In my book, the first week of April is the best sports week of the year. College basketball kicks it off with the Final Four on Saturday and the national championship on Monday. Then comes a two-day break to soak in all that was the NCAA Tournament and prepare for The Masters.
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The Masters is golf's Super Bowl. Augusta National Golf Club is the cathedral. Those reasons make it worthy enough to watch, but the tournament also signifies the arrival of springtime after spending a long, cold winter staring at the ceiling. And for the Thursday and Friday rounds, it's magical having the broadcast on in the background while at work.
Not every sports lover is a golf fan, though, but The Masters are the one weekend where golf completely rules the sports world. Starting with ESPN's Thursday and Friday coverage and moving to the Saturday and Sunday broadcast on CBS, The Masters is the sports world's ASMR. It's a necessary watch if you want to have something to talk about the water cooler on Monday. For the uninitiated, I'm going to lay out the best way to watch. For the initiated, I assume this was passed down from your father, his father before him and so on. We're focusing on how to watch on Sunday by the way — as that's the day that requires your full attention.
Without further ado, let's take a look on how to transform into your dad for one day a year.
Watch From a Recliner
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The only way to comfortably watch The Masters is from a recliner. Golf isn't a sport that requires you to be fully engaged the entire time. Sit down, relax and let Jim Nantzand Nick Faldo narrate your Sunday.
I can't stress how important this is. Watching The Masters without a recliner is like eating cereal without milk.
Practice Your Putting
Sitting in a recliner means you'll be floating in and out of sleep (we'll touch on this soon). So, in order to boost your energy, get out your putter and set up a glass. There is no downside to getting in some extra reps. Golf is won or lost on the green, and you're not losing to your father-in-law next weekend. No, not again.
Do this early in the day before the final group tees off.
Take a Nap Holes 6-10
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RELATED: What Does it Take to Become a Member at Augusta National Golf Club?
The Masters nap is a tradition unlike any other, but you have to plan it accordingly. The excitement from the final group teeing off dies down in the latter half of the front nine, making it the perfect time to catch some zs. Sit back in your recliner and rest your eyes once they finish the fifth hole. Drift off until they finish on 10 because you can't miss Amen Corner (holes 11-13) on Sunday.
Anyone who doesn't nap during The Masters is banned from watching all future PGA events.
Look up Tickets to Next Year's Masters
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The Masters pulls you further and further in over the course of the weekend. You're now a golf fan and wonder what it would be like to head to Augusta, Georgia and check it out for yourself. You Google how much tickets would be only to find out they're insanely expensive and a million other people have the same idea.
Even though the chances are low, you need to try this because one day it might be attainable. I do this every year to keep the dream alive.
Cook a Steak Dinner After
Fire up the grill after the green jacket ceremony, it's steak time. I'm a fan of big Sunday dinners, and assuming the weather is cooperative, The Masters marks the perfect time to dust off your meat canvas for the summer.
Take a second to appreciate the day as your chowing down on steak, baked potatoes and corn on the cob. Tell yourself you're going to pick up golf. It's the same thing you can tell yourself next year, too. Consistency is key in golf after all.
