So, you’ve won the Masters ticket lottery and will be in attendance at Augusta National for an annual tradition unlike any other. 

Congratulations! Your friends all hate you now. 

Getting out to the Masters is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, the big one on every golf betting fan’s bucket list. There’s a mystique about the whole event that makes one feel as though they’re embarking on a sacred pilgrimage - preparing to cross the holy gates, beyond which lies 18 of the finest golf holes known to man. 

Those things are all (mostly) true regarding the golf course and event. It is one of the few modern day experiences that somehow exceeds even the most unrealistic expectations for first-time attendees. 

All of this can be had for just $140 for those lucky enough to win the annual Masters ticket lottery, which allows would-be patrons to apply for a random drawing that will award practice round and tournament tickets to a select number of entrants each year. 

As for the rest of the experience, costs can add up quickly.

You’ll get no sympathy whatsoever, but attending the Masters for the first time can get a little tricky given the limited infrastructure and soaring costs everywhere in town for tournament week. It’s one of those things where a few helpful hints and timely advice can make all the difference. Which starts with knowing what you’re getting into from a travel perspective. 

While the tickets are cheaper than any other major sporting event, it’s not a modestly-priced trip for out-of-towners. 

We calculated the cost for a Masters 2023 visit for two lottery winners to be $1,904.12 for a one-day trip, arriving in Georgia Thursday to attend the second round Friday before departing later that night. 

Ultimate Travel Guide To 2023 Masters

It’s still a reasonable number for a trip you’ll never regret. And it starts with understanding the ins-and-outs of the event and the town in which it has been played since 1934. 

What is now widely considered the most important golf tournament in the world wasn’t such a hot ticket in the early days. Almost all in attendance were local and many got in for free back then, with Augusta National giving away tickets as it tried to establish itself as a legitimate major championship. There wasn’t even a waiting list for week-long badges until 1972. 

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That explains why there was no massive infrastructure boom surrounding the property, which isn’t the first, second, or third place you’d ever think to hold the Super Bowl of golf.

This will quickly become apparent for first-time visitors as they start to book travel to Augusta.

Getting To 2023 Masters 

There are no major airports near the town. Masters trips for an average patron begin with a flight into Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International airport, roughly 147 miles west of Augusta National. 

Flights aren’t exactly dirt cheap, but they’re not outrageous. We averaged out the price of three separate flights out of New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, arriving in Atlanta Thursday, April 6 and departing Friday, April 7. 

Those airline tickets come out to $417.98, for a total of $835.96 for two round trips. 

Rental cars aren’t hard to come by. One can secure a midsize SUV from Dollar Rental for $157.58, picking up Thursday afternoon and dropping off Friday night. Gas costs for the entire trip will be about $40. 

Hotel Accommodation At 2023 Masters

Then it’s time to make the 2-hour, 20-minute drive to Augusta, where one will discover local hotels that are not of the same mind as ANGC concessions operators when it comes to price gouging. Nightly stays cost five times what they would any other week of the year, at least. And you’re not staying at the Ritz Carlton, contrary to what the rates might suggest. 

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We averaged out the cost of a one-night stay at 24 hotels within five miles of the golf course and found that visitors can expect to pay an average of $545.58 after taxes. The Knights Inn Augusta at Boy Scout Road is the most affordable option at $200 per night, while Wingate by Wyndham Augusta is the priciest at $1,374. 

The closest option, the Quality Inn & Suites Augusta I-20, is just 1.22 miles from the course and costs $723 for Thursday night. Guests should not expect any extra amenities or hospitality from what has to be the most expensive Quality Inn in America for seven days of the year.

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Food Options Around Augusta

Another thing about Augusta National most don’t realize is you won’t know you’re there until you’re there. Washington Road, the main drag off which patrons will park, isn’t exactly Magnolia Lane. Jim Nantz won’t be there to welcome you with soft piano playing in the background and azaleas falling from the sky as you cruise to the course. 

Instead, you’ll find just about every fast food option in America, big drugstore chains, a few local restaurants and the Hooters where John Daly – unironically, it seems - posts up every year to sign merchandise. We recommend heading for the course as early as possible, as it can take an hour to drive just a few miles once traffic picks up. 

TBonz Steakhouse is the “nice” dinner option, with affordable steaks and old school vibes for those lucky enough to secure a table. To do so, you’ll have to know someone, grease someone, or fight someone – it’s the most packed place on the strip all week. 

There’s something oddly satisfying about the contrast from course to city – one day you’re rubbing elbows with the khaki’d, polo’d masses at Twin Peaks and the next you’re looking out over Amen Corner contemplating the meaning of life. 

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Don't Bring Your Phone

Once a party of two arrives at the golf course Friday morning, they’ll hand over the tickets for which they paid just $280 total. They will only be allowed to do so if they remember to leave their cell phones in the car. There are no second chances at Augusta National. Those found to be holding phones will be removed from the property even if it was an accident. 

Should the need to make an important call or just brag to coworkers arise, old-school phone banks are located near the merchandise building off hole No. 1. 

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Head Straight To Amen Corner

Many patrons will flock straight to the merchandise building, but we don’t recommend it. They will ship merchandise but you don’t want to be stuck carrying bags of hats and posters around all day. Plus, early morning is the best time to hit Amen Corner before it gets too crowded. Hit the merch building on the way out.

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Holes No. 11-13 are the most well-known and spectacular on the whole property. They’re also the furthest from the clubhouse, so the main area surrounding the 11^th green and 12^th tee box will become jam packed throughout the afternoon as fans meander through the course and arrive at the most famous stretch in golf. 

Get a jump on the crowds. Once you enter the course, walk straight to the 10^th tee box and down the massive slope leading to Amen Corner. It can be a tough walk for some, so be prepared. And watch your step if it’s raining.  Countless sprained ankles and embarrassing falls have put a dampener on individual trips over the years. 

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Concessions Prices at 2023 Masters

One of the biggest concessions stands on the course is adjacent to the 13^th fairway, with plenty of shade and picnic tables to enjoy breakfast. We recommend a chicken or sausage biscuit and coffee, though one will be tempted to indulge once they see the prices. 

Chicken biscuits are only $2, coffee is $1.50. 

Lunch is ridiculously cheap as well, with pimento cheese and egg salad sandwiches priced at $1.50. A ham and cheese on rye or classic chicken is $3 and beers are $5 a pop. 

Throughout the day you could consume one chicken biscuit, one coffee, one pimento cheese sandwich, one ham and cheese on rye, two domestic beers, one bag of chips and one cookie for just $21 total. That brings the concessions budget to $42 for two people. 

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Check Out Hole No. 8

It can get exhausting fighting the crowds, at times, though everyone is very polite about the whole thing. That’s why we recommend an early-afternoon trip to one of the most sparsely populated areas on the course.

The walk along the par-5 eighth hole is uphill the entire way. It’s a bit of a workout, which isn’t a bad thing after pounding three sandwiches and two beers. The eighth green is a hidden gem of a location to post up for a while. It provides expansive views of the course in a birds-eye view you can’t get anywhere else. 

The eighth green is also guarded by several large mounds and players often have to get creative with the wedges, so you’ll get to see a bunch of guys hit all sorts of different shots into and around this green. Just off the eighth green is the ninth tee, where you can watch players bomb severely downhill shots that seem like they’ll never actually land. 

Holes No. 3-5 are skippable if you’re crunched for time, though the short par-4 third is a really fun one for the diehard golf nerds to see how different players attack it.

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Afternoon Stop at Hole No. 16

We’d recommend spending late afternoon at the par-3 16^th, where there’s plenty of room to sit and relax for a while. You’ll also want to check out the location where Tiger Woods was chipping from when he made birdie en route to his fourth green jacket in 2005, leading to one of the most iconic calls of all time from Verne Lundquist – ‘In your life have you seen anything like that?!’ 

The same can be said for ticket lottery winners seeing the property for the first time. There is nothing else like Augusta National, no other course that elicits such strong emotions from visitors. Words simply don’t do it justice. 

Those lucky patrons won’t remember that they paid $1,904 and change for the trip a few years down the road. It’s a priceless experience, something they’ll carry with them in some fashion for the rest of their lives. 

Speaking of holding on to things, don’t forget to snag a few empty souvenir beer cups on your way out. All your jealous friends will then have a piece of the Masters to carry with them as well.