An Augusta Website Rant

Filed in archive Golf Wanderings on April 8, 2009

Courtesy: daylife.com

I haven't gone into "rant" mode in this column for some time.

But nothing gets me ranting faster than seeing technology used to block the free flow of content on the web.

Last year, at this very time, I wrote in glowing terms of how great the Masters website was, largely because it was providing live camera coverage of Amen Corner and the 15th and 16th holes, complete with commentary, hours before any network TV coverage began.

I watched, delighted.

Not only was this an outstanding contribution to the free flow of content, it was also a great use of technology - exactly what the web is all about.

This year, the masters site is doing the same thing and I applaud them for that. But today, when I called up their site to watch live coverage of the Par 3 tournament, I was told on-screen that the live streaming video was not available in my area.

I live in Canada. The Masters lives in the United States.

So what? The web is worldwide. Hell, even the International Olympic Committee, a body with a carrot so far up its ass it's embarrassing to call it a carrot anymore, allowed live streaming during the Beijing Summer Games.

This is another silly case of rights issues. Yet, if I can watch the actual Masters tournament live on the web, then why can't I watch a 9-hole tournament?

The 9-hole course used for the annual Par 3 tournament is a tiny gem. And it's seldom seen.

So show it to us, for God's sake, Mr. Payne!

If some loss of revenue occurs because the tournament is streamed on the web, then charge me a dollar to watch it.

I would gladly pay it. So would potentially millions of others in airports, cabs, at work or in coffee shops in WiFi areas around the world.

It would be a gold mine for Augusta National, believe me. Talk about leveraging a brand!

Get with the program, Billy Payne. Embrace the 21st century. And if you want any other money-making web ideas, you know where to find me.