By Ryan Berenz (Twitter: @ChannelGuideRAB)
For those who like their sports quiet and reverential, ESPN and CBS have some special documentaries complementing their coverage of The Masters golf tournament:
Sport Science (ESPN) ESPN’s Sport Science features three golf-related segments airing throughout The Masters coverage. One segment will analyze the swings of golfers Bubba Watson and Dustin Johnson, showing how their clubhead speeds contribute to 3,000 pounds of force on a golf ball. Another segment examines the 9th hole at Augusta’s Par 3 course, and why it may lend itself to more holes-in-one during the Masters Par 3 Contest. The third segment looks at the science that causes some putts to “lip out.”
Yes Sir: Jack Nicklaus and the ’86 Masters (ESPN, April 6 at 6pm ET) This one-hour documentary looks back at the legendary 1986 Masters, when 46-year-old Jack Nicklaus stormed back and won his sixth Masters title. The documentary includes new perspectives from Nicklaus, his son and caddie Jackie, Tiger Woods, Greg Norman and Tom Watson. “Jack Nicklaus’s dramatic comeback to win the ’86 Masters isn’t just a golf story or even a sports story,” says ESPN Films executive producer John Dahl. “It’s a human story of a father and son coming together for something so inspiring that it resonates powerfully 25 years later. The film is a poignant look at that magical father-son journey.”
Phil at Augusta (CBS, April 9 at 2:30pm ET) Jim Nantz hosts this look at Phil Mickelson’s history at The Masters. Once considered the best player to have never won a major, all that changed in 2004 when Mickelson won his first green jacket and first major title at The Masters. He’s since added two more Masters titles (2006, 2010) and the 2005 PGA Championship. The one-hour special includes interviews with Mickelson’s parents, caddy Jim “Bones” McKay, swing coach Butch Harmon and short game guru Dave Pelz
Jim Nantz Remembers Augusta: The 1975 Masters (CBS, April 10 at 1pm ET) Jim Nantz hosts this look back at the 1975 Masters Tournament, when Jack Nicklaus held off Tom Weiskopf and Johnny Miller to win the green jacket in one of the most memorable showdowns in the game’s history. Nantz talks with Nicklaus, Weiskopf and Miller as they look back at that classic final round. “Back in 1975 people didn’t have TiVo or DVRs to be able to record events if they missed them on television,” Nantz says. “This is a rare mulligan for people to look back and experience this historic tournament. It is a privilege to bring back the 1975 Masters, considered by many golf purists to have been the most dramatic final round in the history of this storied event.”
