1981 Masters Final Round Broadcast

[@TheLeadSled]

These are the golfers I watched as a young child with my father. I know there's great golfers today on the tour, but for me this was the best times. We had Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, Tom Kite, Greg Norman, Ben Crenshaw, Seve Ballesteros, Ray Floyd, Lee Trevino, Calvin Peete, Gary Player, and so many others, even an older Arnold Palmer, such great memories.

[@Dentistmentalust]

I totally agree, that list you mentioned is unbeatable! They were the greatest!

[@coreycovington4808]

Tom Kite was my underdog favorite growing up

[@Oldguitar57]

Yep, me and my dad watched the same guys. It was great!

[@martinhayward4466]

Yes, a great era. Always looked forward to the Masters coverage in the early 80's, those big guns seemed to be always in contention.

[@Mark-l9k9q]

Yeah, many great others, Weiskopf, Miller, Green and Irwin.

[@christopherdelgaudio9484]

Never gets old.the 70s and 80s the best in the history of this great game .thank U!!

[@danielguillermo7055]

InstaBlaster

[@wreckim]

The tournament was awesome! One of the very few badly produced by CBS...lots of camera issues. Thanks for posting.

[@annefilippobertozzi7601]

wreckim: I agree: the director was probably drunk...

[@austinmora1309]

Who was calling the 14th hole?

[@scottmallory298]

"Seems like the sands of time are running out for Jack Nicklaus". You could excuse the commentator that Nicklaus was still 5 years away from winning his sixth jacket, but he was at this time the defending US Open and US PGA championship...

[@stephenmacdonald76]

Could have won it in 98 as well

[@timdailey2690]

Jack and Augusta, timeless.

[@65g4]

@@stephenmacdonald76 yes that was a great run in 98

[@scottmallory298]

@snag66 Yes I always question the position of the commentator to make such claims. Like Peter Alliss in the UK - so much knocking of golf's nearly men. His own achievement? No majors (even if the Open was the only one he could play in) didn't even come close and bottled out of a very rare winning Ryder Cup position for the UK&I team (in 1953) by taking 4 to get down on the last green to lose a match he should have won.

[@harfga]

Yes but at 2:04:00, he uses a similar phase about “the sands running out” so it might’ve been just a go-to, lazy phrase.

[@ItsBlackjack115]

The first-ever Masters featuring Dave Loggins' "Augusta" as the tournament's official theme music.

[@Secretarian]

Tom Kite is overlooked as one of the best to never win at Augusta. Nine top 5 finishes there in his career, including three second place finishes ('83, '86, '97). Leader entering final round in 1984, sunk by a water ball on 12.

[@baseballman4958]

I agree, in going through these, he is always there.

[@TomasNolanmossynolanmusic]

Top class player.

[@Pronzini1]

Kite was a choker, especially in majors. Floyd much tougher

[@marknorris1381]

That's one of the reasons I was happy to see him win his US Open. He certainly paid his dues along the way.

[@Secretarian]

@@baseballman4958 Kite should have outright won the '86 Masters. He missed 3 birdie putts inside 10 feet on the back nine.

[@mariepavlov9144]

Hole-by-hole announcers (1981 Masters) CBS: Vin Scully & Tom Weiskopf 10 & 18 Pat Summerall 11 & 12 Ken Venturi 13 Gary Bender 14 Ben Wright 15 Jack Whitaker 16 (Whitaker's last year doing the Masters for CBS; he moved to ABC Sports in 1982.) Frank Glieber 17 The first-ever Masters featuring Dave Loggins' "Augusta" as the tournament's theme song, and the first Masters with Bentgrass greens, which we're formerly Bermuda and ryegrass.

[@MrAJR76]

Thanks Marie.

[@part1801]

I was a sophomore in HS when this was happening and Jack was pretty much the man to me and Watson is a big reason Nicklaus doesn't have even more majors.

[@scottrackley4457]

because he had a lockdown on the Open

[@Oldguitar57]

So was Trevino

[@nicholasschroeder3678]

He had great rivals. Palmer, Casper, Player in the beginning, then Trevino, Miller, and Weiskoff, and finally Watson. He outlasted them all. Tiger WAS better, but it wasn't much fun watching him squash everyone in his grim, ruthless way. Golf turned ugly.

[@thenumberquelve158]

1:58:33 "It is that time of the day. That soft light of the Georgia afternoon, when you get the feeling that the pine trees and magnolias are standing on their toes to get a better look, and well they might." Vin Scully for the win.

[@mikedemers3076]

Poetry

[@part6133]

If you don't like Vin Scully then you don't like pizza.... Sports and the American way.

[@Secretarian]

I like that this seems to be the raw video feed which does not leave the action when the commercials were run. Which is why there are periods of no commentary, only to have the same shot we just witnessed replayed shortly after with the commentary. This is priceless. Love seeing so many classic names at or near their prime, including Johnny Miller's last bona fide run at a green jacket.

[@albertozerain1115]

thank you for this gem!!!

[@thenumberquelve158]

Two cool things I learned from watching this: 1. Greg Norman, the Great White Shark, actually HUNTED sharks in his spare time in his younger day. 2. Jerry Pate & Terry Bradshaw were clearly separated at birth.

[@toddhoskins4206]

@Pure Couples wrong

[@A-FrameWedge]

Look nothing like each other except their hairline, you need glasses.

[@MrDuds1984]

1:43:50 tee shot by Jack sounds like a rifle shot

[@AndresSotoMarin]

1:42:46 - Great putt by Jack on 16, reminiscent of '75.

[@brianferris9323]

Even Mahaffey’s caddie was rooting for Nicklaus there

[@jsmariani4180]

This is great fun to go back. Too bad the camera and switching work was so poor.

[@digibotdotcom]

It's becoming clear as I watch these, that Tom Weiskopf is Jack's biggest fan.

[@c5back9]

True. Weiskopf has admitted it many times.

[@shawncornell346]

T Bot both were Ohio state grads

[@nicholasschroeder3678]

Particularly gracious in that Jack denied him a lot of glory and made Tom's career look like something of a failure, which it wasn't. Tom really didn't choke in any of his second place finishes--a bad shot here and there, but he held on. Jack just bested him. He was a mentally tougher guy. Testament to both men, really, that Tom can admire and not hate him.

[@philpfeiffer9449]

I'm pretty sure this is the first Masters after they converted the greens from bermuda to bent. I didn't hear any of the announcers say even one word about it. Can you imagine if they converted from bent back to bermuda now? Golf Channel would devote a hundred hours of programming to it! It'd be the biggest story of the year!

[@c5back9]

C. Buck Hyres: the former players on the staff at least speak from experience. The “sports journalists” make clear their absolute ignorance almost constantly.

[@wreckim]

Of that era, I think Watson and Nicklaus would have competed equally well in today's era. However, even Watson had putter issues as the greens got faster. It's also incredibly difficult to believe his last Major came in 1983.

[@dlamiss]

In fairness he was in serious contention in at least 10 more majors after that but in many just didnt have that extra bit of luck needed

[@mikefallopian3191]

I remember it being said that Watson would hit his short putts harder than anyone...slam em into the back of the cup. Which I imagine would compound anything like yips or other later issues worse than anything. Won his last major at roughly the same age as Palmer. And Woods last major would have been at 32 had the entire board not tanked for him last year.

[@whoamifoo9075]

All of those players would have smashed the field today. The players today have no talent or imagination because of the equipment.

[@nicholasschroeder3678]

​@@mikefallopian3191You could always see that on camera--bullets.

[@AndresSotoMarin]

1:25:22 Sad 4-putt on 18 by '67 champion Gay Brewer, who was 49 (49?!) at the time.

[@barking_mad6649]

He looks 69!

[@timdailey2690]

David Graham playing with Brewer looks 49. He’s 34 at the time.

[@baseballman4958]

Hard to believe on both counts.

[@baseballman4958]

Truly cruel that Weiskopf never won the Masters. And maybe Miller too.

[@artdodge201]

Pros. Of any sport should be able to play where ever they want .... Art

[@Kaddywompous]

1:58:30 Classic Vin Scully. Miss him.

[@mannyperales8391]

Golf gods gave this one to watson...He should have won three straight...77,78 and 79..should have had 4 masters...its funny how he could have won 13 or 14 majors if it was not for hot golfers in the final rounds and his errant driving at the worst of times

[@ericstanley1119]

Was hard to be a Watson fan, he could be so frustrating but also made some of the most magnificent major championship runs ever - plus, he carried himself like Atlas on the course, what a player.

[@ronniewald7135]

The late Frank Glieber-18 years at 17.

[@MIKIEEYEZ1975]

Great announcer!! Loved I’m on CBS FOOTBALL GAMES in the 70’s!!

[@Swoleheart]

The production quality back then was helacious. Meaning they'd go to one hole, then leave to go to another before they even shot etc

[@indy_go_blue6048]

Yes they should follow around the leader and close challengers for the entire broadcast like they do today... or Woods 90% of the time if he's playing.

[@martinhayward4466]

Tom probably should have won 12 majors. 78' PGA, 83 & 87 US Opens and the 2009 Open.

[@ericstanley1119]

'74 US Open too.

[@bretts4544]

78-79 Masters, 1991 Masters,

[@martinhayward4466]

@@bretts4544 Yes, how quickly you can forget. 89 Open Championship as well.

[@martinhayward4466]

@@ericstanley1119 Can forgive that one, pretty raw still then, but certainly had his chance.

[@nicholasschroeder3678]

Oh, they all had close shaves. All of them make mistakes, and often benefit and win from the mistakes the others make.

[@CorekBleedingHollow]

1:38:00 Jack Nicklaus on 16

[@ScratchArkkitehti]

1:29:46 Champions Swing!

[@Tom-ok2rh]

At 13:05 the announcer says that Jerry Pate is hitting a 6 iron on #12. My how times have changed..if a player today were to hit a 6 iron on that hole it would probably fly clean off of the property.

[@jeremydavidson9194]

You can recover from putting your ball in the tributary on 13. But the creek itself on 11 or 12 will cost you 2 shots.

[@grgoldner]

This is back in the day when you couldn't use your own caddy and Augusta assigned one to you based on when you arrived at the club.

[@mikemartin5340]

How many of Norman’s shots did they cut away from! LOL! Everyone hated him from day 1, hilarious

[@MrAJR76]

Everyone didn't hate him, stop being so childish. I used to like him, until LIV.

[@mikemartin5340]

@@MrAJR76 he’s been hated for decades, and rightfully so

[@rmr24]

The days of Sansabelt slacks and no hat.

[@alastairfaulds8184]

Sad that Tom didn't win a couple more Majors. He should've won here in 91 and his loss in the 2009 Open was heartbreaking.

[@christopherdelgaudio9484]

Should have won the open in 83 at oakmont

[@parttroll1]

@1:53:59 nice comb-over :D

[@ordinaryaverageguy]

Stunningly bad. I’m sure he’s conceded by now.

[@kepler240]

1:14:28 Hubert Green looks like somebody right out of the 20's.

[@bneale]

Back when players had to use the black caddies provided by the Masters.

[@MGAF688]

Did black players get to use white caddies? Calvin Peete should have requested equal rights for white caddies.

[@areguapiri]

The Masters was brutally racist for decades.

[@Devlins10]

Nicklaus chipping from the sand! Never seen that.

[@house-ghost]

So awesome.

[@LDis1]

Another one where Greg Norman could have won.

[@whoamifoo9075]

If norman could putt he would have won many majors.

[@patrickdumass7611]

10th hole cost Norman dearly a few times.

[@mikehagan5845]

Jack was just on the tee at 17, ball at address and he knocked the ball off the tee, that was a stroke.

[@timdailey2690]

Mahaffey (Jack’s pairing partner) is wearing Jack’s exact clothing selection from 1979

[@mikefallopian3191]

Those are the top two guys I always rooted for back then as well. Those 2 and Trevino. Always rooted against Watson, for no reason other than he was beating out Jack too many times. But was never more disappointed by an outcome than by his loss at the 2009 British Open.

[@indy_go_blue6048]

@@mikefallopian3191 That's funny to me. My grandma was a lt. col. in "Arnie's Army" and after Jack beat him for the US Open in '63 (IIRC) she hated him with a passion that lasted until she died in '80.

[@mikefallopian3191]

@@indy_go_blue6048 . . I'm getting pretty old but I'm not old enough to remember anyone hating Jack Nicklaus. I've heard that's how it was for awhile though for Fat Jack.

[@michaelmuldowney8]

Did someone spill coffee on the control panel in the television directors truck ? Constant cutting away from shots - commentary not matching images.

[@BestEachDay]

It seems like they didn't chip it in as much or fly it in as much as they do today. But I liked their swing styles, and they seemed more consistent performers than today's players who seem to jump to the top and then rotate back to the end of the line again all the time.

[@jamesfitzgerald6636]

Blessed to see Miller play! If only the putter had behaved!

[@francis1971]

The debut Masters for Greg Norman

[@MrAJR76]

I still think he’ll win it one day. Time’s on his side.

[@chrisbrimhall1613]

Boy….whomever was in charge of the telecast must have been smoking some stuff

[@ysgol3]

From the days before the Tournament Committee finally realised accessible pin placements on the 16th and 18th created more exciting golf. Watson's putt on the 17th - not quite the same stroke in 2009 unfortunately.

[@TG-ue1mr]

Watching this broadcast you realize how much better everything is nowadays... the commentary didn’t match what was on the screen for most of the telecast

[@Tom-ok2rh]

You absolutely never see any shot from short of 15 being played anymore..it is mown so short that the ball eventually falls in the pond.

[@brianfennelly9939]

Have we ever before (or since) had the camera angle on 10th fairway, directly behind the golfer, where one can see the flight of the approach shot superimposed against the trees? I wonder why they wouldn't have kept that?

[@leestamm3187]

I remember that, but it's long since been replaced by the "incoming" view from the greenside camera. Too bad, since it's more of the golfer's view.

[@jdtippet7002]

green speeds seem sensible as does the equipment

[@bagpussmacfarlan9008]

Not a lot of bras in the crowd

[@MGAF688]

Yeah, back then, men were men and women were women.

[@BudSchnelker]

Caddies having a cigarette as they walk to the next shot. We still had an adult culture back then.

[@Devlins10]

Have a shot every time Hubert looks at his target before he pulls the trigger. 🤣🤣🤣

[@MrAJR76]

Have a shot at who? You can’t go round shooting at people, especially not during Masters week.

[@doctorlove7920]

He had an interesting pre-shot routine

[@michaelrowell7798]

@@MrAJR76 I think he means one of these..🥃. Hubert was a real head wobbler!!

[@sturs100]

Annoying as Bradley is twirling his clubs.

[@robertpalin2161]

21:30 the video doesn't match the audio. Lousy coordination between commentators and cameramen

[@annefilippobertozzi7601]

Robert Palin: very bad

[@keneblana]

The course nowhere near the manicured excellence that is now (12th green)... Just seems that even early on, Greg's mental errors cost him so much more than other player's did. Also enjoyed the 'quieter' commentary without the likes of Venturi constantly reminding us year in, year out where never to hit it on 11, 12, 13 & 16.

[@A-FrameWedge]

I believe they had a very cold winter that year and is why later on they put a subair system underneath the 12th green to keep it from freezing, and did the same thing to the other greens eventually.

[@keneblana]

@@jfromparis5788 Finding yourself in Rae's Creek or 6ft deep in gorse will usually result in the same penalty. The Masters is infinitely more risk/reward than The Open which itself requires much greater mental acumen. Two reasons why both tournaments are fascinating viewing, particularly on the back nine on Sunday!

[@sretsam68]

Nicklaus owns the 16th hole.

[@MrAJR76]

Don’t be ridiculous. Augusta National owns the 16th (and all the other holes for that matter).

[@Nowheels24-7]

So does Tiger

[@michaelrowell7798]

@@Nowheels24-7 Tiger owns ANGC? WOW!!

[@Secretarian]

Jerry Pate tied for 5th in this tournament, and never played in another Masters due to injuries drawing the curtains on his playing career.

[@whetedge]

Pate played The Masters the following year, 1982, and finished -3.

[@Secretarian]

@@whetedge You are correct. I was looking at the wrong column on his Wikipedia entry. Amazing departure from the scene for Pate, though, as he finished his Masters playing career with three straight top 6 finishes. I really liked his golf swing. His sudden departure from the scene was puzzling at the time, in those pre-Internet days.

[@johnnypenso9574]

Was listening to Pate on a podcast a couple of weeks ago. At that time, only him, Jack and Arnie had private planes. The injury stopped his career dead in it's tracks and he was never the same.

[@Handletaken4]

Watson misses winning Open at 58 yrs old by 1yard

[@adk46er5203]

I used to always root for Watson. Ever since 77 Masters. My Dad rooted for Nichlaus. Anyway, where is the Green Jacket ceremony in the Butler Cabin? PS - I did root for Jack in the 86 Masters at the end. I always root for the Americans all the other leaders were not Americans.

[@sportstrader2175]

Very few international players were invited to American majors up to mid 80s that's why Tiger's majors hold more weight

[@thomasrichardson-ev1wp]

Amazing second shots at 15 hitting woods or long irons where today’s players are hitting 5 or 6 irons. Also, I can’t believe that none of the players are wearing hats.

[@nicholasschroeder3678]

The club numbers really aren't equivalent. When I transitioned from persimmon to metal, it made 50 yards difference. Same with the irons: try to hit a forged head iron with a steel shafted and a wound ball and see what it's like. Takes a ton more skill and precision. Think wooden tennis rackets.

[@Tom-ok2rh]

How about 6 irons on #12? Nowadays a 6 iron on that hole probably flies clean off of the property.

[@larrybud]

Anybody know what the rules on pairings were in 1981? Currently you're paired by score of course, and if there was a tie, the first in the clubhouse gets the later spot. The way they're talking it sounds like it was up to the Master's committee rather than a hard and fast rule.

[@carlpen850]

This was about some of the worst coverage I've watched of these old tournaments, they were showing one pairing doing nothing while talking about a different pairing... and cut away to someone standing in a fairway right in the middle of a birdie putt... they were showing Ben Chrenshaw and then you you never seen him again with no explanation why

[@MikeDarnell-u1b]

Funny seeing the caddies back then sitting on the ground around the greens. Pretty sure that would not be allowed today.

[@jordanboteler8978]

They didn’t have the green jacket ceremony in 80 and 81 bc butler cabin was going through some renovation

[@nicholasschroeder3678]

You mean the meeting in the principals office

[@benkizer9509]

Very few hats, colorful pants, woods instead of drivers, no "get it in the hole" guys, caddies smoking cigs while working... those were the days.

[@steveaustin2103]

Well the kids are into vinyl records now, I wonder if they will start playing persimmon head drivers?

[@Levin-ey1bu]

Streaker! 11:08

[@jamesfitzgerald6636]

Miller💪

[@hicks727]

nice job moving the pin on 16 for the final round...that's ratings folks

[@MrAJR76]

Strange comment. What’s it got to do with ratings?? Lower-left didn’t become the regular Sunday pin-placement at the 16th until 1985.

[@stephenmilburn7622]

Is Davis Love 111 in the gallery wearing a pink shirt and green pants? If you look at the right side of the screen just before Jack putts on 16 there's a guy who looks like Davis.

[@benkizer9509]

Could be. He grew up in Georgia and his Dad played in the Masters a few times.

[@CorekBleedingHollow]

Tom Weiskopf and Greg Norman should've won a green jacket.

[@jamesfitzgerald6636]

Corek BleedingHollow ... Miller as Well

[@theseventyseven]

Actiontrak!

[@michaelrowell7798]

Absolutely useless gimmicky stuff from CBS..

[@marvinjohnson7523]

Masters theme song debut

[@MSzudera]

No shot tracer for the golf ball?

[@jimrodgers9227]

Hey Greg Norman, shooting sharks is an idiots past time.

[@sonnyquoll8961]

Worst production of a championship most shots that mattered they cut to someone irrelevant like David Graham putting on 17 when there was top 2 playing.

[@coreycovington4808]

Norman bummed over par is killing me

[@AndresSotoMarin]

52:40 - Weird to see Jack Nicklaus putting from the back bunker on 12.

[@mattlapKarting]

thats a chip, not a putt!

[@AKordyban]

Why are all the caddies black? And why they repairing ball marks as soon as the ball lands on the green?

[@francis1971]

Andrew Kordyban It was Augusta policy at the time that they have local caddies. It wasn’t until 1983 that players could use their own caddies if they so chose to.

[@AKordyban]

francis1971 thanks I didn't know that

[@pjdoughertyitservices8844]

great tradition that I miss very much; caddied @ GCGC 13 years 1974-86

[@whetedge]

Augusta caddies were a hoot to watch as they reacted to their players' shots, hit or miss, and some of their miss theatrics were down right brutal lol. Fore caddies on the greens didn't have a player. Their job was to spot wayward shots, rake the traps, and repair ball marks.

[@whetedge]

PJ Dougherty IT Services I agree. My initial exposure to golf was caddying for my father and his buddies. It's the best way to learn course management, etiquette, and a lot more. Reading greens has always been easy for me, and caddying is where I learned it.

[@CaribSurfKing1]

The 16th should be renamed “Jacks hole” when he passes!

[@willemhaifetz-chen1588]

When the first 9 was still a secret.

[@keneblana]

Is it still 1st and 3rd paired or is it first score posted?

[@brianferris9323]

First score posted. This is bizarre that they did this.

[@markbrown-bk1lr]

Best masters is 1996.... This one the 1981 is a very close second. My opinion only

[@tubiephrank0707]

Nicklaus Tee Ball at 1:43:30 -- Remarkable that nothing critical came of it.

[@drieaz]

did his club tap that ball off the tee?! if so that'd be a couple strokes added on in todays game! if tiger did that Half the nation would be calling in and hollering! lol

[@MrAJR76]

There’s no penalty when that happens. Never has been.

[@dawgcatching]

Vin Scully! Nuf said

[@Dentistmentalust]

I still don't think pro golfers should walk off the tee whilst the ball of the last player to hit is still in the air. Just looks wrong to me and disrespectful. Just wait about 10 secs. Great memories though, thanks for posting.

[@Stevenrosswhite]

Interesting - I don’t think I see a single white caddie. Times were different back then.

[@benkizer9509]

Up until 1983, the Masters always assigned black caddies to the golfers.

[@BobLoblawbob]

I don’t think Norman ever got over that Karate kick to face from Danialson or losing to the Triple Lindy by Thorton Melon.

[@grandcosmo]

Was the director drunk or something?

[@geraldnapshireii8734]

Probably. A disproportionate amount of people would smoke and drink all hours of the day in those days

[@bretts4544]

His point is the camera kept switching to different holes at random times. This is the only masters I’ve seen where that happens

[@annefilippobertozzi7601]

C. Buck Hyres: you are a pro.

[@bagpussmacfarlan9008]

Funny how they all look like seniors already...

[@thenumberquelve158]

1:29:05 Now THAT is what I call a divot.

[@ryanokeefe3167]

A blonde did not win this tournament.

[@benh580]

Ryan O'Keefe 52:00 they were wrong lol

[@kirkkasper7508]

53:10

[@amcsibozgor6791]

How bout the Ray Floyd fans at 21:05. Ouch!

[@leilabengrine2208]

1420 pga tour Title

[@elprez1]

The first Masters of the Reagan administration.

[@wawawutosnftbs8922]

Yardage all over the place compared to today's golfers who are pin point in accrucy and now measure distance like a Oxbridge mathematician..

[@grahamsampson769]

Blonde hair and blade putters.

[@skellvarnsen23]

rad

[@geraldnapshireii8734]

1:02:04