Venue
Washington Road, Augusta, Georgia, United States
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Masters Tournament guide
Green jackets and the Augusta ballot.
In short
The Masters suits golf fans who want to see the one major that never changes course. It is held every April in the first full week, fixed by Augusta National Golf Club years ahead. Daily tickets come only through an online draw held almost a year before, so enter the ballot first and look for a bed after.
The Masters opens golf's men's major season every spring, and it is the only one of the four that never changes course. Augusta National, the private Georgia club that Bobby Jones helped create, stages it each April, and the winner is helped into a green jacket that has become the most recognisable prize in the game.
Part of its pull is how little changes from year to year. The same holes return every April, so fans know the shots before they are played, and Sunday afternoons are often settled at Amen Corner, the run of holes 11, 12 and 13. The club runs the week on its own terms, and that sense of an invitation is what visitors remember.
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Key Facts & Stats:
Ends: Sunday, 11 April 2027
Where: Augusta, United States
Venue: Augusta National Golf Club
Held: Every year
Type of event: Sporting Events
Currency: US dollar (USD, $)
Time zone: Eastern Time (UTC-5, UTC-4 in summer)
Language: English (Spanish widely spoken)
Map
Getting around
Hotels near the venue fill up around the event dates.
The phone ban and when cameras are allowed
Augusta National bans mobile phones on the grounds at all times, practice days included, and staff enforce it. Lock yours in the car or leave it at your lodging. Do not try to smuggle one in.
Cameras are allowed on the practice days but banned once the tournament rounds begin. Agree a meeting place and time with your group before you go through the gates, since you cannot text each other once inside. Old-fashioned habits help: a printed map, a written note of where you parked, and a watch.
Rules for chairs, bag sizes and banned items
- Chairs
- one folding chair per person, without arms or spikes. A chair lets you hold one spot all afternoon.
- Bags
- nothing larger than 10 by 10 by 12 inches.
- Banned
- outside food and drink, coolers, flags and signs, strollers, and golf shoes with metal spikes.
Wear comfortable walking shoes. A full day on foot covers a lot of ground, much of it on grass slopes.
Patron etiquette on the course
The club expects good manners and gets them. Stay behind the ropes and stand where marshals point you, keep quiet over every shot, and save the cheering for after the ball has landed.
Park only in marked spaces, and leave bays for disabled drivers alone. If the official lots are full, find a private one; do not park on a verge.
Weather, children's tickets and comfort on the course
Early April in Georgia is usually mild, but showers are possible. Pack a light rain layer that folds into a small bag, plus sunscreen and a cap for the open fairways.
There is no minimum age for spectators, so children can come along, and practice days suit them best. Bring layers for the morning, as the first hours on the course can feel cool before the sun gets up.
What happens on the day
- Monday and Tuesday
Practice rounds
The cheapest and calmest days. Walk all eighteen holes, stop where you like and listen to players talk shots through with their caddies.
- Wednesday
Last practice and the Par 3 Contest
A final practice session, then the relaxed afternoon on the short course, often with players' families caddying.
- Thursday and Friday
First and second rounds
The full field, from the first morning tee times until the last groups finish in the evening. The cut comes after Friday.
- Saturday
Moving day
The weekend field narrows to those who made the cut, and the crowd follows the leaders.
- Sunday
The back nine
Find a spot early and stay there. The roars from Amen Corner tell you the leaderboard before any scoreboard does; the green jacket is presented at dusk.
Etiquette and dress
No phones
Mobile phones and other electronic devices are banned on the grounds on every day of the week. Leave yours in the car; there are free public phones on the course.
Cameras on practice days only
You may bring a camera Monday to Wednesday, but not during the tournament rounds.
Walk, never run
Running is not allowed anywhere on the course, and patrons are expected to keep quiet while players are over the ball.
Chairs and seats
Folding chairs without arms are allowed, and you can leave one at a green and come back to it later; nobody moves another patron's chair.
Entering the Augusta ticket ballot and booking a room
Everything starts with the ballot. Augusta National sells daily tickets only through an online draw held almost a year ahead. For 2027 it opened in early June 2026 and shut on 20 June, winners were told in July, and the tickets themselves arrive in March 2027. If you missed it, set a reminder for the 2028 draw, which should follow the same rhythm about a year out.
Prices at the gate are modest by major standards: about $125 for Monday or Tuesday practice, $150 on Wednesday and $160 a day once the scoring rounds begin. The secondary market is another matter. State law forbids reselling tickets anywhere within 2,700 feet of the property, so anyone offering tickets near Washington Road is breaking the law, and a voided ticket means a long drive for nothing.
How Bobby Jones and Clifford Roberts founded the Masters
Bobby Jones, the outstanding amateur of his day, built the club with Clifford Roberts. Work on the course began in 1931 and it opened in 1933. A year later came the first tournament, under the plain name Augusta National Invitation Tournament. The Masters title took over later, but the founders' habits never left: a short list of rules, a private club setting the terms, and a green jacket for the winner.
The vocabulary is part of it. Spectators are patrons here, and the club treats them as invited guests.
Nothing shows that better than the food. Concession prices are famously low. On the 2026 menu the pimento cheese and egg salad sandwiches cost $1.50 each, most other sandwiches $3.00 and a beer $6.00. The pimento cheese is the one regulars tell you to try first. Finish with the Georgia Peach ice cream sandwich, also $3.00. Plan to eat lunch on the course, since nobody who walks out wants to rejoin the traffic.
Getting there
Augusta Regional (AGS)
The nearest commercial airport, about 4 miles from the gates and 10 to 20 minutes by road.
Via Atlanta
For more choice of flights, fly into Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International and drive about 145 miles east on I-20, roughly 2 to 2.5 hours. Check US entry rules (ESTA or a visa) for your passport.
By car
A car is close to essential; hire one early, as demand peaks the same week. The club's own parking off Berckmans Road is free and first-come, and holds more than 8,500 cars.
Tournament mornings
In 2026 the I-20 exit onto eastbound Washington Road closed at 7 a.m., sending traffic round by Riverwatch Parkway and Alexander Drive. Follow the official parking map.
Taxis and rideshare
Taxis wait at 2740 Washington Road, and rideshare cars drop off along the same road. Private lots nearby charged around $40 to $60 in 2026, usually in cash.
Where to stay during the festival
Hotel rooms in Augusta go months ahead, and many residents move out and let their homes for the week instead. For a group sharing ballot tickets, a rented house is often the better deal and comes with a kitchen and a driveway.
Book the day your ballot result arrives. If the city is full, Aiken and the towns along I-20 are the usual fallbacks, with a longer drive on tournament mornings.
Weather and what to pack
Early April in Augusta is spring at its best, with the azaleas usually in flower. NOAA's 1991-2020 normals for Augusta Regional Airport give April an average high of 25.8°C (78.5°F) and a low of 10.3°C (50.6°F), with 74 mm of rain over about eight days.
Mornings can be chilly at the gate and afternoons warm on the slopes, and a thunderstorm can suspend play, so dress in layers.
Worth packing
- A light layer for the early morning gate
- A compact rain jacket (umbrellas are allowed, but check the current list)
- Comfortable walking shoes for the hills
- A folding chair without arms
- Sunscreen and a hat
- A small bag within the club's size limit
Car hire in Augusta
Airport transfer to Masters Tournament
Met at arrivals and driven door to door to Augusta National Golf Club.
Restaurants and food in United States
Places to eat in United States before or after the celebrations.
Joe's Stone Crab
11 Washington Avenue, Miami Beach, FL 33139, United States
Cuisine:SeafoodAmerican
- Dine-in
- Takeaway
- Bar
Alinea
1723 North Halsted Street, Chicago, IL 60614, United States
Cuisine:ModernistAmerican
- Dine-in
- Counter seating
Franklin Barbecue
900 East 11th Street, Austin, TX 78702, United States
Cuisine:Texas barbecueAmerican
- Dine-in
- Takeaway
Commander's Palace
1403 Washington Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70130, United States
Cuisine:CreoleNew Orleans
- Dine-in
Katz's Delicatessen
205 East Houston Street, New York, NY 10002, United States
Cuisine:Jewish deliAmerican
- Dine-in
- Takeaway
- Counter seating
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Timing & weather
About 7,500 yards, played to a par of 72. Those figures cover the championship course only; the short course next to it is a separate layout.
The club has already fixed them: 6 to 9 April 2028 and 5 to 8 April 2029, both following the usual first-full-week pattern.
General
A relaxed Wednesday event on the club's nine-hole short course, which plays to a par of 27. It has been part of Masters week since 1960, and it closes the practice week on a lighter note.
Rory McIlroy, for the second year running. He finished at 12 under par, a stroke clear of Scottie Scheffler, and took home $4.5 million.
Not on general sale. Series badges covering all four tournament days go to a closed patron list. Everyone else applies for individual days through the annual ballot.
The Augusta National Women's Amateur. In 2027 it runs from 1 to 4 April, finishing the weekend before Masters week begins.
For one year. Champions have received the jacket since 1949, and after their year as holder it goes back to the club, where it stays.
Georgia. The city lies on the Savannah River, which forms the state line, so South Carolina is just across the water.
Booking
Anyone aged 21 or over, through the official online ballot. Each applicant can request up to four tickets for a chosen day.
Usually between 85 and 100, a small field for a major. Places go to past champions, the leading professionals and a handful of top amateurs, all by invitation.
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