Safe to say that golf fans hate the new Noah Kahan Masters commercial.
With just 12 days until the Masters officially tees off, ESPN unveiled its new “Georgia On My Mind” campaign for everyone’s favorite major tournament. There’s just one problem. They swapped out Ray Charles’ version for a cover by two-time Grammy nominated singer Noah Kahan. It’s still very early in the proceedings, but the early reviews are suggesting that… golf fans hate it.
Here’s the thing. Using Ray Charles’ version of “Georgia On My Mind” just makes sense. He’s from Georgia, and the song highlights all of the southern state’s great features. Hell, the state of Georgia even recognizes Charles’ rendition as their state’s official song. And with Augusta National Golf Club (home of the Masters) nestled in Augusta, Georgia, it just makes too much sense.
What doesn’t make sense? Having a Vermont native in Noah Kahan tackle the song that may or may not be out of his vocal range. I apologize for being harsh towards the “Stick Season” singer, but it certainly seems like he bit off more than he could chew with this one. I don’t blame him for taking the opportunity (must be cool to be one of the voices of the Masters), but I’m not sure it was the right match.
Just take a listen for yourself and you’ll see why some are suggesting that Noah Kahan tried a little too hard with this recording:
ESPN launches its annual @TheMasters 'Georgia On My Mind' campaign 🎶
Featured in 2025, 2x GRAMMY nominated singer-songwriter @NoahKahan
Coverage begins April 9 with the Masters Par 3 Contest
⛳️ Noon ET, ESPN+ & @DisneyPlus | 2p ET, ESPN🔗https://t.co/qcUXMRulHs | @ESPNMusic pic.twitter.com/NDWIiXq3nf
— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) March 24, 2025
Yikes… is it rude to ask why it sounds like he’s screaming?
You might feel differently about it after listening to it, and that’s fine. Some people have actually (and surprisingly) voiced that they are a fan of Noah Kahan’s straining version of the beloved Georgia anthem. But for the most part, golf fans and people in general have had this kind of response to the new Masters spot:
No hate on Noah but go back to Ray Charles
— Mike McG (@EffTruck) March 25, 2025
Love some Noah Kahan but what an absolute butcher job on an all time song and artist. Should’ve been the original.
— CB (@CBees_knees) March 26, 2025
No offense to Noah’s version, but please pull the plug on this
— jdougy (@justseels) March 25, 2025
No one captures one of the most sacred traditions in Georgia history like *checks notes* New England native Noah Kahan.
— Jon Tweets Sports (@jontweetssports) March 25, 2025
People hate Noah Kahan’s version so much… that they’ve actually taken it upon themselves to replace it with something else. In my humble opinion, you could just slide Ray Charles’ version of “Georgia On My Mind” back in and call it a day. That being said, I’ve got to hand it to golf fans out there. They’ve gotten creative with this Noah-Kahan-induced problem solving, and some of these other songs really do work.
“Higher” – Creed
Creed x The Masters = Perfection pic.twitter.com/RG9xMlRpga
— Shooter McGavin (@ShooterMcGavin_) March 26, 2025
“Free Bird” – Lynyrd Skynryd
The meme of putting random songs behind The Masters commercial is great. Here is the Masters x Free Bird pic.twitter.com/YZPKPTHULy
— Evan (@Evan15278282) March 26, 2025
“Fly Away” – Lenny Kravitz
I fixed ESPN’s Masters commercial pic.twitter.com/tOWxuPqtbw
— Maybe: Luke (@lukebellus4) March 25, 2025
“Maneater” – Nelly Furtado
Kinda love this audio for the masters commercial? pic.twitter.com/rdp1M76q2h
— claire rogers (@kclairerogers) March 26, 2025
“Wanna Be A Baller” – Lil’ Troy
a lot of folks weren’t thrilled with the Noah Kahan version of Georgia on My Mind for the Masters intro. So I tried my hand at an update pic.twitter.com/F6coKga2b9
— mile.high 🏴☠️ (@HailState_CO) March 26, 2025
“Do It Again” – Steely Dan
Thinking about fixing this commercial every day, countdown-style, until Masters Monday (12 days away). Will be numbies-dependent, as is tradition. Idk, maybe the time passed already. Or maybe it didn’t
Anyway, here’s Steely 🫰 🫰🫰 https://t.co/TVauYUSoNf pic.twitter.com/wnTkdl1HIX
— Christopher Powers (@CPowers14) March 26, 2025
The Masters will be streaming on ESPN, ESPN+, CBS, and Paramount+, the later being the best way to watch because you’ll also have access to all the shows you’ve been hearing about nonstop, such as Tulsa King, Landman, and Yellowstone prequels 1883 and 1923. Grab a 7 day free trial by clicking here or maybe wait until a day or so before The Masters kicks off… Not trying to game the system or anything but what’s better than watching the greatest tournament in golf for free? You’ll wind up sticking around anyway so I’m not too worries about it…
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