Masters Memories with Ken Brown
28/03/2022
‘If it went wrong, we’d just say it was difficult’. PGA Member, former European Tour and Ryder Cup player, turned commentator, Ken Brown explains the origins of his hugely popular Ken on the Course videos and looks back at his favourite Masters memories.
CLICK HERE to listen to the full interview with Ken Brown.
Where did Ken on the Course come from?
I started doing the on-course bits with Sky in the very early days. In those days we actually used to do them live at the Major championships. I’d be asked to find something in 15 minutes and I’d find something that I thought would hopefully be interesting. So, they developed during my time at Sky and then I joined the BBC (pictured below) and we found a name for it, which was Ken on the Course.
How much preparation went in to creating the videos?
There’s quite a lot of preparation that goes on beforehand. I think about the point I want to make. I basically had 45-60 seconds to get my points over, maybe a fraction more than that. You look at the course, what kind of features I can find? What can I show and how can I make it interesting? If you can show them something and say something at the same time, suddenly it was a lot easier. People could see the green was fast, or they’d see how that ball has rolled off, so there’s lots of that.
When and how do you create the videos at Augusta?
At Augusta the system is so strict - you’re allowed to go out Saturday mornings and Sunday mornings before play, which took a bit of getting over the years, they had to trust what you were going to do. They gave you about 45 minutes and, in that time, most years I would get 8-10 videos done and you can only do it on back-to-back holes, so it could be the seventh or the eighth. You had to be organised because you’ve only got 45 minutes and we’re looking to record eight of them and you’ve got to get different spots at each hole.
How many takes would you need to record a video?
There isn’t a lot of time for practicing. I knew what I wanted to say but I never rehearsed anything! I’d just decide that’s what I want to show and if it didn’t work out, or I did it wrong, I’d just say ‘well that’s how difficult it is’, so it didn’t matter if it worked or not!
How are the videos shot?
They are shot with one camera with one shot, so there’s not cuts in them. You just move the camera around, point it where you were going to go, so there’s nothing to hide. There is a sponinuity to them – if they go wrong, we’d just say it was difficult.
I used to get a round of applause from the patrons which was quite dangerous because there would be people playing. On some occasions while we were filming, some players would be going up the first and second while I’m at the eighth and there’d be this spontaneous clap and of course the players would realise I’m doing a Ken on the Course!
How did the drawings and props come about as part of Ken on the Course?
It was just a different way of showing different things and bringing it to life. It took a lot of thought; how was I going to show this to its best ability? I used all different types of balls, I used toilet brush for one – some really odd and different ways of showing whatever it was. It evolved and to be honest it got harder and harder to come up with something new because if you’ve done it for 20 years and you’re doing the same bits on the same holes, you had to be inventive to find a different way of producing it.
They were great, great fun to do. The crowd, the cameramen, the sound men, they all enjoyed it. It gave them a chance to use their skills rather than be told to do things in a certain way. Everyone used to say ‘that’s one of the best day’s television I’ve done in a long while’.
Did Augusta ever object to any of your ideas?
Generally, I think they must have enjoyed them. The only time they said something to me was when I had just showed the camera how to draw the ball, demonstrating how to draw the ball on the 13th by kicking a football. I said that’s how David Beckham would curl one into the top corner. They said to me once, ‘Ken, no football’. That’s all they said! They didn’t want me to play football!
What was it like playing in The Masters in 1988?
It was absolutely fantastic and I enjoyed every minute of it. I had a couple of practice rounds with a local caddie and learnt my way round. I enjoyed absolutely every minute of the challenge. I made the cut and finished tied 36th. In those days you had to finish in the top 25 to come back the following year, so that was the only time I played Augusta. I just wish I could have had one more go to see how I could have done because it was the sort of course I felt I could get to grips with. There’s a lot of aspects to it, but if you had a really good short game and get down for two in awkward spots, not three putt often and hole out six feet pretty reliably which I could do, I felt one day I could have done better than I did, but I never got another chance.
It was very hard in those days for an overseas player to even get in The Masters. I got in because I had won in America. It was purely by invitation. The only guarantee was if you were on the money list otherwise you were in the lap of the Gods. The year I played they used to have an overseas player’s dinner. They don’t have it anymore because they’d have to invite 60 people! In my year there was about 10 of us and most of those were past winners – Sandy Lyle, Bernhard Langer, Seve Ballesteros – along with a few other overseas players. Now the overseas player get a better crack at the whip or at least they’ve got a fair playing field to get in, but in our day it was down to getting an invitation and it was tough.
CLICK HERE or on the image below to listen to the full interview with Ken Brown.
