Fred Ridley discusses Augusta, ball rollback (FULL PRESSER) | Live From The Masters | Golf Channel

Fred Ridley, chairman of Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters Tournament, discusses the state of professional golf, the “convening power” of Augusta, his support for the USGA and R&A golf ball rollback and more. #GolfChannel #LiveFromTheMasters #FredRidley
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Fred Ridley discusses Augusta, ball rollback (FULL PRESSER) | Live From The Masters | Golf Channel
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Fred Ridley is the seventh chairman in the history of Augusta National Golf Club he’s also a very accomplished golf he won the 1975 us Amer in Virginia he’s the last us Amer Champion to not turn professional he is the man in charge of all things Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters and he loves on Wednesdays like all the other chairman to sit at the podium in the Press building here at Augusta National Golf Club answer questions and also give his thoughts on the state of the Masters in game good morning everyone my name is Fred Ridley and it is my privilege to serve as chairman of Augusta National Golf Club in the Masters Tournament on behalf of our membership I would like to welcome everyone to the 88th Masters I’m joined Again by two of my fellow members who serve important roles on behalf of the tournament to my right is Jim higher chairman of our competition committees and to my left is Tom Nelson chairman of the media committee I thank both of them for their commitment throughout the year and especially during Master’s week as many of you know we like to recognize important Milestones I’d like to begin with two that honor the spirit of serving amateurs and juniors the fifth Augusta National Women’s Amateur and the 10th Drive Chip and putt National Finals congratulations to L W for her exciting victory in the 2024 Augusta National Women’s Amateur as well as our eight Drive Chip and Putt national champions who won their divisions on Sunday at the inaugural Drive Chip and Putt finals in 2014 chairman Billy Payne said he wanted to wait a few years before declaring the program a success I believe Billy would agree the wait is over with the help of our partners the PGA of America and the USGA we have seen 110 qualifiers in 19 States in year one grow to over 400 qualifiers in all 50 states for this qualifying season we have witnessed National finalists win on the PGA tour and the LPGA Tour just this past Sunday we watched ashk Tia withstand an unbelievable Back N 28 by Denny McCarthy to become the first Drive Chip and Putt National finalist to qualify for the Masters looking at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur past P participants have accounted for 13 wins on the LPGA Tour 27 victories on the ladies European tour and three major championships the impact of this Championship is a positive one for golf and one that will continue to Foster strong competition from the best women amateurs around the world turning to the Masters John ROM’s win last year was very special it was fitting that John won his green jacket on the birthday of fellow Countryman sevie BOS and on the 40th anniversary of sevy’s second Master’s win John will defend his title this week against an excellent field that represents 23 countries and features 84 professionals and five amateurs among those in the amateur contingent are Jasper stubs who won the 2023 Asia Pacific Golf Championship at Royal Melbourne golf club and Santiago de lafuente who captured the 2024 Latin America amateur championship in Panama both are here to compete in the Masters but equally significant both will continue the mission of those two championships by inspiring current and future golfers from their respective regions as you may have seen over the past few days the Augusta National Golf Course and grounds are again an exceptional condition that is a credit to every member of our Agronomy and horiculture teams whose passion and dedication are unmatched it also is a tribute to Brad Owen our senior director of a Agronomy who is retiring this fall 37 years after his arrival in Augusta Brad is with us today and I want to thank him for always finding a way to elevate and enhance the natural beauty of Augusta National Brad we wish you and your family all the best in retirement each year we look for ways to improve the golf course to ensure it continues to challenge the best players in the world one course change of note for this year’s tournament is on number two where we move the teab back 10 yards and to the left historically most competitors have been able to reach this par five and two but the adjusted T location will provide an added challenge as players consider second shots at the slope dog leg left adding distance to the Augusta National Golf Course has become standard operation over the past two decades for almost 70 years the mass service was played at just over 6,900 yards today the course measures 7,000 550 yards from the markers and we may well play one of the tournament rounds this year at more than 7,600 yard I’ve said in the past and I hope that I hope we will not play the Masters at 8,000 yards that is likely to happen in the not too distant future under current standards accordingly we support the decisions that have been made by the RNA and the USGA as they have addressed the impact of distance at all levels of the game we continue to explore new ways to serve patrons players in our Augusta Community this week’s tournament marks the opening of a new expansive concession restroom and merchandise facility between number 8 T and number 18 Fairway like most of our tournament Improvement projects construction commenced in late May and was substantially complet upon the opening of the club in October we also are delighted to introduce the first official Master’s Hospitality offering outside of the club’s core property the first phase of map and flag named after the iconic Masters logo open this week across the street in Washington Road this facility responds to the interest and demand Express expressed by patrons over many years who desire work worldclass Hospitality combined with an authentic Master’s experience I’m pleased to announce that the second phase of map and flag will debut during the 2025 tournament one final piece of news on facilities I would like to share with you is a commencement this summer of a two-phase project that will significantly Elevate the experience of all Master’s competitors phase one will include underground parking and will be operational next year the second phase of this project will open in 20126 and will feature a three-level state-of-the-art facility designed to anticipate every need for players their families and support teams we’ll have more details when we are together next April an especially important update relates to our commitment to the renovation of the Augusta Municipal Golf Course a community treasure better known as the patch the collaboration announced last year with the city of Augusta Augusta Technical College and the first te of Augusta aims to a create affordable Pathways to discover the game of golf as well as to develop tomorrow’s leaders within the business and Workforce of the game we have reached Ane agreement with the city of Augusta to lease this facility and over the past year we have had multiple Community input sessions with the many stakeholders who frequent the patch with the insightful feedback we receive we are on a great path to make significant improvements to the patch and to the first te facilities in that regard we have retained two of golf’s most respected course designers Tom fio and Bo Welling to lead the renovation of this historic municipal course along with our partners we are excited to get started next January with the goal of an April 2026 opening today I want to honor the memory of our 1956 Masters champion Jack Brook Jr who passed away in January just 10 days shy of his 101st birthday Jack Master story is one for all ages charging from eight shots back on Sunday to win his green jacket I was fortunate to Know Jack during the last two decades of his life and I had the privilege to introduce him as the memorial tournament’s Honore in 2009 I spoke with Jack before the Masters last year in hopes that he might attend the Champions dinner my hopes were up and although he was not po that was not not ultimately possible his presence certainly was felt that evening Jack’s commitment to golf and to helping others was extraordinary and I’m grateful he always will hold a prominent place in Master’s history this past year we also lost another grade of the game with the passing of Sir Michael balac Sir Michael was unquestionably Britain’s greatest amateur golfer having won five amateur championships his successful playing career was matched by his lifelong service and dedication to the game of golf as secretary and later as captain of the Roy and ancient Golf Club of St Andrews importantly he also was the first chairman of the official world golf rankings Sir Michael was an ambassador and a champion of the game and a friend who will be dearly missed this year marks the conclusion of one of the most stored careers in golf broadcasting I still get chills when hearing the famous calls by the incredible Vern lanquist of two of the most iconic Sunday moments in Master’s history Jack Nicholas in 1986 with putter raised following a crucial putt into the hole on number 17 on his way to his sixth Master’s title and in 2005 Tiger Wood’s unbelievable pit shot on number 16 which catapulted him to his fourth Green Jacket who could forget the drama as Tiger’s ball stopped momentarily and then fell into the hole you are right Vern we have not seen anything like that this Masters will Mark Vern’s 40th and Final Call behind the CBS microphone in late last year Sean mcmanis chairman of CBS Sports announced that he would retire after this tournament the Masters in CBS have enjoyed a unique and special partnership that spans seven decades the talent on the course and the leadership of the network are two of the many reasons why thank you Shan and Vern for your friendship and for what you have meant to the Masters in closing I would like to remind everyone that this week marks the 75th anniversary of the winner of the Masters receiving the Green Jacket Sam Sneed was the first recipient of that honor in 1949 this Milestone is an occasion to step back and reflect upon the obligation of the Masters Tournament to serve as a steward for the game there are many positive developments in golf to celebrate participation is up and new courses and clubs are emerging around the world which creates more opportunities to attract more people of all demographics golf’s unique attributes as a game to be enjoyed by a lifetime are now being recognized by many I believe everyone agrees there is excitement in the air this week the best players in the world are are together once again the competition will be fierce families are reunited and friendships will be renewed the best golf has to offer is on Center Stage that is good for everyone certainly players but also our partners volunteers the Augusta community and its many local charities and especially our patrons and fans around the world as Solutions are pursued to bridge the current divide in men’s professional golf I hope there will be a focus on these and the other stakeholders who are the fabric of tournament golf all who represent the values and virtues of the game it is this culture that makes golf the greatest game that is our Focus once again this week and it will always be for many years to come with that time I’m happy to take some questions great thank you Mr chairman we’re ready to to open up for questions please remember to speak directly into the microphone Taylor you just referenced the impact that the amateur and Junior events have that you’ve been associated with and and what they’ve done um how did the club and why did the club feel it was necessary to create those and is there more to achieve well there’s always more to achieve um I I would go back to really what I believe is is one of the key parts of the mission of that of the club and that is to serve the game of golf uh Clifford Roberts was quoted many times saying that and that’s that’s why the primary reason why the Masters Tournament was started in the first place it was to obviously showcase the world’s best talent um but also it was really to serve the game of golf and to make uh make the enjoyment of the game available to our patrons and others involved in the game um the the first one of these great initiatives Drive Chip and Putt which which started 10 years ago was a vision of my predecessor Billy Payne you know Billy Billy took Billy took the Masters in our brand outside of the gates for the first time really um you know he felt that the best way to create excitement and to create Heroes and and to motivate people was to put young people boys and girls here at August to go through qualifying stages with the dream of being able to Showcase their talents here at Augusta and uh you know I think there’s a lot of evidence that uh proves that Billy Billy was right as I said the wait is over uh we’ve had many many uh young people go on to be successful at other stages of golf and of course we were excited uh last week when askuk batia uh won on the PGA tour for the second time although this one got him an invitation to the Masters so I think it’s really just to continue to perpetuate the mission of this club and we’ll continue to look for ideas uh uh to uh toh continue to do that Sam farmer my my question is about uh technology over here um I think it probably would have surprised a lot of people um at one point to know that there’d be a drone flying down Magnolia Lane into the clubhouse and out the crow’s nest window um how do you um what’s your philosophy on uh striking a balance between embracing Innovation and technology and uh maintaining the Legacy and and tradition and Mystique of of the club and tournament well you’ve just identified a question I think a lot about and that is uh we certainly want to to progress uh we want to try new things uh we want to uh we want to continue our mission to reach out and uh to grow the game but at the same time I think we have to be cognizant of the fact that you know part of the magic of this place is those traditions and the Mystique that you that you said and so I think it’s a case of of of being you know you know maybe having a degree of self-awareness that you know and accept and be comfortable who we are but at the same time not be afraid to uh try things from time to time and so I think you know what what we’ll do is continue to uh use the great uh uh intellect and creativity of the the folks in on our staff and our in our content and digital uh Endeavors but at the same time try to be true to our mission and who we are um and just remember those things that that Mr Roberts and Mr Jones had in mind when they created the club but it’s it’s it’s a balance and it’s it’s not always easy Ron there’s been a lot of talk recently about the decline in television viewership numbers and this week is seen as a measuring stick uh I just wonder are your impressions of that do you see is the the friction in the game right now the cause of it and how concerned are you about that well I think that I’d be speculating if I said that but it’s certainly one possibility I think part of it is just what’s happening in in the world of media and the fact that uh people are consuming content in different ways that’s happening in all sports um you know mobile phones apps social media channels Etc um but that’s the case with all sports um I will I will acknowledge that if you look at the data this year you know golf golf viewers are down uh on on on linear television um while other sports some other sports are up so you know you can draw your own conclusions certainly the fact that the best players in the world are not convening very often um is not helpful uh whether or not there’s a direct causal effect I don’t know but I think that you know it would be a lot better if they were together more often Bren thank you Mr Nelson chairman Ridley my question goes back to Augusta and the club’s continuous involvement in so many organizations in this town how do you determine which organizations you’re going to support year after year how do you know that there’s a need there well um there’s I think there’s a need in every community and I think you know those of us who uh I spend a lot of time here although I’m not a resident and I’m sure that those of you are residents can appreciate the uh the need for as much help as uh as we and others uh can provide um you know historically uh we have been somewhat passive in in our support we have been passive only in the uh publicity side we have we have been very involved through the Community Foundation for many years but we have sort of kept it a secret and um what I felt was that why we don’t really seek any credit because we always like to work with others to you know 1 plus 1 equals 3 um but but we have to recognize with all due humility the convening power that Augusta National has and we we ought to use that convening power to to do good things and so that was really the impetus behind us becoming more active active more intentional in what we’re doing um and I think it’s I think it’s helping I think is really uh it’s really helping us to be a better better citizen in the community of Augusta I mean with you know obviously most of you know we’ve talked about the Hub and what it’s doing and there various other programs uh such as first step Staffing and child enrichment and Junior Achievement and others that we’re involved in and we’re going to continue to accelerate that uh over time as we are able to deploy assets that we’re fortunate to have in right here in our community in austa thank you Doug Ferguson can you talk about getting all the U best players together again again this week going going forward how will you U assure that happening how will you measure Live players barring a a changing criteria well there’s been a lot of discussion about that Doug and um you know you presently we uh we do use the official world golf rankings as you know we’re on the board of the owgr uh we believe that it is a um it is a legitimate uh uh determiner of of who the best players in the game are you know there’s been uh clear communication that’s been public regarding uh you know the lives application which subsequently was withdrawn after some uh remedial suggestions were made regarding uh Pathways and access to players and concern about some of the aspects of Team golf um but I think in our case uh we’re an Invitational and we we can adjust as necessary I mean uh great example is this year Walkin Nan was given a special invitation uh you know we felt that waen had not only uh you know had a great record coming up this year but after after his season um you know he went to Australia played very well there finished fourth in the Australian PGA won the Australian Open one of the great great championships of the world um and we thought he was deserving of a special invitation now historically and and and as stated in our qualification criteria um we we consider international players for special invitations um but we do look at those every year and and we I will say that if we felt that there were a player or players whether they played on the live tour or any other tour who were deser deserving of an invitation to the Masters that we would exercise that discretion with regard to special limitations David Weston thank you Tom uh chairman Ridley VJ Singh this week came out saying that he thought the 12th hole should be lengthened by 10 yards um as I believe it’s the only I say that VJ oh I’m sorry no I believe it’s the only hole on the course has never been lengthened and as a former participant and now chairman for the record I’d like to know do you what do you think of the hole and do you think it’ll ever be touched wellever is a long time um I will would say with 100% certainty that it would not be lengthened during my tenure um you know that’s almost like asking you know can we touch up the Mona Lisa a little bit I mean I think that the 12th hold Augusta is the most iconic part 3 in the world it has been and I won’t say it always will be but I think it always will be there’s something about I don’t know what it is but there’s something about the topography the trees the wind the beauty that just it it just captures your imagination when you when you combine that with the history that’s been made there I mean the most recent being the tragedies and triumphs when tiger Woods won in 2019 um you know Freddy couple ball you know hanging up on the on the edge of Ray Creek which was part of the made part of the song Augusta um and so I just think it it’s such an iconic hole that’s had so many important moments in the Masters that I’m not sure that another 10 yards would really make a difference um you know players are hitting short irons but it doesn’t seem to matter you know the hole is very difficult Christine thank you thank you Tom um following up on Ron’s question about TV ratings there is one sport that we’ve seen the last couple of weeks that is definitely going through the roof as we know thanks to one person Caitlyn Clark obviously a singular player the nation’s Fascination golf has seen that with women’s golfers certainly Nancy Lopez 1978 five in a row Sports Illustrated cover Michelle we and the fascination you are stewards of the game and you obviously are working very hard on the women’s side as well Fred and I’m just curious when you look at what’s going on with Nelly Corda four in a row but there just doesn’t seem to be moving the needle she doesn’t seem to be moving the needle at all such a minimal coverage I’m curious compared to what’s going on with basketball and and Caitlyn Clark if that’s a concern for you uh and why you think that’s happening that Nelly is getting so little attention compared to someone like Caitlyn Clark thank you thank you Christine and thank you for that wonderful article you wrote recently about the Augusta National Women’s Amateur I think um I think that um you know every once in a while somebody comes along that just captures the imagination of of the of the sporting world and I say sporting world because it really goes beyond basketball I have to confess that in spite of My Love of the Game the women’s game of golf that I haven’t watched a lot of women’s basketball but I watched the last three or four games that Iowa played this year so there you go I mean it’s just the just the the the way she plays the way Caitlyn plays the game her her passion her energy uh it just it really just captures the imagination of of of the fans and so um you know we hope that more people will come along like that and certainly we hope that people will come along Eng Golf and U um you know I do think it ALS it illustrates so one very interesting thing is that for the time being anyway Caitlyn Clark is an amateur she’s a Collegiate player and so you know we think that the young women who play here in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur um you know have that same capability there’s something about even in with all the change in rules and nil and transfer P portal but amateur athletes you know just have an appealing character IC to me um and particularly the young ones and so we hope that we’ll continue to have compelling uh individuals come through here to play in our tournament um you know we’ve had we’ve had some in the past and you wrote about one in your article um so we just we have to keep trying and there’s more more things we need to do um you know we’re going to continue to think about that to explore ways but I just think it’s a it’s sort of a some kind of a unicorn really we need more unicorns in that regard Bob Harry um not having owgr points now and having withdrawn their application the Liv tour and some of their players have suggested that the majors need to directly give them spots uh a couple things have you had any direct communication with them on that issue and could you see a time where you would give them uh direct access via their order of Merit or a series of tournaments what have you yeah um I don’t know the answer to that um I I I think I think it will be difficult to establish any type of point system that um had any connection to the rest of the World of Golf because of the because they’re basically not totally but for the most part a closed shop um there are there are some there is some relegation but not very much uh it all really depends on what new player they sign and so um you know and those concerns were expressed by the owgr um but I don’t think and again I’m repeating myself a little bit but I don’t think that that prevents us from give from giving subjective consideration you know based on Talent based on performance uh to those players and you know our our goal is to have to the greatest extent possible the best field in golf the best players of the world having said that we never have had all the best players in the world because of the structure of our tournament it’s an Invitational it’s limited field it’s a small field we’ve always honored our past champions um many of whom some of whom I would should say would not necessarily be in a in an open competition but they add a lot to this tournament they’re part of our history last night was one of the most magical nights I’ve ever been involved in in golf you know listening to these great Champions talk about what the Masters means to them we also honor amateurs you know we you know we we would normally have seven amateurs in the field but for a couple of great players who decided to turn pro so um we’re a little bit different situation but we do have that flexibility as I mentioned earlier and I would not foreclose that we would we would consider that you know in the future Jeff uh Mr chairman you reiterated your support uh for the USGA and the RNA but you also did not sound um as if uh they went far enough is that a correct reading of your your comments mentioning 8,000 yards and and uh how did the decision on changing testing or how will it impact your plans for the golf course uh in the immedi future well assuming assuming that these um uh regulations are adopted by the by the PGA Tour and the other tours and I certainly hope they will be I think were they not adopted it would cause you know a great deal of stress in in the game which which it doesn’t need right now um U as I understand and and and I don’t think it’s across the board but I mean if you use 5% as an approximate number um you know a player hitting at you know 320 yards is going to lose 16 yards so I mean that’s not insignificant you know what we found though over the years um is that we lengthen the golf course everybody says it’s really long and then two or three years later it’s not so really long and so my my guess is that even when this change is implemented that um maybe other aspects of technology that are within the rules and the physicality and ability technical ability the players will catch up I mean I don’t believe that we will start building new te’s closer to the greens it’s a possibility I suppose but I doubt it so um particularly since this is not going to be implemented for quite some time so I think we have uh we have some time to look and see what’s going to happen um you know we have we have some some more room but we don’t have a lot um and so I’m I’m I’m holding to that 8,000 yard red line and I just hope we never get there Scott Mich show Mr reallyy we’ve seen how uh the Guster women’s amoner has created uh tremendous access for the amers uh in the women’s game has there been any any thought about doing something in the future that would give access to this course uh for the professional women in the game like a a oneoff solheim cup or a similar style event that included other people in the world um I think the answer is uh yes um we have I think we’ve addressed this question in the past and there are some fundamental difficulties in that um we happily uh were able to find a way to have a competition for juniors and a competition for women amateurs sort of wrapped around the Master’s tournament and it just seems to fit really well to have another tournament of any kind would be very difficult um based on our season based on the fact that that this is essentially a winter and spring golf course it doesn’t it’s not open in the summer it doesn’t play the way we wanted to play in the fall for a for a major tournament we did have one one time um and Dustin Johnson did very well um and uh as a matter of fact um he pulled me aside we had a nice conversation after the the Champions dinner last night and he said you know I think my 20 under is safe and I said well I think you’re right unless we have another tournament in November and so I think it’s still safe but um um so so we really have a limited period of time we could play that any additional event um you know we close in the third week of May and then you add the element of something that was brought up I think in the first question about sort of the the the uh mystique and the magic and you know we need to make sure that we we really respect you know the you know the Mystique and the magic of the Masters and so we’d have to think long and hard to have another golf tournament we have time for just a few more questions Gary Mr chairman last year you added length to Hole number 13 you had a week in which it was very wet Golf Course was softer so I assume the data was was incomplete maybe you have a window you’re looking at 3 to 5 years of of the accumulated results what did last year tell you uh reveal and and what is the window to determine how effective that length is going to be well I think you said three to five years that’s probably a pretty good pretty good bracket you know just to take into consideration all possible types of weather we did have a couple days last year where we think the data was relevant and and I forget what which two days it was they were not two consecutive days I know Saturday wasn’t one of them so maybe it was Thursday and Sunday I’m not sure but anyhow um I think uh one of the things that we was interesting is that um I think the scoring average was maybe even better last year than it was the previous year but one thing I do know for certain is that in the two days we we we had data that more players went for the green and two uh on their second shot and they went for the green and two than did the previous year now there’s there’s a real simple reason for that uh if you look at the scatter chart from the year before there were a lot of balls up in the trees last year those same drives didn’t reach the trees and so and they were a little bit further to the right did a did a perfect drive but they were further from the green but they were in the Fairway 250 yards is not a problem for most of these guys and so it kind of brought back in a way that momentous decision that Bobby Jones talked about and really in sort of a counterintuitive way made the whole a more exciting hole the the the the concern by many was that by making it longer we were going to take the excitement out of it it was going to become more of a three- shot hole that’s not the case and so I was really happy to see that data because it really showed that more players are pulling out their hybrids or even three medals or five medals and and going for the green and that that was established by that data last year last question Richard thanks Tom I want to go back Mr chairman to that relationship that partnership between Augusta National and the Augusta Municipal Golf Course as you know there’s a lot of shared history here a lot of the caddies who worked here played golf over there I just want to know about that relationship and what the relationship with a patch means to you and what changes we might really expect to see see on the ground over there well the planning is still in process um I think it has almost unlimited potential I mean it it you’re right it has you know it has a lot of history uh we’re going to honor that history um you know we’ll we’ll for example we’re not going to build a new Clubhouse uh we’re going to uh you know there’s there’s been a lot of history in that Clubhouse and we’re going to hopefully make it nicer and and freshen it up but you know we’re going to the main thing we’re going to try to do is to really provide you know a great golf course and practice area and uh possibly a short course um uh and we’ve as I mentioned we’ve hired hired Tom and Bo to help us with that um you know it’s really going to be a hub for junior and high school golf um also you know one aspect that I’m really excited about is the golf Management program that Augusta Tech has so it’s really Confluence of a lot of different elements of the game that can really be a great thing for Augusta and so while planning is still in process uh we’ll have more details next year I think it’s just going to be fantastic well this concludes our press conference thank you all for your time today and enjoy the 88th Masters Tournament