Masters 2012: Biggest Storylines to Take Away from Season's First Major

The Masters provided golf fans with an awesome glimpse at what's shaping up to become one of the most competitive seasons in recent memory. Nobody was able to break away from the pack, making for tremendous drama on Sunday before Bubba Watson finally secured the green jacket.

Let's take a look at three noteworthy takeaways from Augusta that will leave a lasting impact moving forward throughout this year and beyond.

Tiger Woods No Longer a Dominant Force

Just when it seemed like Woods was prepared to get back in the winner's circle at a major event, he rarely put two good shots together to finish 15 strokes off the pace at Augusta. Above all else, it proves his days of simply blowing away his competition are over.

He's still one of the most talented players on tour and he'll rack up a few wins per season, but he doesn't have the ability to just show up and win anymore. Every tournament presents a new challenge, and he must grind out each shot to come out on top.

Whether it's young players like Rory McIlroy, veterans such as Phil Mickelson or other contenders like Watson, there are a bunch of players who will be competitive at every event Woods plays. He won't be able to run away and hide anymore.

Parity is the Name of the Game

Every time it seemed like one player gained control of the tournament, somebody else would make a run. Fred Couples, Sergio Garcia and Peter Hanson are just a few of the golfers who made their presence felt at some point during the Masters.

While that doesn't usually drive television ratings, it makes for a more exciting brand of golf, and it's likely to continue for the foreseeable future—at least until a rising star like McIlroy establishes himself as the clear top player, but that hasn't happened yet.

Since Padraig Harrington won the PGA Championship in 2008 for his second straight major title, 13 different golfers have won the last 13 majors. That trend is here to stay.

Bubba Watson Proves There Are No Bulletproof Methods

Golfers love to find flaws in their game and seek different methods to fix them. They will do it by watching hours of video of their own swing and rotating through swing coaches at a rapid rate, all with the hope of developing the perfect game.

Here's the problem: They are usually fixing something that allowed them to become an elite athlete in the first place. Instead of breaking something that's not really broken anyway, Watson just plays the game his way for better or worse.

His swing won't end up on any instructional videos and some of his shots end up amongst the trees, but he always figures out a way to make it work. It's a lot easier to play the game when your mind isn't thinking about potential mechanical flaws, and that's a win for the common man.