The closest thing the Masters has to a slogan is that it’s ‘a tradition unlike any other’ but truth be told the year’s first major is really dozens of different traditions which combine to produce one of the most special weeks in golf.

From the Green Jacket ceremony to the Tuesday night Champions dinner to players skipping balls across the pond at the 16 ^thhole during practise, The Masters and Augusta National is as familiar to golf fans as their own home course.

It’s one of the key reasons the tournament is such an enduring success; you know what you’re getting with the Masters and what you’re getting is as good as golf gets.

And because it’s the only major played at the same venue each year the Augusta National course has a special place in the hearts of golf fans.

As play unfolds over the next week, and most especially on Sunday, long time watchers will find themselves commentating almost in sync with the likes of Nick Faldo and Ian Baker-Finch.

"Don’t be short on nine to a front pin," (think Greg Norman, 20 years ago in 1996). "Don’t be left of the flag at 11," (Ben Hogan once said if you ever saw him left of the flag at 11 it meant he’d miss-hit the shot).

"Don’t be tempted to shoot at the pin on the right of the 12^thgreen on Sunday," (remember Fred Couples in ’92?)

The images and memories abound, great moments witnessed at almost every turn over the decades and the accompanying CBS commentary (another tradition, by the way. No other broadcaster has ever televised the tournament in its 82 year history).

Familiarity is supposed to breed contempt but the exact opposite is true at Augusta. The more we get to know it the more we seem to love it.

Since 1997, when Tiger Woods posted his ‘Win for the ages’ (one of Jim Nantz’s better 18^th green calls) the event has grown in commercial terms almost five fold.

But for all its financial success the Masters thrives not because of money but because what Augusta National has built is an event in which fans all over the world feel a small sense of ownership.

It’s ironic that one of the most private clubs on the planet could hold such a lofty place in the eyes of the public but Augusta National pulls it off and does so with style.

When the Masters tees off Friday morning Australian time it will signal once again, for golfers and non-golfers alike, the most exciting week in golf.

A tradition really unlike any other.

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The Masters Coverage

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