Masters tickets are cheap for a major sporting event, but only the Super Bowl is harder to get into

Cork GainesApr 6, 2022, 22:31 IST

Patrons often wear all of their badges on their hats or shirts.Andrew Redington/Getty Images

Masters tickets are considered the second-hardest to obtain in sports, trailing only the Super Bowl.
Tickets — or badges — are cheap if you are lucky enough to be a patron or win the annual lottery.
If you don't get tickets directly from Augusta National, be prepared to spend thousands.

Patron badges

David Cannon/Getty Images

Owning a patron badge is like being a season-ticket holder for the Green Bay Packers, except more mysterious because nobody outside of Augusta National knows how many exist.

Once you have one, you can keep it for the rest of your life. You pay $375 each year, and you have access to the entire week at Augusta National for the Masters.

Children aged 8-16 can attend for free if they are with somebody with a patron badge. They do not have to be related.

Owning a patron badge is like being a season-ticket holder for the Green Bay Packers, except more mysterious because nobody outside of Augusta National knows how many exist.

Once you have one, you can keep it for the rest of your life. You pay $375 each year, and you have access to the entire week at Augusta National for the Masters.

Children aged 8-16 can attend for free if they are with somebody with a patron badge. They do not have to be related.

The waiting list for badges

Maybe we will see Tiger Woods at the Masters in red again.Augusta National via Getty Images

If a person who owns a patron badge dies, it can only be transferred to a surviving spouse. Other family members are not eligible. If there is no surviving spouse, the badge goes back into the pool and is awarded to somebody on the waiting list.

The patron waiting list is uber-exclusive. Augusta National first created it in 1972, and it got so long that Augusta closed the list in 1978. It was briefly re-opened in 2000, and Augusta National has not opened it since.

The secondary market for patron badges

Tickets can be scalped away from the course.Andrew Redington/Getty Images

The patron badges are typically available on the secondary market through ticket brokers or hospitality groups offering Masters packages. Sellers often put them up for sale daily, but that typically requires a sizeable deposit, and they must return the badge at the end of the day.

On various secondary ticket markets, badges for the 2022 tournament are going for a minimum of $1,500 for the opening round and $5,000 for all four days. Those numbers will likely go up if Tiger Woods does indeed play.

Daily tournament tickets

Augusta National/Getty Images

Since 2012, Augusta National has offered a limited number of tickets to each round through a lottery on their website. The deadline for applying for the lottery is typically in June during the previous year, and only one application is allowed per address.

Tickets for the 2022 tournament went for $115 each, and applicants were limited to two per round.

Practice round tickets

Jack Nicklaus walks during the Par 3 contest.Augusta National via Getty Images

Augusta National also offers tickets to the practice rounds on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, through the same lottery on their website.

Tickets for the 2022 practice rounds went for $75 each, and applicants were limited to four tickets per practice round.

Augusta National also offers tickets to the practice rounds on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, through the same lottery on their website.

Tickets for the 2022 practice rounds went for $75 each, and applicants were limited to four tickets per practice round.

Scalping tickets

Ticket scalped looking for Masters tickets.Getty Images

The big thing to remember when buying Masters tickets from scalpers is that it is against the law within 2,700 feet of Augusta National.

People will also often wait outside of Augusta and ask for tickets from people leaving the tournament. Because of this practice, Augusta National now limits each to three re-entries per round.