Photo by Brandon Williams on Unsplash Every Masters week, the Wednesday before the first round hosts one of golf's most charming traditions: the Par-3 Contest. Played on Augusta National's beautiful par-3 course adjacent to the main layout, the contest features competitors playing alongside their families, caddied by their children or spouses, and competing with a lightness entirely absent from the tournament itself. Here's everything you need to know about this beloved tradition. What Is the Par-3 Course? Augusta National's par-3 course is a separate 9-hole layout measuring approximately 1,060 yards from the tournament tees. Every hole is a par 3, ranging from about 70 to 140 yards. The course is immaculately maintained — as everything at Augusta National is — and is available for member play throughout the year. During Masters week, it becomes the venue for Wednesday's lighthearted competition. The Format The Par-3 Contest is an 18-hole stroke play competition (t...
Want to watch the 2026 Masters without paying for a streaming subscription? You have more free options than you might realize. Augusta National is notably generous with its free digital coverage — more so than almost any other major sporting event. Here's everything you can watch for free during Masters week, April 9–12.
Masters.com — Completely Free
The official Masters website streams live tournament coverage for free with a free account registration. What you get at no cost is genuinely impressive: Featured Group coverage all four rounds, Featured Holes coverage of Amen Corner (holes 11, 12, and 13), holes 15 and 16, and holes 4, 5, and 6, plus the full round stream each day, plus the Green Jacket Ceremony on Sunday evening. Create a free account at Masters.com before Thursday and you're set.
The Masters App — Free on iOS and Android
The Masters App provides the same free content as Masters.com in a mobile-optimized format. Download it now before the tournament — it's available on both the Apple App Store and Google Play. The app also includes live scoring, interactive player tracking, and the Every Shot Every Hole feature that catalogs every single shot hit during the tournament. For a free app, it's an extraordinarily comprehensive Masters experience.
Masters YouTube Channel — Free Highlights
The Masters YouTube channel posts same-day highlights throughout the week. If you miss live coverage, the channel typically has round highlights up within a few hours of play concluding. Subscribe and enable notifications. The channel also posts Mornings at the Masters content throughout the week — a morning preview show that's a genuinely good way to start each tournament day.
Amazon Prime Video — Free with Prime Membership
If you have Amazon Prime (the shipping subscription most people have), you automatically have access to Amazon Prime Video. In 2026, Prime Video carries the early round coverage on Thursday and Friday from 1–3 PM ET — before the ESPN main broadcast begins. This is genuinely free if you're already a Prime member, which covers tens of millions of US households.
CBS Over-the-Air — Free with an Antenna
Saturday and Sunday main rounds air on CBS from 2–7 PM ET. CBS is a broadcast network, meaning it's available for free over the air with a digital TV antenna. A basic indoor antenna costs $20–$30 and picks up CBS, NBC, ABC, and FOX in most US markets with zero monthly cost. If you have a TV and a cheap antenna, Saturday and Sunday are covered for free.
What You Can't Watch for Free
The ESPN broadcasts on Thursday and Friday (3–7:30 PM ET) require either a cable subscription, a live TV streaming service, or an ESPN+ subscription. The Paramount+ early coverage on Saturday and Sunday (12–2 PM ET) requires a Paramount+ subscription. These are the only windows that aren't freely accessible through one of the methods above.
The Best Free Setup
Create a free Masters.com account for Featured Groups and Amen Corner coverage all week. Add the free Masters App for mobile viewing. Use an OTA antenna for Saturday and Sunday CBS coverage. Use Prime Video if you're already a member for Thursday and Friday afternoon early coverage. This combination covers the majority of meaningful Masters content at zero cost.
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