15th Year Celebration

"Every journey has a beginning, and 2022 marks 15 years since the start of Your Golf Travel"
(ignoring 1 year, as we refused to count 2021)!

Your Golf Travel has come a long way since our early start up days, offering what was then a new style of personalised domestic golf travel. However, our mission, to create unforgettable experiences built around your bespoke requirements, spreading golfing happiness around the globe, has never gone away. It's the essence of who we are, what we do and how we always go the extra yard for every traveller, every time! Please send any videos, captions or pictures to my details below, that we can consider using in our celebratory material.

Every month throughout our 15th anniversary year, Your Golf Travel will be taking a nostalgic look back at all the stand-out experiences from the company's history, to inspire your future travels as well as running lots of fun competitions and prize giveaways. There will be lots of opportunities for our customers, suppliers, partners, employees and ambassadors to get involved and share your golfing memories, as well as win some prizes.

One thing I can ensure is that myself and Your Golf Travel will certainly not be standing still. As we look ahead to the next 15 years, we’ll continue to craft and curate golfing trips that stay with you long after you return home from the fairways. We will ensure they are always better than par!

A huge thanks on behalf of myself and Co-Founder Andrew Harding to all our loyal customers, employees, alumni and everyone who has helped make this such a fun and rewarding journey. We simply couldn't have done it without you.

Happy 15th birthday to Your Golf Travel. See you out on a fairway in 2022!

Best Golfing Wishes

Ross A Marshall

CEO and Co-Founder
CEO@yourgolftravel.com

You can’t go to The Masters at Augusta National without ducking into The Masters Shop.

Average spend per patron - $850
Money take per hour - $850,000
Total take during Masters Week - $50-60 Million 👀

Whether it’s just to pick up a key ring, or spend the huge budget you’ve saved and given yourself for your visit (one YGT employee broke the $2,000 barrier in 2022 🤩), coming home without any Masters swag is just no... no... can’t be done. Don’t do it.

Buy. Masters. Merchandise.

What’s the best $30 you’ve ever spent? If you’ve been to The Masters and the answer isn’t a Masters Chair, you’re doing it wrong.

In short, a Masters Chair gives you a front-row seat anywhere on the course, for the whole day. What do we mean bay this? Here’s how it goes…

After arriving at Augusta National as early as you can, make sure the first thing you do is buy a Masters Chair. You can buy these at the main Masters Shop, or from the various kiosks dotted around the course. After phase one of the Master(s) plan is complete, head straight to your viewing spot of choice. We’d recommend spots including 2nd green, 8th tee, Amen Corner and last but definitely not least, the 16th tee; but more on that later…

Once your chair is in place, you can sit and enjoy it for a while, but also leave it where it is, walk around the course, even leave your belongings on it, then whenever you fancy it return to the chair and retake your place at the front of the rope.

If someone is sitting in it, they’ll politely make way for you when you return, thus guaranteeing you a front-row seat somewhere on the course, as and when you want one.

Trust us, this is a very well-respected tradition and the best $30 you’ll ever spend.

If you’re watching the world’s best golfers playing the world’s best golf course, it’s inevitable that you’ll get the itch to play some golf of your own on your Masters Golf Holiday.

Just as well then that there are plenty of world-class, bucket-list golf destinations within relatively easy driving distance of Augusta, or, if your budget allows, just a short flight away…

Georgia itself is home to plenty of superb golf courses besides Augusta National. In fact, right next for to the world’s most famous golf course you’ve got Augusta Country Club where you can enjoy a round of golf with the roars of The Masters Patrons ringing around the course as you hole the winning putt against your friends.

The River Club is another great place to tee it up in Augusta itself but slightly further afield, you’ve got Kiawah Island and the world-famous Ocean Course in South Carolina, as well as Pinehurst, home to no less than 9 golf courses including the notorious No. 2 Course, in North Carolina.

Florida and the iconic TPC Sawgrass are also within relatively easy driving distance and for those with the budget to hop on an internal flight, why not go coast to coast and tick the likes of Pebble Beach off your bucket-list after a few days wandering the fairways at Augusta National?

This is one of our top tips for Masters Patrons, because while the no-camera-rule is one of the things that contribute greatly to The Masters being one of the best live sports viewing experiences in the world, it also means that unless you attend a practice day at The Masters (more on that later) you can’t get any photos of you at the golf course.

However, there is a service on hand to make sure you’ll have something to post on social media and brag to your friends that you’ve been to The Masters.

Thankfully, you can join the queue to have your photo taken outside of the Augusta National clubhouse by a professional photographer, which will then be emailed to you so you can print and frame it to your heart's content. Is a life-size canvas print of you standing outside one of golf’s most iconic landmarks too much for the living room wall? We’re still on the fence.

Speaking of not being able to take photos at The Masters...

That’s only true of tournament days, so we’d highly recommend also including a Masters Practice Day on your itinerary. Phones are still banned so make sure you pack your camera, because from Monday - Wednesday, these are indeed allowed, meaning you can go snap-happy and take as many pictures as you want…essential material for bragging rights among your golfing mates!

Not only do practice days allow you to take photos, they are also a great opportunity to get to know the course. With Augusta National being such a large piece of land, and The Masters experience being so overwhelmingly good, we’d always recommend having a plan for a tournament day.

Where will you put your Masters Chair? Which players do you most want to see? What route will you take to walk the best parts of the golf course? What do you still need to buy from The Masters Shop?

These are all questions that you can answer on a practice day, and there are other benefits of heading to The Masters from Monday-Wednesday too…

Players are more relaxed and often hit multiple shots from various locations around the course. Some even stop to chat to Patrons and there are a couple of Masters traditions that you simply cannot miss that only take place on practice days. More on those later…

Masters Practice Days come highly recommended by us for Masters Patrons, and while Monday and Tuesday are both superb options for those looking to get a feel for Augusta National, the Wednesday practice day is often the hottest ticket in town during Masters week…

Not only do you get all the benefits of attending a practice day which we’ve already covered, but the famous Par 3 Tournament also takes place on Masters Wednesday and is accessible to anyone with a ticket for the Wednesday practice day at The Masters.

The Par 3 Tournament kicks off in the early afternoon, so after a morning strolling the famous fairways of Augusta National, make sure you head to the Par 3 Course to see the players spend time with their families and friends while they play a quick 9 holes on what is most likely the best Par 3 golf course in the world.

You’re almost guaranteed to see a hole-in-one or two, plenty of birdies and also some golfing legends. Past champions of The Masters including the likes of Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson usually tee it up together here and the atmosphere is just electric.

An absolute Masters must!

We know what you’re thinking. But Hooters reputation among some more discerning diners isn’t entirely fair. Their wings are pretty delicious and the Baha shrimp tacos are to die for. The atmosphere at Hooters Washington Drive during Masters week is also intoxicating.

John Daly also pitches up here each and every year and while he may only be there to flog his Loudmouth golf apparel, he’s one of the most engaging characters in the game and has a fair few Masters stories to tell. Did you know that “Long-John” started the tradition of skimming shots across the lake on the 16th hole at Augusta National practice days?

Head to Hooters for some good old American comfort food, and while you’re there enjoy a meet and greet with one of golf’s most enigmatic yet charming characters.

While we’re on the subject of John Daly...

A few years back, John Daly was playing a practice round with Fuzzy Zoeller and just for the taste of it (probably while chugging on his favourite soft drink Diet Coke) he decided to show off to the crowd at the famous par 3 16th hole bay dropping a ball on the edge of the lake and skimming a couple of balls over the surface of the water and onto the green.

Fast forward a couple of decades later and skim-shots at 16 are very much a Masters tradition. During practice days, each and every player who arrives at the tee on this iconic par 3 is urged enthusiastically by the Masters crowd to join in the fun and try their hand at the skim shot. The atmosphere is electric in this corner of the course all week, but never more so than on practice days.

A couple of players have even managed to bag a skim shot hole in one, but no matter the outcome, seeing players join in the fun and show off their skills is a must-see if you have a ticket for a Masters practice day.

It’s probably fair to say the large majority of Masters Patrons will have Amen Corner at the top of their Masters bucket lists, and while we’d 100% recommend everyone visit this famous corner of the course, we wouldn’t necessarily recommend this as a location for your Masters Chair. There are other parts of the course which we think are more suited as a “base” for your day at Augusta National, but taking a slow walk through Amen Corner is an absolute must.

The approach into the 11th green is one of the most treacherous on the course, we all know about the tee shot on 12, and the par 5 13th is one of our favourite holes at Augusta National. What’s more, there is a large concessions stand here so a beer and a hot bbq sandwich is never too far away, and while going to the main Masters Shop is an absolute must, those just wanting to grab a cap or a Masters Chair for the day can do so at one of the little kiosks located just a flick of a wedge from the 12th tee.

While going to Augusta National is clearly the main priority for those heading to The Masters, there’s also plenty to do and see during your time away from the golf course. Those staying in Columbia in South Carolina (one of our recommended hubs for Masters Patrons) should definitely consider a day trip to historic Charleston, especially if you’re interested in Civil War history.

Between the cannons, cemeteries and carriage rides, you can also sample some of the Deep South’s finest food, so during your time away from The Masters, a day spent exploring on of the USA’s most historic cities is an absolute must.

To the left of the 17th green lies a drinking fountain to mark the many different records which have been achieved during the Masters.

Marking achievements such as record low scores and course records, the fountain is hexagonal in shape allowing for many additions to be made as marks are bettered over the years.

With a record six Masters titles, Nicklaus was honoured for his stunning play in 1963, 1965, 1955, 1972, 1975 and 1986.

Located on a fountain between holes 16 and 17, Nicklaus is Augusta’s most successful golfer and his efforts will live long in history, not just at the Masters but in golf.

At Your Golf Travel we pride ourselves on providing the best Masters experience in town each and every year. We’ve been taking hundreds of clients to Augusta National for well over a decade, and one of the highlights of our week is always throwing a party for our Masters clients on the Saturday evening after a long day at the golf course.

With unlimited food and drink on offer for those attending, you’re sure to have a good time, and with guests including the likes of Darren Clarke, Euan Murray, Nick Doherty, Paul McGinley, and most recently Rich Beem who was hosted by our very own YGT Rory in 2022; we offer our guests a unique insight into The Masters and the action heading into Sunday’s play.