Monday, August 10, 2026

From Green Jackets to Black Cards: Masters VIP Arms Race Escalates

The Masters is an experience unlike any other for patrons on-site—especially for those who can afford luxury options around Augusta National.

Apr 9, 2025; Augusta, Georgia, USA; Patrons move about the course during a practice round for the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club.
Peter Casey-Imagn Images

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Augusta National Golf Club may have fewer trees this year, but off the course, the home of The Masters Tournament has gotten even bigger in several major luxury areas.

Map & Flag, what the club describes as “the official Masters hospitality experience,” has debuted a second floor at the 26,000-square-foot venue that opened across Washington Road last year

With high-end food and beverage, tournament access, and its own merchandise shop included, around 2,500 weekly badges were sold at roughly $17,000 each—that’s more than $42 million in ticket revenue. However, several insiders speculated Map & Flag could easily have space for 4,000 ticket holders moving forward.

“The popularity of this venue inspires us to consider what else may be possible in future years,” Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley said Wednesday.

Map & Flag is a complement to Augusta National’s longtime ultra-exclusive on-course offering, Berckmans Place, which is a popular hangout spot for Green Jacket–wearing club members. Ticket prices for that VIP space, which is just off the fifth hole, are not public, but one source pegged it around $25,000 for this week.

The More, the Merrier

Speaking of add-ons, the addition of Bank of America as a fourth champion partner of The Masters meant makeovers for the hospitality buildings used by the other three top-tier tournament sponsors: AT&T, IBM, and Mercedes. 

Hidden behind the trees just off the 10th fairway sit four two-story luxury houses with top-shelf amenities reserved for those Masters sponsors and their guests. Last year, there were just three one-story buildings. It’s unclear how much those projects cost and whether the incumbent sponsor homes were simply renovated or torn down altogether and reconstructed.

Augusta National also completed construction of a private underground parking structure for its two-phase players’ services project, which will see a state-of-the-art facility for Masters invitees and their families open in 2026.

Watch Party

With more global media-rights partners than ever before, The Masters welcomed more than 50 different production trucks (running an estimated 270 miles of fiber cables) that operate behind Augusta National’s content center that sits on the edge of club property. 

Top broadcasters such as CBS, ESPN, Golf Channel, and Sky Sports don’t film from that compound—they record from TV towers, The Butler Cabin, and another house-turned-studio overlooking the practice area—but it is the hub for their TV production, as well as everything on the Masters app. Typically, the Augusta National digital team is roughly a dozen people, but around the Masters, that balloons to about 150, to pump out as much content as possible. 

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Sign up for
The Memo Newsletter

Get the biggest stories and best analysis on the business of sports delivered to your inbox twice every weekday and twice on weekends.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

US Open Ticket Prices Surge Despite Sinner, Alcaraz Questions

Ticket prices kept climbing through both stars’ Cincinnati withdrawals.
Aug 4, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Tarik Skubal (29) delivers a pitch against the Chicago Cubs during the first inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

Dodgers’ Late-Season Slide Complicates MLB’s Salary Cap Push

The two-time defending champions haven’t been a juggernaut lately.

How the Chicago Sky Found the League’s Biggest Revelation

Sydney Taylor went undrafted in 2024 and played two years in Europe.

Saudi PIF Chief Joins Trump Amid LIV Golf Funding Push

It was Al-Rumayyan’s first LIV appearance since PIF pulled funding in April.
podcast thumbnail mobile
Front Office Sports Today

8/10/26 – WNBA’s Weekend of Controversy, Senate Punts on College Sports Bill, Kyle Shanahan’s Autopilot Confession

0:00

Featured Today

Joey Spallina of the Maryland Whipsnakes

How Eye Black Became ‘War Paint’ on the Field

“You’re going into battle, doing something you only do on game days.”
August 6, 2026

Tom Brady Explains His Aggressive Push Into Trading Cards

Brady talked to FOS about his eponymous card company.
FILE PHOTO: Cricket - Indian Premier League - IPL - Mumbai Indians v Chennai Super Kings - Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, India - April 23, 2026 Mumbai Indians' Suryakumar Yadav in action
August 5, 2026

India Is Stealing Cricket’s Throne From England and Australia

India’s insatiable appetite for cricket has shifted the traditional locus of power.
WPBL
July 30, 2026

Who’s Playing Women’s Professional Baseball?

Sixty players from 11 countries are descending on Illinois for six weeks.
Tom's Watch Bar
July 17, 2026

Sports Bars Are Cashing In From Summer of Soccer

The World Cup has brought a windfall to America’s biggest sports bars.
August 9, 2026

Sinner Joins Alcaraz in Withdrawing From Cincinnati, Clouding US Open

Carlos Alcaraz previously withdrew from Cincinnati with a wrist injury.
August 9, 2026

FIFA Alleges ‘Concerted’ Effort to ‘Undermine’ Infantino

FIFA said it will not ‘tolerate’ any process inconsistent with its democratic procedures.
Sponsored

Saints Great Turns to Ownership

Marques Colston discusses his Champions Fund launch and finding success after football.
August 9, 2026

Caitlin Clark Avoids Suspension As WNBA Rescinds Technical Foul

Sky guard DiJonai Carrington was also ejected for a flagrant foul.
August 8, 2026

Engelbert, WNBA Teams to Discuss Transgender Eligibility Rules

The issue was sparked by comments made by Sophie Cunningham.
President Donald Trump waves as he leaves Trump International Golf Club on March 28, 2026, in West Palm Beach, Florida.
August 7, 2026

Trump’s Growing Pro Golf Influence on Display at Bedminster

Trump Bedminster is hosting LIV Golf New York this week.
August 7, 2026

How Real American Freestyle Thinks It Could Change Wrestling

RAF has renegotiated its media-rights deal with Fox Nation eight times.