In 1953, golf was first broadcast on American television. The audience was small, the coverage was crude, and most viewers had never seen professional golf. Within a decade, everything had changed.

Television gave golf something it had never had: a mass audience. Suddenly millions of people who had never attended a tournament could watch the best golfers in the world compete. And what they saw was compelling — drama, beauty, skill, personality.

For golf, television meant money. Television rights fees flowed into tournaments. Sponsorships followed the audience. Prize money that had been modest grew dramatically. Professional golf became, for the first time, genuinely lucrative.

The courses that looked best on television became the most prestigious. Augusta National — visually spectacular, tightly controlled, and already linked to the legendary Bobby Jones — became the centerpiece of American golf television. The Masters became must-see TV.