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The Masters pulled back the curtain on one of its hidden treasures yesterday.

Tournament organizers allowed the Par 3 Contest to be televised for the first time since it started in 1960, giving golf fans around the world a look at the friendly competition that's held the day before the opening round of the Masters.

The contest is played on the Augusta National Golf Club's par-3 course, a charming layout built in a ravine around two large ponds, bearing all the meticulous conditioning and eastern Georgian vegetation as its big-tournament cousin.

Augusta National chairman Billy Payne said putting the par-3 competition on television is one of the club's new initiatives to stimulate interest in golf worldwide, especially among children.

"We are hoping kids will be inspired by seeing golf competed and conducted in a fun and family manner," said Payne, the 1996 Atlanta Olympics chief who took over as the Augusta National chairman in May of 2006.

"Who knows, maybe it will send a message across the world that golf can be played and immensely enjoyed on only a thousand-yard course needing just four or five clubs and taking less than two hours to complete."

Augusta National is also allowing children into the main tournament free during all four rounds of competition. The Masters will also have more coverage on television and the Internet, and it's inviting fans to suggest ways to improve participation in the game.

The fan-friendly and youth-oriented measures seem counterintuitive for a secretive golf club that's built its often controversial reputation and mystique on exclusivity. But Payne said the private course has the ability to perform a social-activist role.

"It's an outgrowth of considerable thought and deliberation about how we can use our reputation and the resources of the Masters to expose the game to a more youthful audience, to communicate to them that golf is fun," he said.

Augusta National doesn't reveal attendance figures, but an estimated 30,000 fans crowded onto the course, designed by George Cobb and built 50 years ago, surrounding every hole, from tee to green, sometimes 15 or 20 people deep.

On a perfect sunny afternoon among the pine trees and azaleas, the fans were treated to four holes-in-one — by Paul Azinger on the second hole, Charles Coody on the third, Fred Couples on the seventh and Wayne Grady on the ninth. The aces brought the total number in the event's history to 67.

Rory Sabbatini won with five-under-par 22, two strokes off the record, which doesn't bode well for the South African's chances at the main tournament. No Par 3 Contest winner has gone on to win a green jacket.

Fans were also treated to a walk down memory lane, with former Masters champions Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player forming one of the threesomes. Palmer thrilled the gallery at the first hole by stopping his ball 23 inches from the hole, the closest of the day.

In keeping with the family atmosphere, a couple of dozen players, including Mike Weir, took along their children as caddies. The kids wore the traditional white coveralls of all caddies at Augusta National.

Masters favourite Tiger Woods was conspicuous by his absence. He chose to spend the afternoon practising on the range in front of an overflowing grandstand.

Woods, who hasn't played the par-3 event since 2004, said "it is a little bit distracting" to his preparation.

Nicklaus and Seve Ballesteros were among players who also skipped the exhibition during their heydays.

Payne said he wasn't bothered by Woods's no-show, but hopes the world No.1 will play in the future to give his daughter, Sam Alexis, a memorable experience.

"I have instructed them [Masters colleagues] to save for the future those little caddy uniforms in Sam's size," Payne said.

Most players didn't share Woods's view, saying the event helps them sharpen their short games and relax before the first major tournament of the year.

Broadcaster and former British Open champion Ian Baker-Finch said "it's my all-time favourite day of the year," and he described the layout as "truly one of the most beautiful golf courses in the world."

Padraig Harrington of Ireland added the contest stokes his competitive fire, although it can be tense.

"It's the first shot of the day, your bearings are off and the crowd is six or eight or 10 feet from the hole and you're thinking, don't hit it in the crowd. It's one of the most nerve-racking shots of the week."

In other Masters initiatives, each ticket holder this week can bring one son or daughter aged 8 to 16.

"I thought, what a great combination: bring kids in to see their heroes [and] at the same time expose them to the great attributes of how our fans act," Payne said.

The chairman said he wasn't worried about the children misbehaving, saying the ticket holders will control them, or about any ineligible kids sneaking in.

"We have a special kind of patron," Payne said. "There won't be any bearded six-year-olds slipping in."

Asked at a news conference about allowing girls into a club in which they can't become members, Payne answered tersely: "I don't talk about membership issues. That's reserved for the private deliberations of the members."

As well, an extra hour will be added to the television coverage and live video will be streamed to the Masters website from Amen Corner, the 11th through 13th holes at Augusta National, and the 15th and 16th holes.

Augusta National is also inviting golf fans around the world to send in suggestions on how golf can be improved. The suggestions can be made on the websites of the Masters and broadcasters ESPN, CBS, BBC and TBS. The deadline is June 1.