
What’s on that list and why?
– No LayingUp (@NoLayingUp) April 7, 2022
It’s great to see the incredible shots missed by the main feed, the bad shots that relatable to golfers at home, and the collapses that occur during a pressure-filled moment. There is so much that the main television broadcast can include.
Paywalls and blackouts permeate modern sports-viewing culture, forcing cord-cutters to make interest-based decisions. Watching an entire PGA Tour event on a weekly basis often requires a paid ESPN Plus subscription. But unmatched access to a free, quality product is yet another reason to love The Masters.