--- title: "The Masters: A Customer Experience Unlike Any Other" description: What businesses can learn from the way that Augusta National Golf Club treats it patrons at the Masters Tournament. image: https://blog.factright.com/hubfs/AdobeStock_144203489.jpeg --- behance bloglovin dribbble email facebook flickr github gplus instagram linkedin medium periscope phone pinterest rss snapchat stumbleupon tumblr twitter vimeo xing youtube - [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/FactRightLLC/) - [Twitter](https://twitter.com/factright) - [Linkedin](http://www.linkedin.com/company/395017?trk=tyah) - [Phone](tel:866-357-7779) [Report Center Login >](http://www.factrightreports.com/Account/Login) - [Home](http://www.factright.com/) - [ABOUT US](http://www.factright.com/team/) - Financial Advisory Firms - [FR Risk Management](http://www.factright.com/fr-risk-management/) - [Report Center](https://www.factright.com/resources/report-center/) - [Product Coverage](https://www.factright.com/resources/list-of-coverage/) - Product Sponsors - [Due Diligence Reporting](http://www.factright.com/due-diligence-reporting/) - [Preparing for FactRight Diligence](https://www.factright.com/preparing-for-factright-diligence/) - [Resources](https://www.factright.com/resources/) - [Report Center](https://www.factright.com/resources/report-center/) - [FactRight Webinars](https://www.factright.com/resources/webinars/) - [FAQs](https://www.factright.com/resources/faqs/) - [Events](https://www.factright.com/events/) - [Weekly Updates](https://www.factright.com/weekly-updates/) - [FactRight Blog](https://blog.factright.com/) - [Contact](http://www.factright.com/contact/) # The Masters: A Customer Experience Unlike Any Other April 10, 2018 by [FactRight](https://blog.factright.com/author/factright) Golf fans around the world spent last Sunday afternoon glued to their TVs to watch the best golfers in the world vie for the sacred green jacket. The green jacket is awarded by Augusta National Golf Club each year to winner of its Masters Tournament. On Sunday, hard-charging Jordan Spieth (who nearly tied the course record), the always-stylish Rickie Fowler, and Patrick Reed, who held on to claim his first green jacket, [provided the perennial Sunday drama](http://www.augusta.com/masters/story/news/2018-04-08/former-augusta-state-star-patrick-reed-bests-challengers-win-masters). This year, unlike all the others, I got lucky. A good friend called a few months ago to invite me to the Tuesday practice round before the start of the tournament. He had won the online lottery for the tickets (did I say I was lucky?). Asking how much this ticket would set me back (because there wasn’t a chance that I was NOT going), he casually said $75. That can't be right, I said, not for the most popular golf tournament in the world. But it was correct, and spending time on the course made me realize that affordability was a critical part of the experience. This experience starts immediately after entering the gates of the club. Anyone you encounter who works or volunteers at the club goes out of their way to genuinely ask if you're enjoying your time at the Masters. When was the last time an NFL team employee asked you that question at a football game? When you’re ready for lunch at Augusta, you’ll only need a $10 bill, and even then, you'll have change. A turkey sandwich, chips, and a beer will set you back a mere $6.00. Then, there's the merchandise, sold only in one physical location (which we called the Merchandise Mansion) and over only the tournament week each year. Golf shirts with the logo of popular courses regularly go for nearly $100 elsewhere. A Masters golf shirt costs $70 (which makes the average first timer at the Merchandise Mansion happy to part with close to $500 in Augusta National-emblazoned apparel, a figure I avoided, but only barely). So, maybe you're seeing a theme. Augusta wants the patrons inside the gates to enjoy their experience so much that they don't let the supporting cast (food, beer, wares) get in the way. But the club isn't only thinking about the people inside the gates. They think about the millions watching at home too, and here's where the club misses out on a huge payday each year. While no one knows their official agreement, it is believed that neither CBS Sports nor Augusta National makes any revenue off their television deal. For those who watch, they see very few commercial interruptions. The club wants everyone at home to witness every critical shot. Media analysts project that based on comparable sporting events, the club misses out on upwards of $100 million in potential revenue because it forgoes what it could make off a TV deal. And that's the way they’ve chosen to operate, every single year since the tournament was first televised in 1956.  I'm under no illusion about the balance sheet of the Augusta National Golf Club.  When it comes to assets, they probably are to golf clubs what Yale is to endowment funds. But the way it operates its annual event may have a lesson for all organizations who are in the business of serving others. If a customer's experience is the most important function of any firm, how much would it be willing to spend and forgo to ensure the best experience possible? [FINRA Regulatory Notice 23-08: Building on Regulatory Notice 10-22 to Develop More Robust Due Diligence of Private Placement Offerings](https://blog.factright.com/finra-regulatory-notice-23-08) [Not All Units Are Created Equal in Broker-Dealer and RIA-Distributed Investment Programs](https://blog.factright.com/not-all-units-created-equal) [Due Diligence Considerations: the Continuum from Conflicts of Interest to Alignment of Interests](https://blog.factright.com/conflicts-and-alignment-of-interest) [Lapses in Due Diligence and the Collapse of FTX: How Could so Many Have Missed so Much?](https://blog.factright.com/ftx) Filed Under: [Best Business Practices](https://blog.factright.com/topic/best-business-practices) ### Get Blog Notifications ### categories - [Due Diligence (85)](https://blog.factright.com/topic/due-diligence) - [Best Business Practices (39)](https://blog.factright.com/topic/best-business-practices) - [Alternative Investments (32)](https://blog.factright.com/topic/alternative-investments) - [Real Estate (29)](https://blog.factright.com/topic/real-estate) - [About FactRight (27)](https://blog.factright.com/topic/about-factright) - [REITs (27)](https://blog.factright.com/topic/reits) - [Best Practices (24)](https://blog.factright.com/topic/best-practices) ### Archives - [April 2026 (1)](https://blog.factright.com/archive/2026/04) - [March 2026 (1)](https://blog.factright.com/archive/2026/03) - [January 2026 (1)](https://blog.factright.com/archive/2026/01) - [September 2025 (1)](https://blog.factright.com/archive/2025/09) - [March 2025 (1)](https://blog.factright.com/archive/2025/03) - [October 2024 (1)](https://blog.factright.com/archive/2024/10) - [May 2024 (1)](https://blog.factright.com/archive/2024/05) - [March 2024 (1)](https://blog.factright.com/archive/2024/03) - [November 2023 (1)](https://blog.factright.com/archive/2023/11) - [September 2023 (1)](https://blog.factright.com/archive/2023/09) - [August 2023 (1)](https://blog.factright.com/archive/2023/08) - [June 2023 (2)](https://blog.factright.com/archive/2023/06) - [March 2023 (1)](https://blog.factright.com/archive/2023/03) - [February 2023 (1)](https://blog.factright.com/archive/2023/02) - [January 2023 (1)](https://blog.factright.com/archive/2023/01) - [December 2022 (1)](https://blog.factright.com/archive/2022/12) - [November 2022 (1)](https://blog.factright.com/archive/2022/11) - [October 2022 (1)](https://blog.factright.com/archive/2022/10) - [September 2022 (1)](https://blog.factright.com/archive/2022/09) - [August 2022 (1)](https://blog.factright.com/archive/2022/08) - [July 2022 (2)](https://blog.factright.com/archive/2022/07) - [June 2022 (1)](https://blog.factright.com/archive/2022/06) - [May 2022 (1)](https://blog.factright.com/archive/2022/05) - [April 2022 (2)](https://blog.factright.com/archive/2022/04) - [March 2022 (2)](https://blog.factright.com/archive/2022/03) - [February 2022 (2)](https://blog.factright.com/archive/2022/02) - [December 2021 (2)](https://blog.factright.com/archive/2021/12) - [November 2021 (1)](https://blog.factright.com/archive/2021/11) - [October 2021 (1)](https://blog.factright.com/archive/2021/10) - [September 2021 (1)](https://blog.factright.com/archive/2021/09) #### Contact FactRight, LLC 7500 Flying Cloud Drive, Suite 755 Eden Prairie, MN 55344 Call Today: (612) 284-6150 [http://www.factright.com/](http://www.factright.com/)[info@factright.com](mailto:info@factright.com%20target=)   #### FactRight Report Center Independent risk assessment and third party due diligence reports. **[Log In >](http://www.factrightreports.com/Account/Login)** #### Looking for Something? - [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/FactRightLLC/) - [Twitter](https://twitter.com/factright) - [Linkedin](http://www.linkedin.com/company/395017?trk=tyah) - [Phone](tel:866-357-7779) Copyright © 2019 · [FactRight, LLC](http://factright.suiportal.com/) · [DISCLAIMER](http://www.factright.com/disclaimer/)