AP Photo/Charlie Riedel
If you think it's tough to get tickets to Augusta National for the weekend of the Masters, gaining actual membership to the club is even more challenging.
Augusta National is likely the most prestigious course in the country, if not the world, and takes its membership extremely seriously. Membership is strictly by invitation only, with an estimated 300 members or so at any given time.
Publicly campaigning to join the club, or even simply stating your interest, is considered uncouth among the green jacket community, as Bill Gates once found out — though the billionaire was eventually admitted as a member.
Estimates for the cost of membership at Augusta National cover quite a range, with Golf.com estimating a club initiation fee "in the range of $40,000" and Forbes estimating the cost to range from $250,000 to $500,000.
Regardless of what it costs to become a member at Augusta National, the chances are that if you are worried about the price, you're not getting an invite anyways.