Making the Masters

Contested the second weekend in April each year since 1934, The Masters is the world's most prestigious golf tournament. It's the most-watched tournament on television, tickets are in such demand that even the waiting list is closed, and players value the title above all others. The origin and early years of the Masters make for a fascinating story. In "The Making of the Masters", award-winning golf writer David Barrett focuses his attention on how the Masters was conceived, how it got off the ground in 1934, and how it fully established itself in 1935. The key figure in the tournament's creation and ultimate success was Bobby Jones, who was a living legend after winning the Grand Slam in 1930 and immediately retiring at the age of 28. He went on to found Augusta National and sought a high-profile tournament for his new course. But nearly as important was Clifford Roberts, a banker friend of Jones who not only embraced Jones' vision but became his right-hand man in working to bring that vision to reality. In "The Making of the Masters" Barrett explores Jones and Roberts built the Masters from scratch to the point where it quickly became a golf institution, embellished by the often surprising details of what that entailed as they were trying to establish a golf club and golf tournament in tough economic times. It also vividly chronicles the events of the 1934 and 1935 Masters, with Gene Sarazen's spectacular victory in 1935 providing the climax. Set against the backdrop of golf, and America, in the 1930s, the book provides an interesting, informative, and entertaining read for fans of the Masters and students of golf history.