I'll be headed to Augusta for my first time. Besides the typical rules no phones, can use cameras, no arm chair rules....what are some things gsalzano@havertys.com I should know? How early do I need to get there with traffic? Good places to hangout and watch? I know guys can come and go and play any amount of holes they want but are there any regular Monday guys that play? Good food to try or merchandise to buy? Good places to eat in augusta?

I need 1 Monday ticket, so ill give you some tips if you have one to sell.

My tips from experiencing the Wednesday practice round last year.

1) Gates open at 8:00, but you don't need to get there much earlier than that.
2) Buy your merchandise on your way in, and store it or ship it home. I plan on picking up a couple more Peter Millar shirts this year.
3) I guess you can race to 16 to setup a chair, but we just walked around and that was great.
4) Eat at least 1 of each type of sandwich, and drink plenty of beer. Hold on to a few cups to take home.
5) Head up to the clubhouse at some point and stand around the putting green.
6) Get your picture taken on Magnolia Lane

Good places to eat (by Augusta standards):

Sole (Downtown)
Whisky Bar (Downtown)
Farmhaus (Downtown)
Frog Hollow (Downtown)
Rhineharts (just north of I-20)
Tbonz (just south of I-20)

The single most important thing. SHOP EARLY.
Get in line early, get in the first gate and go straight to the shop and get your souvenirs. The gate to the course opens 30 or so minutes before the gate to the range/food/shop area. So use that time to get your stuff. If you wait until 10:00, the line will get ridiculously long. Ship your stuff home, you won't want to carry it.
When you go to the shop, get a chair. When the gates open, leave that chair somewhere you'd like to sit and watch for a while, because the course is a hike and you'll want a place to go and relax (nobody will mess with your chair). We put ours behind the tee on #12, you can watch the tee shots there and putts on #11.

Otherwise, just walk around and take it in, it's amazing.

booradley does a thread with his tips every year. Here it is from last year. Tons of good info.

https://texags.com/forums/60/topics/2731005/replies

The main gate souvenir shop was a **** show from the beginning last year. I say go get ur chairs down and then hit up the back souv shop. I believe it's near 15

bagger05 said:

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booradley does a thread with his tips every year. Here it is from last year. Tons of good info.

https://texags.com/forums/60/topics/2731005/replies

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I'll send an update in the next couple of days...

new news for this year is the new media center... I'm hearing they built the taj mahal of all media centers next to the driving range...

you can do anything with unlimited money....

Boo, where do you recommend sitting for the Par 3 tournament? Looking for a shaded spot near concessions and restroom facilities...if that spot exists. Thanks!

Electrical_Ag said:

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Boo, where do you recommend sitting for the Par 3 tournament? Looking for a shaded spot near concessions and restroom facilities...if that spot exists. Thanks!

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that's not an easy question to answer... the par 3 course is a small piece of land with thousands of people on it...

the par 3 gets more and more popular - which is why Wednesday tickets have skyrocketed...

I usually tell people to sit in the ivy behind the 9th green. its a hill, so you can see a lot (as long as youre not blocked by trees), and most people are reluctant to sit in the ivy...

but basically - the further you get into the course (and on the other side of the ponds), the less congested it is - but harder to get back. most people don't know theres a restroom and concessions on the far side and up that hill.

basically the par 3 course is a deep valley between the big course / cottages, and the south border of augusta national...

have fun...

Go to the back right of hole 5 looking over the pond to the green on 6 the players have to walk right by you in the way to the tee for 6.
If you are in the front row and have kids you can get a lot of stuff signed.

Just booked the rest of my weekend!

Saturday and Sunday staying at kiawah and playing the Ocean course plus two of the 3 others. May play 36 and get the 4th one in on Sunday. Waiting to hear back from a family friend to see if we can get on Cassique (not a humble brag just pumped for this golf weekend coming up)

I posted this in Boo's thread as well, but I don't recommend that you buy early. It's a madhouse first thing in the morning. Go later, and then absolutely use the UPS shipping station to get everything off of your hands.

I also posted this on the other thread ...

AWESOME informative posts. I've been blessed enough to go 11 times ... even played once after winning the media lottery in 1994.

Sidenote ... if anyone is interested in bartering 2 practice round tickets for a lot Pro V1s and/or new golf equipment, let me know!