The Athletic has live coverage of the 2025 Masters Tournament.
Golf Channel TV analyst Brandel Chamblee was on a Barstool Sports’ golf podcast earlier this week, and there is a fascinating clip where Chamblee reviews the words or phrases that TV broadcasters are given guidance on not to utter when covering the Masters. They are replaced with more hifalutin expressions that are more on-brand for the event and its organizers at Augusta National.
Here’s the clip:
Broadcasters aren’t allowed to say “fan”, “driving range”, “back nine” & more on air at The Masters @ForePlayPod pic.twitter.com/czicE7LE24
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) April 8, 2025
It goes without saying (and isn’t that unreasonable) that an event like the Masters won’t ever let announcers name-check other event sponsors (it’s never “Valero Texas Open,” it’s just “Texas Open.)
Here are the five I found most interesting, ranked in order of how overly self-serious they seem:
Can’t say: “Fan”
Can say: “Patron”
Advertisement
As Chamblee says, there is a concern that “fan” is shorthand for “fanatical.”
Can’t say: “Rough”
Can say: “Second cut.”
For a tournament defined on TV by the dulcet tones of Jim Nantz, I get it — the concept of “rough” doesn’t exist at a country club — sorry, it’s always “golf club” — like Augusta National.
Can’t say: “Sand trap”
Can say: “Bunker”
Again, the notion of anything at Augusta National being a “trap” does not fit at all with its finely manicured image.
Can’t say: “Driving range”
Can say: “Tournament practice facility”
“Rough?” “Trap?” I can at least see the outline of negative connotations ascribed to the event. And while the range is certainly there for more than just driving, this feels on-brand but unnecessary.
Can’t say: “Back nine”
Can say: “Second nine”
It’s not that I mind one over the other, but “back nine” is such a standard part of golf vernacular that it feels like Augusta National is just trying to make a point about how much they can get TV announcers to bend.
I asked colleague Richard Deitsch if there is any kind of formal policy. He said an industry source (given anonymity because, after all, this is a story about what you’re not supposed to say) told him that there is no written sheet given to broadcasters, but producers and on-air talent know what Augusta National’s expectations are about how things will be described.
(Photo of Dottie Pepper: David Cannon / Getty Images)