AUGUSTA, Ga. — Map & Flag, Augusta’s newest high-end hospitality venue, is open for business and the early reviews are positive.
“It’s Augusta. They did it perfect,” said a golf industry veteran who hosts clients at the Masters every year. “First year deal, you’d think there would be issues but, no, it works and my people love it.”
Map & Flag is the first and only official Masters hospitality experience outside the gates of Augusta National Golf Club. Located on the corner of Berckmans and Washington Road, it is a seven-minute walk to access the club’s North Gate. Sports Business Journal previously reported that weekly passes cost $17,000 each and includes access to the hospitality venue as well as a tournament badge. The venue opens daily at 6:30 am ET for valet, shuttle drop-offs and breakfast services and closes one hour following conclusion of play.
Berckmans Place, which debuted in 2013 as the ultimate golden ticket, is tucked in an oasis behind the fifth fairway at Augusta National and is a modernized version of the famed white antebellum clubhouse. One patron, who has been to Berckmans previously and visited Map & Flag on Monday, described the difference as the latter being “a more chill vibe with less important people.” Another industry veteran who had been to both said they are meant to be different and described Map & Flag as a giant sports bar that is “simple and elegant.”
It is built on the grounds of Augusta’s former Electrolux building, which was 26,000 square feet. This year, only the hospitality zone’s first floor is open but a second floor is expected to be completed for next year.
A first look at Map & Flag, the Official Masters Hospitality Experience. #themasters pic.twitter.com/siXUwU5XxC
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 8, 2024
This is how the Masters website describes the new venue: “Featuring a merchandise shop, inclusive food and beverage with chef-inspired food concepts, an outdoor garden and more, Map & Flag offers guests a premium patron experience to enjoy all the action of the Tournament with a level of service only found at the Masters.” Tips are included, too. The website also notes that tickets sold out this year, but there is a form to apply for tickets for 2025.
For years, unauthorized hospitality venues, typically located just outside the gates, have filled a need with corporate sponsors looking for tickets and a place to tend to their guests. The creation of Map & Flag surely is going to impact the secondary market. According to one source, the clientele that typically purchases off-site hospitality and tickets were among the first to sign up for the Masters-approved off-site hospitality.
“What you get from the Masters is 10 times better than being part of some off-site group that’s not affiliated and using tickets that aren’t theirs,” one Map & Flag user said.
Another user speculated that knowing Augusta National, it wouldn’t surprise them if the club built an underground tunnel to transport patrons to and from the off-site hospitality and the course without having to leave the property.
Time will tell but the early returns suggest Augusta National has hit another home run.
As one early visitor to Map & Flag said, “They have yet to miss.”