When Did Everyone Become So Negative? The Masters Was (And Always Is) Simply Joyous

When did everyone become so moany? Maybe it was inevitable from the moment social media was born, giving many people a platform to go have a rant and get things off their chest.

I'm sure we never used to moan so much. Even with the things that have always given us so much joy, we now find ways to complain about them. Now it's my turn. I'm going to moan about the moaning.

The Masters. The annual trip to Augusta for the springtime showpiece that's widely regarded as the season's curtain raiser, both in the pro game and for millions of club golfers itching to get out on the fairways.

The moaning started before a ball was even struck. Get rid of the Par 3 Contest. The coverage is terrible. The pin positions are too easy. Past champions shouldn't get to compete past 60.

Honestly, and I'm also pointing the finger at some of my colleagues here, I think some of us have slipped into the habit of moaning way too much. My advice: practice mindfulness.

Some of us are paid to offer our opinions, so of course, I do get it. I'll also hold my hands up: I do love a good moan, occasionally (the council missing bin collection day really gets my goat).

However, when it comes to the first Major of the season, a tournament that, like many golf fans, I fell in love with watching on terrestrial television at a young age, I find it hard to be too critical. I love it - and I wouldn't change a thing.

Let me start by addressing some of the Masters traditions that seem to have upset a few of my colleagues.

The Par 3 contest has "lost its sparkle," apparently. The viewing figures suggest otherwise - the 2026 edition was the most viewed in over a decade.

When I attended the Masters in 2023, I didn't watch a single shot of Wednesday's warm-up party/celebration thing. For me, it's all about the main event, but the Par 3 is one of the highlights of the week for patrons and the many millions watching at home.

So, if you don't like it, don't watch it.

Another of my colleagues drives himself mad talking about Sunday's pin positions. He's "bored with them", apparently.

I don't agree with Nick in that 16 doesn't pose enough questions on Sunday. Yes, find the right portion of the green, and players can take advantage of the slope to get very close, but a birdie is certainly no formality.

On Sunday, with Rory McIlroy stuttering, Scottie Scheffler went straight at the pin with a gorgeous iron shot and made birdie.

When it was McIlroy's turn, with the tournament still in the balance, he pumped one through the back. Only a surgeon's touch got him out of jail when the odds looked stacked against him.

Great drama, not up there with Tiger's famous chip-in, but what a hole. For me, leave 16 as it is.

Maybe 17 could do with a tweak. Maybe. As for the 18th, it played just above its par on Sunday with eight birdies, 37 pars, and nine bogeys. It's a hole that has a history of creating plenty of drama, just as it did last year when McIlroy bungled his approach.

Sometimes, of course, we don't get that dramatic finish that we all crave. That's just sport.

It's Nick's fault that I have digressed from the point that I am trying to make: we need to stop moaning. Stop moaning and enjoy the moment.

This was another thriller, with the cream rising to the top on Sunday, Scheffler going bogey-free on the weekend to somehow force himself right back in contention. He couldn't, could he?

In the end, only McIlroy stood between the World No.1 and a third Green Jacket. Elsewhere, we had Justin Rose desperately trying to win his first. Maybe he tried too hard. No one deserves a Green Jacket more. I'm still trying to digest it all. It was another belter.

LET'S NOT MESS WITH TRADITION

There are so many wonderful traditions at the Masters that help set it apart. I'm genuinely surprised that no other sports events - not that I can think of, but do correct me if I'm wrong - have a cell phone ban.

We're definitely a lot happier when we're not attached to our phones. Watching the back nine on Sunday evening, I turned my phone off (no need to check my cashout offer on Jon Rahm) and spent two hours totally engrossed in the action.

How refreshing it is to watch patrons actually watching what was happening in front of them, of living in the moment. For many, this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Is posting an Instagram story really that important?

I've received so many messages from friends and family saying how much they enjoyed the Masters, many of whom don't follow golf regularly.

As golf journalists, we spend a lot of time working in the sport. We spend a lot of time watching golf. A lot. I sometimes think we can be guilty of moaning about matters that don't really concern the wider audience too much.

Barry, for example, gets the hump when former champs like Vijay Singh, now 63, can play when they have little to no chance of winning.

Barry, it's tradition. Put all the special traditions together, and it's what makes the Masters what it is, so unique, so magical. Let's be careful what we wish for. This wonderful heritage should be protected at all costs.

And let's all put our phones away. If Dave from Stockport thinks the Masters Ceremony is ******* cheesy (maybe it is a little), that's fine, just as it's ok for my colleagues to have their opinions.

Seriously, though, chaps, maybe lighten up a little.