Augusta/Masters 101

Hey Guys,

I've been doing some searching on the site, but haven't really found a thread similar so figured I'd start a new one. I first went to the Masters in 2018 (the year of Patrick Reed) and had a great time. My wife and I stayed in Columbia the night before, and then drove down early that Saturday morning to Augusta for the day and then made the 3 hour drive home afterwards.

This year, I have Saturday tickets to the ANWA and then Thursday tickets to the Masters. For at least one of those days, I would like to stay in Augusta for the night and experience some of the local atmosphere. I understand I'm probably a few months late in starting to look into this, but so be it. Just looking for some general recs of great places to eat and some fun spots to hang out at night. Any place that is more prone for golfers or caddies to go? Is there a certain area of Augusta to stay where there are things within walking distance, etc...? Any other things that are "must do"? I don't think I am going to have enough time to squeeze in a golf round unfortunately.

Any recommendations from others who have done it or are familiar with the area are greatly appreciated. Maybe some others can pick up some good tips as well.

Thanks

Hope you get lots of replies, but honestly there are a zillion threads on this. Watching the women's am sounds like a blast. Frog Hollow Tavern - make reservations, if your wife is going you are going to the best spot for some husband - wife dining. Looking for golfers generally overrated but you'll get the usual replies about where some may end up and they may, but guessing most are holed up in the houses they are renting. You are way behind the curve on lodging, but the clusters of hotels on the interstate generally don't have any walking distance stuff around them. You want to eat "downtown" you need to drive. Washington haunts - need to drive.

Augusta native here. Downtown will probably be your best bet for restaurants and places to hang out. Downtown area is not large so it's easy to walk everywhere. Frog Hollow is probably the best restaurant downtown, but I'd also suggest Craft and Vine, or The Hive. The Hive is more of a place for beer but they also have pretty good food. Stillwater is my favorite bar downtown, it's pretty chill with a great craft beer selection.

Surry Center, which is on Berkman's road only a mile or so past Augusta National, has a number of really good restaurants. Finch and Fifth, Abel Brown (known for their oysters), French Market Grille, Tako Sushi, and Oliviana's are all pretty good restaurants in Surrey Center. All along washington road there are restaurants that usually have special stuff going on all week, especially Hooters. It can be a bit of a mad house to get in and out of though. Pretty much anywhere you want to go in augusta you will have to drive or take an Uber too.

As far as running into players or caddies, most of them stick to their rental properties or the ones their sponsors are renting. They throw some pretty epic parties at these rental properties. I grew up, and my parents still live, in the area where most of players rent houses so I've run into players in kinda random places. I've seen countless players at the grocery store. I even ran into Rickie Fowler at a Gamestop the first year that he played in the Masters. The courtesy cars they give to players and their families, are Silver Mercedes suvs and they all have a little number in the lower left of the back window so they are pretty easy to spot traveling around town.

Also, if you do decide to play some golf while you're in town all the golf courses in/and around Augusta jack their prices way up. So it might be better to play in the Columbia area, or expect to pay a couple of hundred dollars for a round in Augusta.

Thanks for the details Hawkeye and frederick! I will be with a buddy this year and not the wife, so something a little more lowkey with a good beer selection is perfect! Can't wait to get down there again!

We ate at The Pizza Joint in downtown when we spent the day... Highly recommended... nothing fancy, just good food

John Daly will be at the Hooters on Washington Rd. hawking his wares out of his mobile home. Just in case you want to see the legend.

I think you could probably find a place to stay in Martinez or Evans or Harlem or Thomson. Thomson may be just far enough away (20 minutes or so down I-20) to still have some hotel availability. Prices will be jacked up but there may still be some openings.

Others have covered dining / bar options. Partridge Inn is nice also, though likely to be packed that week.

Nobody is going to mention T-Bonz on Washington? Been there 6 or 7 times and have seen both caddies and players as well Michael Whan. Pretty good steakhouse that's always packed.