Jason Kelce, maybe leave that to Jim Nantz.
Professional golf’s premier event, the Masters, describes itself as “a tradition like no other.” ™ (The Nantz line is from the 1980s, but Augusta National owns the rights to anything said during Masters broadcasts.) There’s a little less tradition so far this year.
ESPN inserted Kelce, a retired NFL center (awesome) and brother of active NFL (awesome) Travis Kelce, into its early coverage of the Masters — an attempt to make the broadcasts and streaming of golf’s crowded major championship more enticing to its doomed passing culture. (How cool is The Masters? The winner actually gets a sports coat.)
Through no fault of (Jason) Kelce’s part, America probably could have used a break from the big, bearded man. ESPN has gone to new heights in publishing New heights Co-host podcasts in every way possible. Some say as many ways as possible.
Kelce, officially an ESPN NFL analyst, is at the exclusive Augusta National Golf Club this week in Augusta, Georgia “to interview players and their families,” according to an ESPN press release. This is the 19th year of live coverage of the Masters by ESPN. Its rights include the main television broadcasts (ESPN and ESPN Deportes) of the first two rounds, as well as “featured group coverage”, as well as holes 4, 5 and 6, Amen Corner, 15 and 16 (live broadcast). On Wednesday, ESPN provided live, exclusive coverage of the Masters Par 3 competition on the ESPN app and Disney+. This is where the error first occurred.
By donning a full Masters-caddie suit and being encouraged to wear holes in one, in a short TV show that wasn’t a huge hit on social media, Kelce tried to excite audiences and make a little money — two things he’s good at. The problem is, if we’re borrowing a title from Netflix (which itself has bashed baseball in the name of self-promotion), no one wants it. Golf fans want to be on the Masters team Mastersand the Master is anti-“fun” by design.
At Augusta National, spectators cannot bring their cell phones or wear (excessively) branded clothing. They cannot sit on holly Bermuda grass (covered with perennial ryegrass) or run, and wearing a backwards hat is strictly prohibited. It’s like church, only without the tipping (another rule). However, every year, nearly two million applicants enter the lottery system for a long shot at joining the group. Golf fans are drawn to Augusta because of the tradition, and television viewers want the closest replica possible.
To be fair to ESPN (and Kelce), the Masters Par 3 contest is the lighter fare here, but even that comes with tradition. Usually, the sons or grandsons of tournament competitors and legends carry the pro bags — or try to — and are great in the effort. No offense to Kelsey, but he’s not being nice here.
Attempts to reach ESPN for comment on this story were not successful. Again, no cell phones.
ESPN is desecrating #TheMasters because it fails to understand that this tournament doesn’t need to be sold out. It’s sizzle and steak. And in the words of Kevin Costner, who somehow wasn’t on this broadcast, they built it and we came. Let the new audience come to #TheMasters like we did. https://t.co/1pKh5KHAiS
— Robert Lusetich (@RobertLusetich) April 9, 2026
There is a counterargument to be made, and it is not unreasonable. Golf needs to find a new generation of fans, as the old generation is getting very old. The game was late to adapt, but it was tried.
There’s the LIV Tour (a Saudi-funded team-based alternative to the PGA Tour), the TGL (a cutting-edge virtual golf league started by Tiger Woods and current Masters champion Rory McIlroy), the Grass League (a par-3 franchise-based startup), Top Golf (a high-tech alternative to fun driving ranges…once), footgolf (a stupid combination of soccer and golf that destroys more golf courses than geese), disc golf or frisbee. (which peaked as “frolf” in 1997 Seinfeld Episode “George’s Summer”).
YouTube Golf has been an exceptionally successful model – DeChambeau has 2.65 million subscribers – TikTok and Instagram as well. But even Good Good founder (2.07 million YouTube subscribers) Matt Kendrick will tell you it’ll never replace the real thing. Or at least that’s what he told me last year.
As it turns out, the best golf game is golf, and golf is best represented by The Masters (1934-2025). Maybe the problem of golf viewing can be solved over time: let the young people grow old. This will definitely happen – it’s a tradition like no other.
