A colleague at work has cerebral palsy. He and I have found much common ground but especially golf. For the last two years we have got together on 'major' weekends to watch the tournament. Of course, this weekend we watched the British Open. During yesterdays tournament he opined that one thing he wishes to do before he dies is to go to the Masters. I haven't said anything to him but I would like to fulfill his dream. I need information on how to go about getting 'badges' for a practice round or better still a tournament round, nearby places to stay that are accessible to wheelchairs, where I/we could rent a 'scooter' so we can walk around the course and any other tips that could prove helpful. Thank you very much for any assistance you could provide.

Did a quick search on google...

http://www.mastersgolftickets.com/

http://www.mastersgolfbadges.com/masters_tickets.html

Unless you are willing to pay big bucks for tickets, go to the Master's website (do a google search) and sign up for the practice round lottery.

Anytime we've gone, we have gotten tickets from knowing someone who knows someone who knows someone (I'm not kidding).

The practice rounds are much more fun because the players will talk to you and the atmosphere isn't tense.

The most surprising thing about Augusta National is that the concessions are so cheap. I think it cost us $5 for two beers and two sandwiches. Also, you will see zero advertising.

Thanks for the responses. I know badges will be difficult to get but I am going to try.

JJDave -- I don't mean to discourage you, but the Masters are known as the toughest ticket in sports. I'm wondering if there might be an organization for those with cerebral palsy or even one of the big corporate sponsors of the event who might set aside tickets for handicapped spectators. You might try this?

lisettemac...thank you for the suggestion. I have emailed the local cerebral palsy organization to see what advice they may provide (especially for accessible accommodation and rental of a scooter) but have not yet received a response.

JJDave-
I have no advice to give you, but I wanted to say that your post brought a tear to my eye! What a wonderful, kind, fantastic thing to do for someone!! It's great to see something so nice among the sometimes bitter and nasty posts on this site! Good luck in your quest for tickets!

I have used www.encoretickets.com on a regular basis to purchase hard to find tickets for company events. I know they use to sell master badges as well.

Try calling Augusta National directly and maybe they will be able to help you out. Also, ask them about the motorized wheelchair as they may not allow them (noise). Being that they are a private club, they do not have to be ADA complient. You may have to use a non-motorized wheelchair. I wish you the best of luck!

Thank you everyone for your replies. Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Both my colleague and I are in our early 50s and neither of us have every golfed however, you would be hard pressed to find bigger golf nuts. When the Masters is on we get out our 40 some pages of related trivia and course information just to make sure the announcers don't make mistakes. Last year my wife and I were able to walk the 'old' course at St. Andrews. I got to stand in the road hole bunker and cross the Silken Bridge. If my feelings of elation are any where near what my colleague will (hopefully) experience I will be well pleased.

OK, I got this information on the Practice Round Ticket Lottery from www.Augusta.com and I hope it helps!



Tickets to the Masters

If you don't already know, tickets for practice rounds are pre-sold years in advance and the the waiting list for actual tournament tickets has been closed for even longer.

So if you don't have a ticket already for the Masters Tournament, you're out of luck. There are no ticket booths open for the tournament.

To get on the list for updates on future Masters practice round tickets, you can send your name and address to:

The Masters
P.O. Box 2047
Augusta, GA., 30903

They'll send you information on the ticket lottery.

If you still want to attend the Masters Tournament this year and you are willing to spend a little money then there are ways to acquire a ticket. A whole cottage industry has sprung up on the Web to provide hard to get tickets to every sporting event under the sun, including the Masters.

Expect to pay anywhere from $220 to $260 for a practice ticket and $1300 to $1800 for a single day tournament ticket.

GoTravel..Thanks you for the reply. I was somewhat aware of the cost and am quite prepared to pay what I will need to get there. It is even worse for us as we will be coming from Canada (Toronto or Montreal) so we have the additional cost due to the exchange rate. If that's what we have to pay to fulfill a dream then so be it.

JJ:

If you want to attend in 2004, the practice round lottery applications have already come and gone. So you'll have to go through the ticket broker route for 2004 unless you have a friend of a friend of a friend - yes it is true - that how I've been able to attend too and I grew up in Augusta. Brokers are very $$$ and buyer beware. The Masters actively discourages reselling of badges by threatening patrons with removal from the patron list (a patron is a subscriber who can buy badges every year for life as long as he "abides" by the rules). Obviously with the current price of $3500/4-day badge this doesn't stop everybody, but that's why they are so hard to get. You can go ahead and sign up for the 2005 practice round lottery. Some brokers sell lodging packages which are often in private homes. There are few hotels in Augusta and they book up well in advance. With your friend's disability a private home would probably not be adequate. The tounament allows disabled people on the course but makes no special provisions for them, and the course is very hilly.

Good luck in your endeavor.

Dano

A couple years late, but from (friend of friend) got tickets to practice round this year at Masters - AWESOME!!! I noticed quite a few folks in motorized wheelchairs on Tuesday. It was a beautiful day, but I would hate to think of what it was like when it poured last week. But it is one of the "things to do before I die kind of places." There are some reputable package tours for the practice rounds - expensive, but your best bet.

Did JJDave ever get the tickets???

While I agree that concessions at the Masters are reasonable, as is merchandise like shirts and caps, I don't believe you bought beer at the Masters. They prohibit alcoholic beverage containers, any kind of cooler, cell phones, periscopes, boom boxes, and cameras (allowed on practice round days) with a passion. Violate the rules and you go out minus your badge. It is gone forever. If you borrowed it, the owner will not be pleased.

brookwood, I can tell you for certain that Augusta National in fact does sell beer at the Masters Tournament. I've bought draft beer there on many occaisions.

They do cover the taps so you don't know what kind of beer it is but they do sell beer. Our choices were "Lite" and "Import".

They prohibit alcololic beverage containers not beer. They probably prohibit glass bottles, cans, etc because they served beer in big souvenier cups.