During the 1994 Masters broadcast on CBS, Gary McCord made a playful comment about the speed of Augusta National's greens. While it was met with laughter on air, it didn't go down well with Augusta officials or two-time Masters champion Tom Watson, who penned a letter demanding McCord's removal. Subsequently, McCord was permanently removed from the Masters.

The incident occurred during the final round of the 1994 Masters, as McCord was providing commentary while Jose Maria Olazabal prepared for a putt on the 17th green. To illustrate the slickness of the greens, McCord joked: "I don't think they mow these greens, I think they bikini wax them."

It was a typical McCord line - irreverent and light-hearted - but Augusta National, renowned for its respect and tradition, wasn't amused.

Initially, there was no formal backlash. Neal Pilson, CBS Sports president at the time, was even seated next to McCord and found the comment amusing.

However, the situation took a turn when Tom Watson stepped in. The eight-time major winner and two-time Masters champion sent a handwritten letter to CBS golf producer Frank Chirkinian.

"I get called into Frank's office and he goes, 'Close the door.' So I close the door, and he throws me a letter, and it's written in pencil," McCord said in the latest episode of "Kostis and McCord: Off Their Rockers. "And I look at the letter, it says addressed to Augusta National. And it says, 'We need to eradicate this lesion on golf. He is the Howard Stern of golf and we need to pay attention to this and what he said,' signed Tom Watson."

When Chirkinian summoned McCord and showed him the letter, the writing was on the wall. Augusta National - notoriously protective of the Masters' image - was reportedly considering action, and CBS made no move to stand behind its veteran commentator.

A few months later, McCord was quietly pulled from all future Masters coverage, though he remained a staple of CBS's golf broadcasts until 2019.

The controversy didn't end there. At the Pebble Beach Pro-Am the next year, McCord confronted Watson about the letter. He was disappointed Watson hadn't come to him directly before escalating the issue to Augusta officials. Despite the tension, the two later patched things up and now maintain a cordial relationship. Reflecting on the incident, McCord revealed that it inadvertently propelled his broadcasting career. "I got more publicity for doing this than anything I ever did in golf," he confessed in a subsequent interview.

Despite this, the incident is still remembered as one of the most notorious moments in golf television history - serving as a stark reminder of the boundaries of humour at Augusta.

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