How did The Masters become a major?

[Anthony Gray]

  Consider me the pizza man on this one.

    How/When did the Masters become a major?

   When were the British and US ams dropped? And why?

   THanks,

   Anthony



   

[Jamie Barber]

is there a formal designation as a major, or is it just "accepted"?

EDIT some facts here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men's_major_golf_championships

[Matt_Ward]

Anthony:

WWII marks a clear division line for the status of the US and British Ams.

The pro game was growing -- albeit not at the pace that Palmer caused but The Masters also benefited from club promotion with some of the key writers heading back north after spring training for baseball concluded.

No doubt the "spring" timing benefited ANGC in a big time way.

[Adrian_Stiff]

The US and British Ams are actually still majors if there is such a thing, the British used to be almost as big as the Open or perhaps I should say the Open grew massive from about 1960 when Arnold started coming over and so the Amateur has kinda paled.

I think the Western Open was considered a major at one time, but there are no real guidelines it has just become the norm to consider certain tournaments as more important. I guess the guys that won the early Open championship never much knew what they were winning.

It was from about the 3rd Masters that the tournament hotted up boosted by Gene Sarazen's 2 at 15 to win.

I think the USPGA only really became adopted after that became a strokeplay event, but remember very few golfers travelled much pre 1920 anyway and though the 20s boomed, few Europeans went across stateside and only a handfull of Americans came over after 1933 right up until 1960,few American's came to the Open after the war, Frank Stranahan played from 47 thru to maybe 57 Only Snead (46) and Hogan (53) won up until Arnie (61), Arnie first started playing in 1960, Hogan only ever played once and Snead only played a couple of times.

[Tom_Doak]

I know that Bob Drum and Dan Jenkins decided in 1960 that the "modern" Grand Slam consisted of the four we talk about today, when Palmer had already won the Masters and the US Open.

Did anyone talk about how many "majors" they had won in the 1940's or 1950's?  I don't remember it being a particular goal of Hogan or Snead.  There has been much talk about 1953 when Hogan won the three but couldn't play in the PGA because it was the week after the British Open and no one was flying back then ... if it had really been considered "the fourth major" would they have scheduled it that way?

[Anthony Butler]

I know that Bob Drum and Dan Jenkins decided in 1960 that the "modern" Grand Slam consisted of the four we talk about today, when Palmer had already won the Masters and the US Open.

Did anyone talk about how many "majors" they had won in the 1940's or 1950's?  I don't remember it being a particular goal of Hogan or Snead.  There has been much talk about 1953 when Hogan won the three but couldn't play in the PGA because it was the week after the British Open and no one was flying back then ... if it had really been considered "the fourth major" would they have scheduled it that way?

He most likely wouldn't have played either way. Considering each day was 36 holes of matchplay, did Hogan even play the PGA as a matchplay event after his accident?

[Adrian_Stiff]

I think if there was a defined year then probably 1960 would have been it. They were just tournaments and as Tom points out if winning the four was so important why the bad scheduling. Hogan played 36 last day at Carnoustie, the actual Open was over 3 days in those days although there was a 36 hole qualifier on the monday and tuesday with no exceptions, Hogan as the 53 winner would have been required to earn his place in the qualifier for the 1954 one.
Hogan never played in the USPGA again after his 1948 win .

[Phil Benedict]

The Bob Jones connection, the overlap with spring training and clever marketing all combined to make the Masters a special event fairly early on, although not necessarily of equal status with the US Open.  The fact that it was televised in 1960 is pretty much indicative of its importance on the golf calendar by then.  

[Robert Kimball]

From my reading, apparenty Jones was resistant to the Masters becoming anything more than a get together for his friends in golf.

I think Sarazen really helped things along in '35 -- and the opportunity to see Jones in "competition" again was too much for the press to resist. I believe the 4th Estate had more to do with The Masters becoming a major than anything else. Maybe Cliff had a hand in that as well.  

Another somewhat random thought: I can remember reading not too long ago in golf publications that Nicklaus was credited with "20" Major Championships. Nowadays they refer only to his 18 professional ones.

I am sure there are other Augusta aficionados more knowedgeable than I whom I would love to hear from . . . .

-- Rob
 

[Adrian_Stiff]

Jack's 20 now referred as 18 Professional majors seemed to disappear when Tiger emerged and started collecting them, he ofcourse has 3 US Am wins. Two years ago it seemed nailed on Tiger would go past Jack, Jack always said he thought Tiger would go past as long as he stayed fit.

[Garland Bayley]

Arnold Palmer was at the peak of his game in 1960, looking for new worlds to conquer. He won the Masters for the second time, then charged from seven strokes back in the final round to win the U.S. Open.

That's when he turned his thoughts to the Grand Slam.

Somewhere on the way to St. Andrews for his first British Open, Palmer and sports writer Bob Drum were talking over a few drinks about how professional golf had effectively ended the concept of a Grand Slam, the one Bobby Jones achieved in 1930 by winning the U.S. Open, U.S. Amateur, British Open and British Amateur in the same year.

That's when the light came on.

"Why don't we create a new Grand Slam?" he asked Drum, who chronicled Palmer's career for the Pittsburgh Press.

And so it was.

"Bob wrote about it and it's gone on from there," Palmer said. "And that's how it got to be what we know as the modern Grand Slam."

from http://www.usatoday.com/sports/golf/masters01/2001-04-01-fourofkind.htm

Up until that time the Western Open was considered to be a more important tournament with the second only to the US Open roots in the US of A. However, Palmer had not won the Western Open by then, so if he really wanted new things to conquer he should have concentrated on the Western Open instead of making the self serving selection he did.

[Anthony Butler]

From my reading, apparenty Jones was resistant to the Masters becoming anything more than a get together for his friends in golf.

I think Sarazen really helped things along in '35 -- and the opportunity to see Jones in "competition" again was too much for the press to resist. I believe the 4th Estate had more to do with The Masters becoming a major than anything else. Maybe Cliff had a hand in that as well.  

Ciffford Roberts was by far the most instrumental person in turning the Masters into a major. By insisting that everyone involved treated the Masters with the same amount of importance as the club management. (i.e. Roberts). The tournament quickly grew in importance after the course came back online after the war. They were still giving tickets away on the streets of Augusta until the late 50s.

Once TV coverage started Roberts quickly realized that was a medium where he could control how the tournament and the course were presented to America. To reinforce that control, he kept CBS on one-year rotating contract, that would only be renewed once he saw how they were going to handle his very lengthy list of suggested 'improvements' that was submitted the week after the tournament each April.

Roberts was one of the great brand builders of his time, firstly by turning Bobby Jones image into a philosophy for how you create and operate a private golf club then by controlling the messages coming out of the limited media outlets granted access to the club during the tournament.

There's a book called "Making of the Masters' that provides a very accurate account of this process, which also recounts how important Eisenhower was in creating the prestige attached to the club in the 50s. Roberts even managed to turn Eisenhower into a multimillionaire in the process.

[Garland Bayley]

...
Ciffford Roberts was by far the most instrumental person in turning the Masters into a major. ...

That's bull! Clifford turned it into the grand entertainment spectacle that it is. Only in that respect did he contribute to it becoming a major. The limiting the field. The inclusion of all the old guys. These things suggested it should NOT be a major.

[Anthony Butler]

...
Ciffford Roberts was by far the most instrumental person in turning the Masters into a major. ...

That's bull! Clifford turned it into the grand entertainment spectacle that it is. Only in that respect did he contribute to it becoming a major. The limiting the field. The inclusion of all the old guys. These things suggested it should NOT be a major.

Garland,

Obviously you haven't read the book. Or tried to get into a fashionable nightclub. Or worked in marketing.

Restricting access to something desirable has the effect of making it more desirable in most cases.

The other three majors are the pinnacle championships of the three most influential governing bodies of golf. (At least up until the 1969 split, at which time the PGA Championship was well established as a major).

By making Augusta National the most high profile golf club in America, Roberts made their club sponsored tournament a major.

[Garland Bayley]

...
By making Augusta National the most high profile golf club in America, Roberts made their club sponsored tournament a major.

So you don't believe Arnie's claim that he made it a major?

I have read Augusta by Eubanks. It would disagree with your take on the Eisenhower claim and the major claim.

[Anthony Butler]

...
By making Augusta National the most high profile golf club in America, Roberts made their club sponsored tournament a major.

So you don't believe Arnie's claim that he made it a major?

I have read Augusta by Eubanks. It would disagree with your take on the Eisenhower claim and the major claim.

I am not sure exactly how POOR you could be retiring as a five star general... Apparently Eisenhower did not even own a home when he demobbed, having lived in Army housing his entire adult life... Anyone who was responsible for winning WWII (European Tour Event) would sign a book deal for about $10m advance these days... Obviously he was not penniless, but he did very well by handing management of his Army pension etc.. over to Roberts to manage while he was Prez. A good time for the stock market as I recall.

Arnie's rise to prominence was nicely timed with the networks growing ability to broadcast a sporting event like a golf tournament (technically a much greater challenge than a football match). But like they say in school Success=Preparation + Opportunity.

[Scott Warren]

Anyone who was responsible for winning WWII (European Tour Event) would sign a book deal for about $10m advance these days...

Yeah, so Churchill's future would be assured then, what about Eisenhower?

[Anthony Butler]

Anyone who was responsible for winning WWII (European Tour Event) would sign a book deal for about $10m advance these days...

Yeah, so Churchill's future would be assured then, what about Eisenhower?

Anyone would include Churchill, Marshall, Patton, & Eisenhower.

Churchill, of course, would not need $10m incentive to inform us of his role in defeating the Nazis.

 

[Scott Warren]

Churchill just needed a journalist with a notepad and a glass of whisky, god bless 'im!

[Garland Bayley]

I am not sure exactly how POOR you could be retiring as a five star general... Apparently Eisenhower did not even own a home when he demobbed, having lived in Army housing his entire adult life...

Not that claim. The claim that Eisenhower had any significant role in raising the status of the club so that the Masters could be a major.
The club made Eisenhower, Eisenhower did not make the club!

[Bob_Huntley]

I am not sure exactly how POOR you could be retiring as a five star general... Apparently Eisenhower did not even own a home when he demobbed, having lived in Army housing his entire adult life...

Not that claim. The claim that Eisenhower had any significant role in raising the status of the club so that the Masters could be a major.
The club made Eisenhower, Eisenhower did not make the club!

The Club made Roberts........he did awfuly well financially in selecting members who had vast amounts of money to invest, both personally and pension-wise.

Bob

[Jeff Evagues]

...
Ciffford Roberts was by far the most instrumental person in turning the Masters into a major. ...

That's bull! Clifford turned it into the grand entertainment spectacle that it is. Only in that respect did he contribute to it becoming a major. The limiting the field. The inclusion of all the old guys. These things suggested it should NOT be a major.

I've been saying this all along.  How can an "invitational" be a major championship? 

[Jay Flemma]

You should read the book "The Making of the Masters" by david owen.  That's the best book on the subject.  Correction on one thing...it was not jenkins who decided it was a major, it was palmer whp said that he thought the four modern majors were the masters, pga, us open, and open championship.

[Jamie Barber]

So to repeat my earlier question, is there an official designation as a major? Jay's post above seems to imply not...?

[Scott Warren]

I agree with Jay that The Making of the Masters is a great book. One of its major successes, IMO, is humanising Clifford Roberts from the despotic rageaholic he is so regularly painted as. Has another human being been so demonised to a characterture in the past 100 years?