New York Times Union Demands Company Abandon Kalshi Talks
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Spring break for billionaires and the temporary private-jet capital of the world: The Masters has long been a popular stomping ground for the richest, most powerful, and most famous people in business, sports, and entertainment.
That’s no surprise, given the premier status of Augusta National Golf Club’s elite members.
From financial and business icons including Warren Buffett and Bill Gates to sports commissioners such as Roger Goodell and Rob Manfred, extreme credentials are required for the privilege to don a Green Jacket. It also helps if you’re a top executive at one of the companies that broadcasts or sponsors the Masters, like Delta CEO Ed Bastian or former CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus.
Augusta National’s roughly 300 members (the private club doesn’t release official figures) all bring plenty of guests to the Masters—family, friends, business partners. They each get five-star treatment, which typically includes access to Augusta’s exclusive clubhouse, and often passes to the ultra-high-end hospitality space called Berckmans Place, situated to the right of the 5th hole near the course’s south gate.
Masters sponsors AT&T, Bank of America, Delta, IBM, Mercedes, Rolex, and UPS all have VIP hospitality houses off either the 1st or 10th holes to entertain and schmooze their guests. Off the course, many of those companies have this year also rented dozens of luxurious houses in nearby neighborhoods for their private, weeklong festivities.
But not everyone can be an Augusta member or Masters insider. So, most companies looking to capitalize on the first major championship of the year have to get creative to entertain.
“Golf is a great business sport,” Authentic Brands Group president of entertainment Corey Salter told Front Office Sports earlier this week at Augusta After Dark, an invite-only party hosted by Sports Illustrated and DraftKings. “The way that hospitality is being done at these events is next level.”
Just hours before the first round of the Masters began early Thursday morning, nearly 1,000 people packed a pop-up concert hall at an Augusta-area estate to see Foo Fighters front man Dave Grohl perform. VIP guests of ABG—the company’s portfolio includes sports-apparel companies Reebok and Champion, as well as fashion brands Guess and Juicy Couture—shared the space with celebrities including Kevin Hart, Shaquille O’Neal, and Ray Lewis.
With their premier party, DraftKings is among the companies that go all out in Augusta, especially since the Masters is its most-bet golf event. “We really want to go the extra mile,” DraftKings chief customer officer Shawn Henley told FOS. Event hosts are pushing to stand out by making the off-course hospitality as good as the on-course experience.
Another marquee experience is Rao’s, which hosts its popular pop-up restaurant that’s always in high demand at top events like the Masters and Super Bowl. On Thursday night, NFL stars Russell Wilson, Mike Tomlin, and soon-to-be No. 1 draft pick Fernando Mendoza were in attendance. So were some top Amazon executives, after Prime Video’s debut Masters broadcast during Round 1.
For patrons not lucky (or rich) enough to make it into Berckmans or Map & Flag—Augusta National’s other official hospitality option that costs $17,000 for a weekly pass—there’s also a thriving off-course entertainment market in the Georgia city that’s otherwise quiet for 51 weeks.
The Double Eagle Club, just a stone’s throw from Magnolia Lane across Washington Road, was the first such offering when Intersport founder Charlie Besser opened it in 1992. With several hundred members, club attendees and their guests are treated to all-inclusive food and drink all day during the Masters when they aren’t watching on the course.
The club has served as a key meeting spot where many crucial business deals have happened, like ESPN signing on as a Masters media-rights partner in 2008.
“To my surprise, I found out that no one at ESPN knew anybody at Augusta National,” Besser told FOS. “So, I hosted a luncheon and introduced Augusta National to ESPN. And then years later, ESPN became the Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday media partner.”
Augusta National members have been known to drop by the Double Eagle Club and nearby Club Magnolia throughout the years, looking for a more relaxed vibe than the tournament setting.
The demand for Masters experiences is surging alongside U.S. golf participation. In 2025, 48.1 million Americans played the sport, according to the National Golf Foundation. That number has been up every year since 2019, when 34.2 million Americans played. More A-list celebrities like LeBron James also continue to pick up golf—a nice selling point for the sport to new fans.
Although the Masters doesn’t release attendance figures, the grounds are visibly teeming, both at official venues and outside—some estimates put the number at a comfortable 40,000 to 50,000 patrons on-site each day. But this week, it’s felt like even more—patrons, Green Jackets, VIPs, celebrities, and all—not to mention the tens of thousands of others that never even make it into the tournament.
