How can you play Augusta National?
We explain how you can wheedle your way into playing Augusta National, but, spoiler alert: It’s harder than you might think…
It’s every golfer’s dream to walk the fairway of the most prestigious golf club in the world but is it even possible to play it? We take a look at how to play Augusta National without being a member.
How to play Augusta National
Be a top women’s Amateur
From 2019 the final round of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur will be played the week before the Masters while the first two rounds of the event will be held at Champions Retreat with the top 30 players and ties who make the cut playing a tournament round at Augusta.
Despite this, all players will play a practice round at Augusta National on the Friday before the final round so even if you go home early you still get the chance to play the course.
Become a volunteer
It’s a tough method, like any of the ways to play Augusta, but if you can manage to talk your way in to becoming a volunteer at the course you will get the chance to play it the month after the tournament.
Play college golf
There a major golfing perks to going to one of the nearby Augusta University as once a year the golf team are invited to play the course.
Join Augusta Country Club
It’s not quite the real deal but just a stone’s throw away from Augusta National is Augusta Country Club. It’s been known in the past that if Augusta National need one more player to make up a fourball then they will make a quick call to the Country Club to see if anyone is around to join them.
Become a caddie
This doesn’t necessarily mean becoming a full-time caddie for a tour player – although nice work if you can get it. At Augusta National they have local caddies, just like at St Andrews and some other elite courses across the UK.
Augusta’s caddie service, ‘Caddie Masters Enterprise’, puts you through vigorous computer tests before you can be put on the programme.
But once you have passed the tests and started to make a name for yourself as a caddie you will be able to work at Augusta National and then play the course once a year.
Win the media ballot
The first step to this process is gaining a media pass to the Masters which is a hard job in itself.
If you manage to gain accreditation, you will be entered into a ballot where 20 members of the media will be drawn out to play the course on the day after the final round has finished. It’s a dream chance to play Augusta while it is set up for tournament play.
Get a job at Augusta National
Every so often Augusta will advertise jobs on the Augusta Chronicle website, or via their own media. A nice perk of your duties is that you will be able to play the course once a year.
Know a member
One of the simpler ways to play the course is to know a member. We’re not all on first name terms with Bill Gates but there are a reported 300 members at Augusta National.
If you’re lucky you might know one who can get you on the course.
How to play Augusta National: Now have your say
Have you ever been lucky enough to play Augusta National? What was the experience like? Let us know by dropping us a line on X.
Matthew Beedle
Matthew has been playing golf since he was around 13 and took up the game at a local nine-hole municipal course with his friends before joining Pontefract & District Golf Club just over the hedge.
Still a member of Pontefract with a handicap of 3, he currently sits on the board of directors to help with digital and marketing initiatives in order to improve membership and visitor income.
Matthew graduated university with a First Class in Sports Journalism from Leeds Trinity University and has been working in the golf industry since graduating.
NCG’s social media & marketing manager, Matthew’s main job role is to increase website traffic to the National Club Golfer website via our email and social media channels as well as driving entries to grow our NCG Top 100s Tour events amongst other tasks.
Not one to change his equipment too often, Matthew currently plays the TaylorMade M2 driver which has lasted the test of time in his bag. Elsewhere, you’ll find him using the TaylorMade Stealth 2 three-wood with a Ping G425 Crossover 2-iron to aid his long game.
Through his 4-iron to Gap Wedge, Matthew uses the Ping i500 irons accompanied by Ping’s Glide 3.0 56-degree and 60-degree wedges.
Another club that has stood the test of time in his bag is a Nike Method Core MC-3i putter which has had to have the SuperStroke grip changed at least three times. Ball of choice is the Titleist ProV1.
