It’s time for everybody’s favorite annual spring complaint: Why do we have to wait until 3 p.m. ET to watch The Masters? In the age of technology and news at our fingertips, it’s increasingly archaic and mind-numbing that we have to wait six hours to start watching golf on TV after players are out on the course.

I mean, there are cameras everywhere. The announcers are in place. Analysts are following around specific threesomes starting to air online at nine. I’ve literally spent three hours watching people chip, putt and drive on the range on the Golf Channel. Seriously, why can’t the cameraman just shift his camera 180 degrees to show real, live, meaningful golf. Why do Masters officials insist on limiting coverage to everybody’s favorite golf event? Why not just put the whole darn thing on television?

Because they can and no one can tell them no.

That it’s. There’s nothing more than that. The Masters likes to limit its TV exposure, likely operating under the premise that less is more. As recently as 1983, Saturday had 2.5 hours of coverage and Sunday was bestowed with three. (Make no mistake, this has nothing to do with CBS. They’d run 12 hours of the Masters every day if Augusta National allowed it. Instead they’re on a series of one-year contracts, an ultimate power move.)

Twenty years ago, there was barely any Thursday and Friday coverage. It wasn’t until 1995 that USA got two hours for the first two rounds. (For a long time there weren’t any cameras on the opening nine.) The early 2000s were a magical time, as CBS showed the rounds of Sunday’s leaders in the entirety — thank you, Tiger. Then, in 2003 and 2004, the Masters were aired with no commercials because of protests about the lack of female members. (Even now, the Masters have four one-minute commercials breaks per hour. It’s amazing) And the last big changes were in 2009, when Thursday/Friday coverage went to 3.5 hours and then 4.5 hours in 2011. Now the schedule is:

Thursday/Friday: 4.5 hours (3:00 p.m. — 7:30 p.m. ET)

Saturday: Four hours (3:00 p.m. — 7 p.m. ET)

Sunday: Five hours (2:00 p.m. — 7 p.m. ET)

From 1956 through 1972 there were a total of 2.5 hours of TV coverage for the Masters. Now there are 18. That’s about the same amount of NFL coverage you get in any given weekend during the season. So the one-week, perfect Masters gets 18 hours, the same as an NFL weekend featuring Bills-Jags on Thursday night and Giants-Bucs on Monday night. And no one sees a problem with this? It’s such an odd difference from the U.S. Open, which would literally try and show golfers hitting every ball if NBC (and now Fox) could. But CBS and ESPN have to kowtow to the gents in the green jackets.

But, again the question is why and the answer is because Augusta National doesn’t need the TV money and likes keeping their tournament as exclusive as possible. It sort of adds to the aura of the event, even though you can pull out your iPad and follow Tiger, Bubba, Phil and Rory for most of their rounds or keep the Golf Channel on all day and get live updates from action that’s happening mere yards away from their booth. But you know what’s horrible? Watching sports on an iPad, that’s what.

In a way though, the Masters morning blackout is a nice callback to the old days, when our 24/7 lives didn’t dictate that everything needed to happen NOW! On the other, more truthful hand, this is really, really annoying, guys. Just show us some live golf. But once that telecast begins at 2 p.m for the final round, we forget all about this TV charade until 361 days later.