1960 Masters comes to life in CBS broadcast

AUGUSTA, Ga. - If you’re already building your Sunday afternoon plans around watching the Masters – and even if you’re not – you need to throw in a bonus hour before the tournament comes on the air.

Make sure to watch ‘Jim Nantz Remembers Augusta: The 1960 Masters.’ It airs at 1:30 p.m. on CBS and it’s a pure pleasure to watch.

Nantz, whose affection for Augusta National and the Masters runs deep, has taken the actual telecast of the final round, had it colorized and watches it with Arnold Palmer, who birdied the last two holes in the final round to win his second green jacket.

Until Nantz pulled out the old films (the broadcast was filmed by a camera placed in front of a large television), no one had seen the broadcast since it aired, including Frank Chirkinian, who directed the telecast.

It’s a great trip back into Masters and golf history. Television could only show four holes and there were only six cameras on the course. You see Palmer play the last four holes and his magnetism is obvious.

But there’s more than Palmer. There’s Ben Hogan hitting his second shot into the 18th green. There’s Billy Casper and Dow Finsterwald and Ken Venturi. After Palmer has holed the winning putt, there’s still more golf – and you’ll love the little surprise there.

Bobby Jones presides over the green jacket ceremony and it allows us a glimpse of the man who with Clifford Roberts – seated beside Jones in the presentation – created Augusta National and the Masters.
It’s a terrific hour.

- Ron Green Jr.