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The Making of the Masters: Clifford Roberts, Augusta National, and Golf's Most Prestigious Tournament
The Masters. For any golf fan, the words evoke the immortal greats of the game and their quest for the most prized trophy of all -- the green jacket of Augusta National Golf Club.
But behind the legendary links and timeless traditions is one of the most overlooked and misunderstood figures in the history of the Masters and Augusta Clifford Roberts, the club's chairman from its founding in 1931 until shortly before his death in 1977. Roberts' meticulous attention to detail, his firm authoritarian hand, and his refusal to settle -- even for perfection -- helped build the Masters into the tournament it is today, and Augusta National into every golfer's idea of heaven on earth.
David Owen was granted unprecedented access to the archives and records of Augusta National Golf Club. He has produced an honest and affectionate chronicle of the Masters, from its conception to its modern greatness, and a fascinating portrayal of Clifford Roberts -- whose perseverance and pride forged the Augusta National we know today.
But behind the legendary links and timeless traditions is one of the most overlooked and misunderstood figures in the history of the Masters and Augusta Clifford Roberts, the club's chairman from its founding in 1931 until shortly before his death in 1977. Roberts' meticulous attention to detail, his firm authoritarian hand, and his refusal to settle -- even for perfection -- helped build the Masters into the tournament it is today, and Augusta National into every golfer's idea of heaven on earth.
David Owen was granted unprecedented access to the archives and records of Augusta National Golf Club. He has produced an honest and affectionate chronicle of the Masters, from its conception to its modern greatness, and a fascinating portrayal of Clifford Roberts -- whose perseverance and pride forged the Augusta National we know today.
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
March 16, 2023
Tough read but I do it for my city
April 17, 2025
Kinda interesting, especially after visiting ANGC. The title is a little misleading - I feel like this is more of a biography of the man who made the masters than the masters itself.
April 4, 2023
straightforward, mostly no-frills history
April 27, 2022
The last book I ever had to read for school!! I guess no one ever really loves a book they are required to read. Maybe if I was a dedicated golf fan I would have found this more enjoyable. However, the book focuses on Clifford Roberts more than the Masters tournament itself, so I’m not sure.
April 18, 2010
This is a good book and perhaps deserves more than the two stars that I have given it. But as I look over the books to which I've given three stars, it just does not compare. All the elements of a good biography were present. But there was something missing from this story, some intangible that I couldn't quite put my finger on.
It is the story of Augusta National and, in particular, Clifford Roberts, that enigmatic figure who often stood in Bobby Jones' shadow. This book argues that it is Roberts' genius that made Augusta and the Masters what it is today. Jones is little more than a famous name and he, accordingly, factors in little to this account. The author does a lot of historical error checking and finds that most of the accounts of Roberts have been unfairly negative. I like this tearing down of tired old narratives. One of the challenges it faced head on was the consistent charge that Roberts, Jones and Augusta were racist and intentionally kept black players out of the Masters. They were vindicated on all counts which did not ring wholly true to me.
Ultimately I think the book needs to be renamed. This is not the story of the Masters so much as it is the story of Augusta National and the man who made it. I picked up the book expecting to read accounts of the best old players and matches, which were surprisingly lacking. There was not even an account of how the Green Jacket came to be. In the end, it read like a newspaper story, devoid of the prose and feeling that golf stories should carry. In short, A on history, B- on prose.
It is the story of Augusta National and, in particular, Clifford Roberts, that enigmatic figure who often stood in Bobby Jones' shadow. This book argues that it is Roberts' genius that made Augusta and the Masters what it is today. Jones is little more than a famous name and he, accordingly, factors in little to this account. The author does a lot of historical error checking and finds that most of the accounts of Roberts have been unfairly negative. I like this tearing down of tired old narratives. One of the challenges it faced head on was the consistent charge that Roberts, Jones and Augusta were racist and intentionally kept black players out of the Masters. They were vindicated on all counts which did not ring wholly true to me.
Ultimately I think the book needs to be renamed. This is not the story of the Masters so much as it is the story of Augusta National and the man who made it. I picked up the book expecting to read accounts of the best old players and matches, which were surprisingly lacking. There was not even an account of how the Green Jacket came to be. In the end, it read like a newspaper story, devoid of the prose and feeling that golf stories should carry. In short, A on history, B- on prose.
April 1, 2012
I'm not a huge golf fan, but I had the good fortune of attending the 2011 Masters. Knowing little about professional golf other than that the Masters is its signature event, at least in the United States, I wanted to learn more. Readers will quickly appreciate how Clifford Roberts and Bobby Jones helped create arguably the best run sporting event in America. Readers will also gain insight into membership, course design and upkeep, integration, television, legal battles President Eisenhower...and the list goes on. Any fan of golf will appreciate this book, as will anyone interested in the history of the Deep South.
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May 2, 2024Why did this golf history book have me lowkey holding back tears in the last 15 pages
March 17, 2022
I am happy to have read this love letter to the Masters. I learned a lot from it. It is not a year-by-year history of the tournament but it is a detailed story of how Bobby Jones and Clifford Roberts created the greatest sporting event in the world. Dwight Eisenhower gets far more coverage than I would have imagined.
Recommended to anyone who wants to learn the backstory of the Masters.
p. 23: The Story of the Augusta National Golf Club
p. 67: "MacKenzie] called Augusta National 'my best opportunity, and I believe, my finest achievement.' But he didn't live to play it or even to see it in its finished form."
p. 74: "Pasatiempo remains one of MacKenzie's most highly regarded creations. And the old club can almost certainly be regarded as an early model for Augusta National."
p. 83: Bobby Jones "described the typical pro as 'an uneducated club servant'"
p. 97: On The Masters: Golf, Money, and Power in Augusta, Georgia: "This passage, like many others in Sampson's book, is unrelated to the facts."
p. 97: "Roberts built the Masters in the same way successful entrepreneurs have always built businesses: by focusing on the needs of his customers."
p. 102: Jones: "No man learns to design a golf course simply by playing golf, no matter how well."
p. 103: "The Oakmont Ideal had been summed up neatly in a single sentence by William Fownes, whose father, Henry C. Fownes, had designed and built the course: 'A shot poorly played should be a shot irrevocably lost.'"
p. 131: "Over the years, all the par-fives at Augusta have been lengthened and otherwise tinkered with in order to make them play longer--but they have never been altered with the intention of making them unreachable in row."
p. 132: "MacKenzie was never overly concerned about par designations. He was far more interested in shot values and strategic possibilities. The true measure of a hole, he felt, is the golf that it inspires in those who play it."
p. 134: "A par-three, Jones felt, should be a test of precision, not of strength, MacKenzie agreed."
p. 139: "[S]peed has been a feature of the greens since the earliest years. It is one part of the course that is unlikely ever to change."
p. 186: Roberts: "nothing but extreme annoyance could result from untimely, too long or too frequent commercials."
p. 203: Dan Jenkins 1966 Sports Illustrated story on the Masters
p. 213: "Roberts believed that golf was an afternoon game and that teeing off before lunch was uncivilized."
p. 216: The Life & Times of Bobby Jones
p. 228: "[Roberts] came from a time and a world where black people served white people. I think was as simple as that."
p. 268: "[Roberts] was convinced he would never get better, and he was determined he would never get worse."
Recommended to anyone who wants to learn the backstory of the Masters.
p. 23: The Story of the Augusta National Golf Club
p. 67: "MacKenzie] called Augusta National 'my best opportunity, and I believe, my finest achievement.' But he didn't live to play it or even to see it in its finished form."
p. 74: "Pasatiempo remains one of MacKenzie's most highly regarded creations. And the old club can almost certainly be regarded as an early model for Augusta National."
p. 83: Bobby Jones "described the typical pro as 'an uneducated club servant'"
p. 97: On The Masters: Golf, Money, and Power in Augusta, Georgia: "This passage, like many others in Sampson's book, is unrelated to the facts."
p. 97: "Roberts built the Masters in the same way successful entrepreneurs have always built businesses: by focusing on the needs of his customers."
p. 102: Jones: "No man learns to design a golf course simply by playing golf, no matter how well."
p. 103: "The Oakmont Ideal had been summed up neatly in a single sentence by William Fownes, whose father, Henry C. Fownes, had designed and built the course: 'A shot poorly played should be a shot irrevocably lost.'"
p. 131: "Over the years, all the par-fives at Augusta have been lengthened and otherwise tinkered with in order to make them play longer--but they have never been altered with the intention of making them unreachable in row."
p. 132: "MacKenzie was never overly concerned about par designations. He was far more interested in shot values and strategic possibilities. The true measure of a hole, he felt, is the golf that it inspires in those who play it."
p. 134: "A par-three, Jones felt, should be a test of precision, not of strength, MacKenzie agreed."
p. 139: "[S]peed has been a feature of the greens since the earliest years. It is one part of the course that is unlikely ever to change."
p. 186: Roberts: "nothing but extreme annoyance could result from untimely, too long or too frequent commercials."
p. 203: Dan Jenkins 1966 Sports Illustrated story on the Masters
p. 213: "Roberts believed that golf was an afternoon game and that teeing off before lunch was uncivilized."
p. 216: The Life & Times of Bobby Jones
p. 228: "[Roberts] came from a time and a world where black people served white people. I think was as simple as that."
p. 268: "[Roberts] was convinced he would never get better, and he was determined he would never get worse."
August 5, 2025
The Masters Tournament is the most famous and most mystical Golf tournament in the world, with the best golfers, the most famous course, and a history of making golfers into legends with even a single victory. In exploring the history of how the Masters and Augusta National Golf Course was created, Owen leads the reader through the story of how the club was started during the Great Depression, it’s early years and struggles, it’s development into the premier golf tournament of the age, and all of the history and innovation that went into creating the Masters as it is now known. It is a wonderful trek through the history of the course, how it was built, the features of it’s geography, and the history that took place while Bob Jones and Clifford Roberts were at their peak as masters of the club.
The only real drawback I found with this book is that it spent far more time with Clifford Roberts than Bob Jones, acting almost as a biography of Clifford Roberts than of the course at times. As is usually the case with biographies, quasi or otherwise, there are moments when Owen goes out of his way to defend or prop up the reputation and name of Clifford Roberts in the face of controversy, contemporary or posthumous. Some of Owen’s work is valuable and helps humanize Roberts, other work comes off far more as an effort to defend Roberts against all comers. In the end, this is a valuable and interesting view of the Masters, with many fun details and a brisk storytelling pace that engages the reader. I certainly recommend this book for any fan interested in the topic.
The only real drawback I found with this book is that it spent far more time with Clifford Roberts than Bob Jones, acting almost as a biography of Clifford Roberts than of the course at times. As is usually the case with biographies, quasi or otherwise, there are moments when Owen goes out of his way to defend or prop up the reputation and name of Clifford Roberts in the face of controversy, contemporary or posthumous. Some of Owen’s work is valuable and helps humanize Roberts, other work comes off far more as an effort to defend Roberts against all comers. In the end, this is a valuable and interesting view of the Masters, with many fun details and a brisk storytelling pace that engages the reader. I certainly recommend this book for any fan interested in the topic.
September 3, 2024
I enjoyed this book, being new (per se) to golf it was interesting to learn the story about the tournament and its origins, its struggles.
I think it was very well researched but I did find the chapter explaining each hole rather boring but what I did enjoy is learning about the designer.
I particularly enjoyed the backgrounds of Robert’s and Jones.
All in all it’s a book every golfer should consider reading.
I think it was very well researched but I did find the chapter explaining each hole rather boring but what I did enjoy is learning about the designer.
I particularly enjoyed the backgrounds of Robert’s and Jones.
All in all it’s a book every golfer should consider reading.
July 4, 2025
Expected more about the tournament itself but it was interesting to learn about the creation of the tournament and the man behind it. Very dry read but interesting to learn some history of the tournament and how it shaped the future of golf.
March 31, 2018
Great book - good read - loved it!!
August 4, 2020
Well written, good stories, great history of Augusta National and the Masters. A must for the golfers out there.
November 26, 2020
Very interesting.
December 26, 2022
Great book on the history of the Masters, interesting insight into the traditions and foundations of the famous tournament.
July 11, 2024
Would love to go again with the all new #context
February 10, 2025
Loved it but only a great read for Golf fans IMO
March 24, 2025
A great story about the benevolent dictator, Clifford Roberts. A must read for any fan of golf and specifically the Masters.
March 29, 2025
Reverential but illuminating bio of the Man and The Masters...
April 10, 2025
Must read for anyone with a love of southern golf
September 5, 2025
2025 popsugar challenge—#33
January 26, 2023
Great story about the start of Augusta and the history and difficulties the team encountered to develop this amazing and tournament.
June 23, 2016
I really enjoyed this book about one of golf's more enigmatic figures. Knowing that ANGC was invested in the final outcome, I started reading it wondering if Owen would avoid or gloss over many of the issues or other topics concerning the club and the tournament that are labeled as "controversies" by popular sports writers. Rather than skipping altogether or acting as an apologist for these things, Owen raised quite a few of these issues and provided additional context or supporting documentation never before released to provide a more complete view of the story. I admire his effort in painting a picture of Mr. Roberts and his beloved creations-Augusta National and the Masters, and would recommend it to sports fans or those who appreciate the history of golf.
March 25, 2014
Great book whether you like golf or know nothing about it, and I'm more the latter. This book is extremely well written and ties in the Great Depression, the World Wars, the development of post-war America, the switch-over from black and white to color TV, and so much more, all the while discussing some people who embodied the American dream. It's very engaging from beginning to end and makes me now want to take up golf as a hobby. Highly recommend!
April 18, 2010
I love Augusta National and the history of the Masters. I think that this book probably comes closest be uncovering the truth about how the Masters became the premier golf tournament. Clifford Roberts is under estimated in the history of golf and how he help set many of the standards that are today taken for granted.
May 13, 2012
Good background on the course, tournament and the men behind it all.
July 10, 2012
If you want to learn how Augusta National came to be what it is and means today.
March 11, 2020
Who would have that a book on golf would be that interesting !?
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews