| Masters Badges
Dear Ticket Guy,
I am looking to go to the Masters any year. This year would be great, but I am willing to wait until next year or so to go. Where can I get the best deal on a weekend badge? What about tickets for the week? Where am I going to get my best deal? The only thing I really need is to be there on Sunday. I am a college student just trying to live out a dream. Josh Gay
Tallahassee, FL Dear Josh Gay,
Its very simple. The Masters is a great time and you need to make it to the event at least once in your life. I go every year and love it and I am not even really a golf fan. I just love the event.
The weekend badge price can vary wildly based on the supply and demand, basically it is based on what the big ticket brokers need. If the brokers do not need them prices drop, if they need them, prices can go sky high.
The best way to get a deal is to either know someone or to make a new friend. I suggest jumping on the Internet and posting on every golf message board or chat site that you can find that you are a big fan and it is a dream of yours to go to the Masters. If you are sincere you might just stumble in to the right person that does not like selling to ticket brokers.
You can also do the same thing in Augusta the week of the event. Come down and hang out making sure that you ask everyone you encounter if they have any extra tickets. Again, some people just do not want a ticket broker to make any money off of their tickets and you might just make a new friend. It happens, I have seen Masters badges sold for face value when they were going for thousands of dollars.
If you are a poor college student I have two suggestions:
One, go for the practice rounds. The players are relaxed and its a great time watching them joke around and skipping balls over the water, etc. Plus, if you wait until about 11am, you can easily score a ticket for face value, if you wait until about 1pm you can usually get a ticket for free as people come off the course. The tickets are good for rentry and people give them away as they leave.
Two, and since you have already mentioned it, Sunday is the best day to score a deal. Come over to the course after 10am when the traffic has died down. Park near the course in the shopping mall where the IHOP is on Washington Road. Go in to the IHOP and have a nice breakfast. Take your time, read the newspaper and have a second cup of coffee. I recommend the omlets, very tasty.
After breakfast walk over to the course. There will still be scalpers and a few fans to make conversation with outside the main entrance off of Washington Road. If its hot, cute little local girls will be selling cold water. You may get lucky and score a badge immediately or it may take an hour or two but people will slowly start to come out after lunch. Some people are tired or some simply have to travel but people do stream out all afternoon. You can usually score a badge for $250 or less no later than 2pm. Some people if they are convinced you are not a scalper will give you a badge as they leave. I see it happen every year.
Then you go in, have a beer (bring your ID, college boy) and a piminto cheese sandwich and watch someone win the Masters.
Good luck and keep studying.
Carl "The Ticket Guy" White
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