Michael Buteau, Bloomberg
AUGUSTA — During one of his many trips to attend the Masters Tournament, retired insurance executive Charles Cramer faced a dilemma: To place his chair down on the edge of the 18th green — so he could have a good view of the winning putt — he would need to get to the Augusta National Golf Club’s main entrance gate by 6 a.m. and wait in line. When that gate opens, ticket holders dash for the 18th to place their chairs.
“I thought: It sure would be nice to have a runner to do it for me,” said Cramer, 73.
In stepped a representative of PrimeSport, an Atlanta-based sports-hospitality company that had arranged Cramer’s trip to Augusta. Cramer’s green folding chair was placed greenside for him while he enjoyed his morning coffee away from the course’s crowds.
“It’s a special experience,” he said. “They treat you right. And when you go to the Masters, you don’t have to deal with drunks and foul language or fights breaking out on the ninth green. Everybody is very polite.” Call it Southern hospitality.
The Masters, which begins Monday and runs through April 12, is the first of golf’s four annual major contests. It represents the pinnacle for many sports fans around the world; a ticket is often noted as one of the toughest in sports. So naturally, as azaleas and dogwoods bloom each April in Augusta, Ga., the world’s business elite flock to the state’s second-oldest city.
“It’s corporate America’s spring break,” said Morgan Jones, sales director for Executive Marketing Services, an Augusta-based company that makes sure visitors enjoy the show. Augusta National, a private club co-founded in 1932 by golf legend Bobby Jones and Wall Street investment banker Clifford Roberts, ranks among the world’s most elite private clubs and has Warren Buffett and Bill Gates as members.
The Masters, as the only major golf tournament that returns to the same venue on an annual basis, was once just the biggest sports event in Georgia. Since Tiger Woods’ 1997 win, the landscape has changed dramatically.
“It has grown over time from a regional event to an international event,” said Brian Wilder, a PrimeSport sales executive who handles the company’s Masters account.
Executive Marketing Services operates several large hospitality homes on Azalea Drive and Magnolia Drive, walking distance from the club’s entrance.
And when they do decide to “do the Masters,” many golf fans want to do it in style — as in $50,000 worth of style.
That’s what a blowout trip for four can add up to when booking with PrimeSport or Executive Marketing. A variety of Masters packages can be arranged, with high-end trips including golf at upscale private clubs such as Augusta National’s neighbor, Augusta Country Club, and South Carolina’s Sage Valley.
Along with helping to secure tickets, the concierge companies arrange travel — meeting you and your group at Augusta’s private airport — a private driver for the week, and a private chef in your home. No request is too off-the-wall.
“We had a group one year that ran out of firewood at 11:30 p.m.,” Wilder said. “They were sitting around the fire pit drinking and smoking cigars. We went out and found some more firewood for them.”
With limited hotel space in Augusta — $49 hotel rooms sell for as much as $500 during Masters week — many attendees rent private homes through companies. Ten-bedroom homes can be rented for $20,000 for the week.
The Masters can also be done for about $500, although pulling off such frugality can be as tricky as sinking a downhill putt on the course’s ninth green.
A practice-round ticket can be found for about $400 on ticket resale site StubHub.com. If you live within driving distance of the club, gas, food, and merchandise would be your only costs. Parking is free for ticket holders.
Once you’re there, food is sold on the course at 1960s prices — $1.50 for the club’s pimento cheese sandwich. Yes, $1.50.
Bloomberg
