Augusta National extends Masters charm to exclusive hospitality site – The Augusta Chronicle
A new Masters Tournament hospitality site run by the Augusta National Golf Club promises an atmosphere of festive exclusivity that could rival the 2024 tournament itself.
Named Map & Flag, the leisure venue across Washington Road from the National will offer what club Chairman Fred Ridley called the “Masters Hospitality Experience” announced in a pre-tournament press conference, the trade publication Sports Business Journal reported.
“The Official Masters Hospitality Experience will offer guests authentic tickets to enjoy all the action of the Tournament, with the ease and comfort afforded by the first and only official Tournament hospitality venue outside the gates of Augusta National,” according to the hospitality section of the tournament’s website.
The tickets cost $17,000 for the entire Masters Week, and there are no daily tickets. Demand prompted the National to close its “registry of interest” for the venue after the club sold an unspecified number.
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The ticket price includes a tournament badge. Employee tips and gratuities are included. It’s scheduled to be open each day from 6:30 a.m. until an hour after play concludes.
The Journal identified Map & Flag’s location obliquely, saying “while the size of Map & Flag was not officially disclosed, one source said the size of Augusta’s former Electrolux building – where Map & Flag is located – was 26,000 square feet.”
The former Electrolux building anchors an end of National Hills Shopping Center, just a short walk from the Augusta National. Construction crews outside 2715 Washington Rd. on Thursday appeared to be examining finishing touches on a building that now includes wrought-iron balconies and an antique exterior that, in places, mimics distressed plaster and brick.
Inside, more than 80 televisions will broadcast Masters coverage to guests visiting one of the venue’s multiple full-service bars. Map & Flag also includes a Masters merchandise shop and an outdoor garden, the Journal reported.
The venue’s dining areas include The Grille, offering “an elevated take on classic Tournament fare with masterfully crafted sandwiches,” according to its customers-only website. The Carvery serves Western-style entrees such as beef brisket, pork ribs and a choice of sides.
The Marketplace includes morning coffee, donuts, pastries and “seasonal fruit, vibrant salads, charcuterie and cheese selections, along with freshly shucked oysters and chilled shrimp cocktail starting at 11 a.m.,” the website said.
Each dining area will be open from 6:30 a.m. to closing, with Grille and Carvery closing briefly daily from 10 to 11 a.m.
The name Map & Flag suggests the iconic Masters logo: a pin flag marking Augusta’s place on a United States map.
