Issue No. 178 | April 3, 2025

This week, a reader reached out about something, and his intro to the email was maybe the most compelling description of golf that I have ever seen.

Here’s what the he said.

Golf is amazing.
Even though I’m bad at it.
And I want to be better.
But golf is still amazing.

Onto the news.

Before we get deep into some wild Masters stats, today’s newsletter is presented by Precision Pro, which recently released its Titan Slope — Azalea Edition.

Very normal stuff, by the way, for companies in a sports industry to put flowers on their products and all of a sudden grown men — 40 year old men! — flock to purchase them. That can’t happen in many other sports. We’re here for all of it.

Anyway, Precision Pro rocks, and you should check out their limited edition Azalea Edition product here. I have been using the Titan (non-Azalea edition), and it’s terrific. Among its features, I would say this one is , if not my favorite, then at least up there …

• Golfer-friendly display — shows only what you need with no distracting clutter.

I admire that Precision Pro does one thing and does it very well, and I have learned in running my own business that it’s more difficult than it seems to stay disciplined like this. We are proud to partner with a company like that.

OK, now onto the news!

Masters Giveaways

Speaking of sponsors! We will be giving away the following to our readers next week. We might do a few adventurous giveaways or contests on a couple of these, but for the most part we will just randomly pick folks who are subscribed to the Normal Sport newsletter (which you are).

While we'll select winners and mark them down next week, I (with the help of my kids) will follow up and ship things out the week after when I'm back from ANGC.

Here’s what we’re giving away.

• Five (5) Turtlebox speakers ($450 value) in Masters colors.

• Five (5) Meridian putters (~$270 value), earned gold on the Golf Digest hot list.

• Five (5) OGIO travel bags (values vary).

• Five (5) Precision Pro range finders ($270 value).

• Three (3) dozen Seed Golf balls with the Normal Sport logo.

• Three (3) boxes of Holderness and Bourne and other NS gear.*

*These won’t go out in the mail until we receive our first big shipment of gear later in April.

That’s ~$7,000 in giveaways, or [checks notes] $2,000 more than the first Masters purse!

Thank you to all of these sponsors for going above and beyond to help us deliver the best Masters week experience possible for all of our readers.

And of course, if you’re considering joining the Normal Club for Masters week so that you can enjoy everything we’re writing and illustrating, you will receive a free entry into our Masters fantasy contest (pick 8 players, lowest team score wins)

This contest is only available in 48 states* and Canada. We will send that link out to members numerous times before the tournament starts.

*They are working on assisting those of you who are in states where it was difficult to sign up before the tournament starts.

6 Amazing Stats About the Masters

1. Here’s a fun one on lowest career scoring average.

With 100+ rounds — Tiger Woods (71.30)
From 75-99 rounds — Hale Irwin (72.18)
From 50-74 rounds — Rory McIlroy (71.60)
From 25-49 rounds — Jordan Spieth (70.95)
Less than 25 rounds — Scottie Scheffler* (70.40)

*Presumably … ANGC doesn’t keep this as an official stat.

The most remarkable career scoring number I found? Jack Nicklaus is still under 72.0 (71.98) despite playing 163 rounds. That number is better than Bryson DeChambeau, Bubba Watson, Adam Scott and Viktor Hovland (among others).

One other note: Phil (71.39) has a better scoring average at age 54 than Rory (71.60) does at 35. That’s wild.

2. This Masters is supposed to be Bernhard Langer's last Masters and last major championship. At his first major -- the 1976 Open -- Gene Sarazen was in the field. Sarazen was born in 1902.

In Langer’s last major, Tom Kim is in the field.

Kim was born in 2002.

This post will continue for Normal Club members below, and includes …

• Some Morikawa numbers that intrigue me.

• A wild Tiger-Phil-Jack comparison.

• The importance of luck in Masters wins.

If you aren’t yet a Normal Club member, you can sign up right here. If you are, keep reading!

Join the Normal Club member to read the rest …

Normal Sport is supported by exactly 667 sickos. By becoming a member, you will receive the following.

• Entry into our first annual Masters contest.
• The satisfaction of helping us establish our business.
• The entirety of our behind-the-paywall major championship coverage.
• First access to future merch drops.

By clicking below to join the Normal Club, you will also have 1. A lot of explaining to do to your spouse re: your CC statement and also 2. A front row seat to the community and world we’re creating here at Normal Sport.