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NFT: Anyone ever been to the Masters?

McNally's_Nuts : 1/13/2018 3:34 pm
My buddy won the Masters lottery and he got tickets to go to the Wednesday practice round and par 3 contest.

He asked me to go and we booked our flights, hotels, car rental etc. I’m obviously super excited to go and that I don’t have to spend 2K on a ticket.

Has anyone ever been before? I know the food is hilariously cheap but I plan on getting a lot of merchandise. Am I to assume that these prices are 2x the price at other majors (I’ve been to a PGA and US Open) or are they consistent with 70-100 bucks a shirt?
I went in 2014.  
GiantGolfer : 1/13/2018 3:39 pm : link
The merchandise is in line with other majors or cheaper, to be honest. My best tip is to go buy all your swag first thing in the morning and have them store it for you. The bag check fills up quickly so you’ll have to carry your bags around with you all day if you miss out.
RE: I went in 2014.  
McNally's_Nuts : 1/13/2018 3:42 pm : link
In comment 13786026 GiantGolfer said:
Quote:
The merchandise is in line with other majors or cheaper, to be honest. My best tip is to go buy all your swag first thing in the morning and have them store it for you. The bag check fills up quickly so you’ll have to carry your bags around with you all day if you miss out.


Thanks, that’s super helpful. We’re staying in Atlanta and it’s a 2 hour drive to the course from Atlanta.

We were thinking of getting there around 6:30 AM as to park in one of the lots, any suggestions?
Went to practice round on Wednesday a decade or so back.  
SFGFNCGiantsFan : 1/13/2018 3:56 pm : link
It was ridiculously expensive then so I can't imagine what it's like now. If you got the coin, do it. I'm envious.

Went to the PGA Championship in Atlanta back in September with buddies. We pretty much got hammered beforehand and followed Paulina Gretzky around all day. Haha. Good times.
RE: Went to practice round on Wednesday a decade or so back.  
McNally's_Nuts : 1/13/2018 4:02 pm : link
In comment 13786045 SFGFNCGiantsFan said:
Quote:
It was ridiculously expensive then so I can't imagine what it's like now. If you got the coin, do it. I'm envious.

Went to the PGA Championship in Atlanta back in September with buddies. We pretty much got hammered beforehand and followed Paulina Gretzky around all day. Haha. Good times.


My buddy won the Masters ticket lottery. He was allowed to purchase 4 tickets at 75 bucks a pop
Augusta National is right on a busy street full of strip shopping  
tangled up in blue : 1/13/2018 4:14 pm : link
centers. Plenty of opportunities to pay for parking in some of these lots. Also private homes near the course sell parking on their lawns.

Sounds like a good plan to try to follow Paulina Gretzky.
No more expensive than other majors  
jimmypage : 1/13/2018 4:16 pm : link
And mostly the stuff is much nicer. I've been there a bunch and 3 U.S.opens. yep, they will hold or they have lockers too now that are cheap. Just a great place and everyone on their best behavior.
RE: RE: Went to practice round on Wednesday a decade or so back.  
SFGFNCGiantsFan : 1/13/2018 4:18 pm : link
In comment 13786050 McNally's_Nuts said:
Quote:
In comment 13786045 SFGFNCGiantsFan said:


Quote:


It was ridiculously expensive then so I can't imagine what it's like now. If you got the coin, do it. I'm envious.

Went to the PGA Championship in Atlanta back in September with buddies. We pretty much got hammered beforehand and followed Paulina Gretzky around all day. Haha. Good times.



My buddy won the Masters ticket lottery. He was allowed to purchase 4 tickets at 75 bucks a pop


Do It! YOLO! Hahaha. I'm seriously jealous.
RE: RE: I went in 2014.  
GiantGolfer : 1/13/2018 4:23 pm : link
In comment 13786033 McNally's_Nuts said:
Quote:
In comment 13786026 GiantGolfer said:


Quote:


The merchandise is in line with other majors or cheaper, to be honest. My best tip is to go buy all your swag first thing in the morning and have them store it for you. The bag check fills up quickly so you’ll have to carry your bags around with you all day if you miss out.



Thanks, that’s super helpful. We’re staying in Atlanta and it’s a 2 hour drive to the course from Atlanta.

We were thinking of getting there around 6:30 AM as to park in one of the lots, any suggestions?


That’s good. They always open the gates earlier than the posted time so the earlier you arrive, the better. We parked in a lot virtually right next to the course. Very short walk. Another benefit of arriving early.
Yes but...  
EricJ : 1/13/2018 4:32 pm : link
I had a horrible caddy that day
went last year  
emcca005 : 1/13/2018 5:27 pm : link
Got free tickets as a tip from some members at Yeaman's Hall near Charleston. Merchandise can seem hectic but they have so many registers going that it's really smooth and prices are actually very fair. We went to Hilton Head for the RBC Heritage the following weekend and that was more expensive for merchandise than Augusta was. My biggest tip would be to make sure your prepared to hike up and down all day because TV does not do the course any justice to how undulating the course is.
This is all very helpful  
McNally's_Nuts : 1/13/2018 5:43 pm : link
Thanks guys, very much appreciate it!
I went 4 years ago  
fireitup77 : 1/13/2018 9:07 pm : link
with my 10 year old(at the time) daughter. One of the best times of our lives. The place is amazing. As people have already mentioned.....GET THERE EARLY. We stayed in Columbia SC about an hour away. Got up at 4 am got a quick breakfast and drove the hour to Augusta. We where one of the first to get to the parking lot. Parking on property was free. Advantage is less walking to the course. We waited about 45 minutes before they opened the gates. My daughter was the first one through the gates that day.

We went directly to the shop and bought what we wanted and checked it. We rushed a bit in the shop only to find out that they don't open the course right away. They block off the entrance to the course until later. So if you are there early take your time in the shop.

Now here is the thing about Wednesday "practice round". I use the "" because there isn't much practicing going on. There was only about a dozen of players on the course practicing. If you think you are going to see a lot of golf played you will be disappointed. Wednesday is all about the par 3 tournament. They have a completely separate par 3 course and the tournament is a lot of fun. It's good to see the guys relaxed and having fun with their family.

Bring a chair. Look at the Masters website as they have a specific type of chair you are allowed to take. I ended up buying mine on line only to find out I could buy the masters version for less than I paid. You can place your chair anywhere on the course and nobody will move it. So pick a spot on the par 3 course you want to hang at. First thing when you enter the course go there and setup your chair. I setup on the 8th tee. It was a great spot because the 8th is a downhill shot and then you can also see the 9th hole. We where first ones there and placed our chairs right next to the tee box. It ended up being awesome. Got to interact with players. When Jack came through he laid the sod over his tee shot and plunked into the water. I said to him don't worry Jack, you will make par. He looked at me and said that would be one hell of a par. Gary Player and Ben Crenshaw played their shots and then Jack stepped up to play again. He took his time this shot, stared it down. He really grinded it out. He stepped up to it, took his swing and canned it. Flew it into the hole. Only to have it pop out and finish about an inch away. He looks at me, shrugs his shoulders and said, "I tried".

After setting up for the par 3 course go explore the real course. You will be amazed. TV doesn't do the course justice. You will get a different perspective and realize how difficult the course really is. Be ready to walk up and down some really big hills. Number 10 is so much more downhill and longer than it looks on TV. Number 18 comes up that same hill.

The food and beverage is real cheap. I had the pulled pork sandwich. I think it was $3. It was great. The beer was about $3 too.

They keep the crowds pretty small. We walked the course two and half times and never had to stand behind someone. Make sure to hang a bit on 16. There is a tradition that the players after hitting their many tee shots, try and skip the ball across the pond. It's a lot of fun. You can also see from there them practice chip shots from behind the 15th.

It's cool to go and see the different spot the guys hit their amazing shots from. Phil's shot on 13. Bubba's shot on 10.

After the par 3 contest was over we where getting ready to leave and my daughter says that she wanted to see amen corner again. As everyone was leaving we decided to see if they would let us go back there. We started walking down 10 and nobody stopped us. We walked the whole back nine again. There was practically nobody out there. Just her, me and Augusta's magic. A memory to last a lifetime!

Any other questions....just ask.
RE: I went 4 years ago  
McNally's_Nuts : 1/16/2018 5:24 pm : link
In comment 13786570 fireitup77 said:
Quote:
with my 10 year old(at the time) daughter. One of the best times of our lives. The place is amazing. As people have already mentioned.....GET THERE EARLY. We stayed in Columbia SC about an hour away. Got up at 4 am got a quick breakfast and drove the hour to Augusta. We where one of the first to get to the parking lot. Parking on property was free. Advantage is less walking to the course. We waited about 45 minutes before they opened the gates. My daughter was the first one through the gates that day.

We went directly to the shop and bought what we wanted and checked it. We rushed a bit in the shop only to find out that they don't open the course right away. They block off the entrance to the course until later. So if you are there early take your time in the shop.

Now here is the thing about Wednesday "practice round". I use the "" because there isn't much practicing going on. There was only about a dozen of players on the course practicing. If you think you are going to see a lot of golf played you will be disappointed. Wednesday is all about the par 3 tournament. They have a completely separate par 3 course and the tournament is a lot of fun. It's good to see the guys relaxed and having fun with their family.

Bring a chair. Look at the Masters website as they have a specific type of chair you are allowed to take. I ended up buying mine on line only to find out I could buy the masters version for less than I paid. You can place your chair anywhere on the course and nobody will move it. So pick a spot on the par 3 course you want to hang at. First thing when you enter the course go there and setup your chair. I setup on the 8th tee. It was a great spot because the 8th is a downhill shot and then you can also see the 9th hole. We where first ones there and placed our chairs right next to the tee box. It ended up being awesome. Got to interact with players. When Jack came through he laid the sod over his tee shot and plunked into the water. I said to him don't worry Jack, you will make par. He looked at me and said that would be one hell of a par. Gary Player and Ben Crenshaw played their shots and then Jack stepped up to play again. He took his time this shot, stared it down. He really grinded it out. He stepped up to it, took his swing and canned it. Flew it into the hole. Only to have it pop out and finish about an inch away. He looks at me, shrugs his shoulders and said, "I tried".

After setting up for the par 3 course go explore the real course. You will be amazed. TV doesn't do the course justice. You will get a different perspective and realize how difficult the course really is. Be ready to walk up and down some really big hills. Number 10 is so much more downhill and longer than it looks on TV. Number 18 comes up that same hill.

The food and beverage is real cheap. I had the pulled pork sandwich. I think it was $3. It was great. The beer was about $3 too.

They keep the crowds pretty small. We walked the course two and half times and never had to stand behind someone. Make sure to hang a bit on 16. There is a tradition that the players after hitting their many tee shots, try and skip the ball across the pond. It's a lot of fun. You can also see from there them practice chip shots from behind the 15th.

It's cool to go and see the different spot the guys hit their amazing shots from. Phil's shot on 13. Bubba's shot on 10.

After the par 3 contest was over we where getting ready to leave and my daughter says that she wanted to see amen corner again. As everyone was leaving we decided to see if they would let us go back there. We started walking down 10 and nobody stopped us. We walked the whole back nine again. There was practically nobody out there. Just her, me and Augusta's magic. A memory to last a lifetime!

Any other questions....just ask.


Damn, this is also incredibly helpful! Thanks!!!
I won the lottery  
MookGiants : 1/18/2018 7:21 pm : link
this year for Wednesday so I'll be there as well. Got a hotel only a couple mile away. Thanks for the info on this thread
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