Behind The Scenes At Augusta National Golf Club
Thirteenth Green Augusta National Golf Club
It had been 26 years since I last was at Augusta National Golf Club. The golf course is pretty much the same with the exception of length being added to nearly every hole. However, off the course the club has made a paradigm shift driven by the Masters golf tournament and nothing is the same. The amount of money invested in the infrastructure is difficult to estimate, but it must be in the hundreds of millions of dollars. The evolution I saw was stunning.
On March 12, 2020 I was on the way to play Augusta National when Covid shut down the country. It was a big disappointment to turn around and go home, but the postponement came with assurances the trip would happen in the future. Thirteen months later I was again going to Augusta National Golf Club.
Following our first round of golf we sat in the new grill room, at least new since my last visit. The room, while a bit larger than many mixed grill rooms, features an interesting display of clubs donated by past Masters champions. We stood marveling at the small head on the metal driver used by Tiger Woods in winning the 1997 tournament.
To the rear of the grill room, through a separate doorway, is a new area that is part memorabilia museum and part gathering place for the four member tournaments held at the club. A large comfortable sitting area and bar, of which there are others throughout the club, is adjacent to a dining area for the dinners served at the tournaments.
Every room in the large clubhouse looks new and recently renovated. No worn carpet at Augusta National Golf Club.
The Masters brand and Augusta National project an image of first class, spotless, detailed, all buttoned up. Everything on the property oozes the brand.
Out on the course, hidden in the trees are two hospitality buildings, one to the left of the fifth fairway, called The Spring, and one to the right of the fourteenth fairway, called The Retreat. The newest, The Spring, completed within the past couple of years, looks like it is right out of Italy with a Tuscan style. It contains a complete kitchen and can handle a party of 100 or more. During Masters week it would be a focal point for corporate events or members to relax, taking a break from watching the tournament. As with everything at Augusta, it is exquisite. “It’s nice to see something done right,” said one of my playing partners.
The administration of Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters Golf Tournament is staggering in the diversity of the mission. There are about 350 full time employees.
In addition to the course and the tournament, the club has hospitality capability to sleep 140 guests in ‘cabins’ left of the tenth fairway and other areas on property.
The cabins are five star accommodations with four bedrooms and adjacent sitting rooms in each cabin. While most golf courses offering sleeping accommodations have four bedrooms around one gathering area, these luxury cabins have a separate sitting room for each bedroom. They look like they have just been renovated, all bright and shiny. With two bedroom units up and two on ground level, each floor has a porch off the back side, many with a panoramic view of the par three course. It is a highlight to relax with a drink after a round on the big course gazing out at the par three course, reviewing the day.
As throughout the club, the cabins have interesting Bobby Jones and Masters memorabilia tastefully displayed.
One of the most visible changes to the Masters patrons is the new practice facility built several years ago. At Augusta National it is everything the players need. Over 400 yards long and probably 200 yards wide the tee ground looks out at many target greens and a rolling fairway area that runs slightly uphill. The greens appear to be maintained in the same manner as the greens on the course. There are also several trees that have been left to break up the massive area.
Three rows of brick bench seating have been built immediately behind and cover the width of the practice tee.
For many years Augusta National has been purchasing a large amount of the surrounding property. It would not surprise me if the club owned 1000 or more acres of land and are still buying.
The new practice facility is built on the old parking lot on Washington Road. The parking has been moved to an area on Berckman Road to the west. It was estimated the parking lot is nearly a mile long. Because the club did not want Berckman Road running between the golf course and the parking lot they asked the city to move the road. I have no idea who paid for the change, but the road has been moved to the opposite side of the parking lot. Patrons can walk directly from the parking to the entrance gate nearby.
Also constructed have been several hospitality buildings which maintain the campus architectural integrity. The hospitality buildings look like houses from the front, but inside are structured similarly to a country club clubhouse with a living room, banquet room, and full kitchen. During Masters week these tastefully appointed hospitality houses are used for sponsors.
One of the most stunning buildings is the administration building. Rich wood paneling with attractive oriental rugs, the building features a three story rotunda with a glass dome.
“A University is the only place you might find something like this,” one of my playing partners said. The Masters has an image of being the best. The buildings at Augusta National make that statement with the administration building exemplifying it.
Another impressive building the club has built for the Masters is the media center. The main interview area has typical press room auditorium seating filled with beautiful wood desks. Pictures of Bobby Jones and Cliff Roberts, who ran the club for decades, hang on the walls to either side of the stage where the interviewee sits behind a wide matching wood desk.
The media work room is stunning. Rows of the wood desks can seat 400, each working media outlet with an assigned location. Huge screens project play from the course and cover large areas of the side walls. Two story floor to ceiling glass windows overlook the back end of the practice tee and make up the backdrop of the front wall.
The media center contains a full kitchen and large eating area. Chefs come in from all over the country to volunteer in the press kitchen and populate several kitchens spread throughout the property.
With the media center some distance from the golf course, a tunnel has been built to quickly bring players from the scoring tent to the media. The tunnel is several hundred yards long with a stone facade entrance.
The property is continually being landscaped. “There are some varieties of trees that are hard to find,” said a member of our group. “Augusta National buys them all up.”
Beyond the impressive administration and media buildings there are more buildings that have been built. The 350 full time employees eat year round at a new commissary with a full kitchen.
The food service aspect of the Masters is staggering. Meal planning, food ordering, logistical distribution for sponsor events, members, employees, press, and patrons is a massive undertaking. I wonder how they coordinate all the ingredients for all the chefs.
One of the largest buildings built is the retail center selling Masters logo clothing and items. Some reports say the gross revenue from retail sales Masters week is $60,000,000.
Masters logo items are only sold Masters week. The balance of the year ‘Augusta Country Club’ and the famous logo of the United States with the flagstick on Augusta are sold in the pro shop.
I would speculate no other pro shop in the country can have higher gross receipts than Augusta National’s. “People come in and spend $30,000 on merchandise,” an employee told me.
A new building for the security operation, a new caddie building and more have been built.
The newest building, still being finished, is an enormous broadcast center. The Masters now televises every shot from every player. The number of cameras, directors and associated people is large and growing.
Located on the other side of Washington Road from the course, a road and tunnel were built to access the new building.
The infrastructure that has been built is extensive. A two lane tarmac road has been built completely around the golf course to service the tournament and keep traffic off the course. There are also additional roads accessing the adjacent campus containing all the support buildings.
For the patron, the Masters term for spectators, Berckmans Place has been built. Berckmans Place is a golf and restaurant experience. There are four exceptional restaurants, which along with the finest wines and spirits are all included in a ticket. “We serve 5000 meals a day at breakfast, lunch and dinner. The average wait time for an order is five and a half minutes,” a member told me. “This is the premium experience in all of sports. The Super Bowl is four hours. This is all week.”
At Berckmans, Augusta National members work in shifts mingling with the patrons. Their only job for three hours is to talk and mingle with the guests. “It gets you outside your box and is really very enjoyable,” a member told me. Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has a shift at Berckmans.
Outside there are five greens that have been replicated from the course. Augusta caddies walk around with the patrons as they putt on the greens, reading putts and talking about the course.
There are 3000 tickets available which sell for $2,500 for the week. When the plan was first conceived tickets were offered to the members. They bought every one. If you can find a ticket today you may pay up to $10,000.
Augusta National Golf Club is a big operation. With the US TV contract, foreign TV contracts, the on course sponsorships, the retail sales and all the other ancillary revenue streams attached to the Masters, there is plenty of money to build out the master plan (no pun intended!). There is no other sporting event to compare.
It was an educational two days at Augusta National Golf Club. The Masters brand and image is the envy of the sports world. Augusta National has done a tremendous job building out the club and infrastructure to support the Masters. My trip to Georgia learning about the Masters was a highlight in A Life In Golf.
The Spring, newly constructed, left of the fifth fairway is circled at the top.
