Walk onto the grounds of Augusta National and you’ll feel it immediately. The grass is too green to be real. The air smells like pine needles and expensive sunscreen. But for the fans watching at home, or the lucky few holding a badge, the timing of the whole thing is actually kinda confusing.
How long are The Masters? If you ask a casual fan, they’ll say four days. They aren’t technically wrong, but they’re missing the bigger picture of what makes this week in Georgia the most intense stretch in professional golf.
The Four Days That Actually Count
The competitive rounds—the ones that determine who gets the Green Jacket—take place over four days. It’s a standard 72-hole stroke-play tournament. Usually, this starts on a Thursday and ends on Sunday.
It’s a grind.
The field is smaller than your average PGA Tour event, typically hovering around 90 to 100 players. Because the field is so tight, the pace of play is different. You don't have that frantic, crowded energy of a 156-man field. Instead, there's this slow, building tension.
Thursday and Friday are the "moving days" for the fringe players. If you don't make the cut after 36 holes, you're headed home Friday evening. At the Masters, the cut rule is specific: the top 50 players (including ties) make it to the weekend. They used to have a "10-shot rule" where anyone within ten strokes of the lead made the cut, but Augusta National scrapped that a few years back to keep the weekend field manageable.
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The "Full Week" Reality
Honest truth? If you only show up on Thursday, you've missed half the fun.
The Masters is a full seven-day experience for the players and the patrons. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday are practice rounds. These aren't just boring warm-ups. For many, Monday and Tuesday are the only times you’ll see the golfers actually acting like human beings—cracking jokes, trying ridiculous skip-shots across the pond at No. 16, and signing autographs.
Wednesday is the crown jewel of the "pre-tournament" schedule: The Par 3 Contest.
It’s played on a separate, stunning little 9-hole course on the northeast corner of the property. It started in 1960. Since then, it’s become a massive tradition where players have their kids, wives, or parents caddy for them. You’ll see toddlers in miniature white boiler-suit caddy outfits tripping over oversized putters. It’s adorable. It’s also famously "cursed"—no one who has won the Par 3 Contest in a given year has ever gone on to win the actual Green Jacket that same week.
Some players take this superstition so seriously they’ll intentionally have their kids putt out for them so they don't officially post a score.
Weather Delays and the Monday Finish
Nature doesn't always care about a TV schedule.
While the goal is always a Sunday evening finish in front of the Butler Cabin, Augusta is notorious for spring thunderstorms. When people ask how long are The Masters, they’re usually thinking about the 1983 tournament or the 2023 mess where trees literally fell near the tee box.
In 2023, the third round was suspended on Saturday and players had to finish a massive chunk of golf on Sunday. It turned the final day into a marathon. Brooks Koepka and Jon Rahm had to play nearly 30 holes in a single day. That's exhausting.
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The tournament has finished on a Monday several times in its history, most notably in 1983 when Seve Ballesteros won. It changes the entire vibe. The galleries are thinner. The energy is weird. But the clock doesn't stop until that final putt drops on the 18th green.
TV Coverage vs. Real Life
If you’re watching on CBS or ESPN, the "length" of the Masters feels much shorter than it is.
Because Augusta National is incredibly protective of its "brand," they limit the amount of live broadcast time. You won't see 12 hours of coverage like you do at the U.S. Open. Usually, the main broadcast only covers the last four or five hours of play.
However, in the digital age, you can basically watch every single shot via the Masters app or website. If you follow a specific group from their 8:30 AM tee time until they finish at 1:30 PM, the tournament feels significantly longer.
Preparation Starts Months Early
For the golfers, the tournament doesn't actually last a week. It lasts months.
Former champions like Tiger Woods or Fred Couples often fly into Augusta weeks in advance for "scouting trips." They want to see how the greens are breaking. They want to see if the sub-air system has made the fairways firmer than last year.
By the time Thursday morning rolls around and the Honorary Starters (legends like Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player) hit the opening tee shots, most of these guys have already played the course three or four times that month.
Key Duration Breakdown
- Practice Rounds: Monday – Wednesday (3 Days)
- The Par 3 Contest: Wednesday Afternoon
- Tournament Play: Thursday – Sunday (4 Days)
- Playoffs: If there's a tie after 72 holes, it goes to a sudden-death playoff starting on hole 18 and then hole 10. These usually last about 20 to 40 minutes.
Why the Sunday Back Nine Feels Like an Eternity
There is a saying in golf: "The Masters doesn't start until the back nine on Sunday."
Mathematically, that's nonsense. Every stroke on Thursday counts the same as a stroke on Sunday. But psychologically? It's the truth.
The stretch from hole 11 to hole 13—Amen Corner—is where time seemingly slows down. Decisions that usually take ten seconds take three minutes. Players obsess over the swirling winds. They back off putts. For the leader, those final nine holes can feel longer than the previous 63 combined.
Just ask Jordan Spieth about his 2016 collapse. One bad swing on the par-3 12th hole turned a walk in the park into a nightmare that felt like it lasted a lifetime.
Actionable Steps for Planning Your Masters Experience
If you're planning to watch or attend, you need to pace yourself. The "length" of the event will burn you out if you aren't careful.
1. Follow the "Amen Corner" Stream Early
Don't wait for the network broadcast. Use the official app to watch the morning groups navigate holes 11, 12, and 13. It gives you a much better sense of how the course is playing before the leaders even wake up.
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2. Check the Weather 48 Hours Out
Augusta weather is volatile. If there’s a 60% chance of rain on Friday, expect a "split tee" start on Saturday, where players go off the 1st and 10th tees simultaneously to save time. This shrinks the viewing window significantly.
3. Respect the Wednesday Cut-off
If you are lucky enough to have practice round tickets, remember that the course is cleared early on Wednesday for the Par 3 Contest. Don't expect to see the big names on the main course at 3:00 PM that day.
4. The Sunday Re-watch
Because the Masters limits their TV windows, they often upload "Every Shot by Every Player" to their website almost instantly. If you feel like the Sunday finish happened too fast, you can go back and spend hours analyzing the club choices of the top five finishers.
The Masters is exactly four days of scorekeeping wrapped in seven days of pageantry, fueled by decades of tradition. Whether it ends on a sunny Sunday or a muddy Monday, it always feels like it's over too soon.