On every Masters fan’s wish list: Watch golf, then play golf

In the spring, especially the first full week in April, a golf fan’s fancy turns to thoughts of green: the rolling fairways of Augusta National, the green scoreboards tracking each competitor at the Masters and – of course – the green jacket that goes to the champion.

It’s golf’s annual rite of spring. “For (fans) experiencing the Masters for the first time, it’s like a kid going to the mall to see Santa for the first time,” said Tom Graber, director of golf for Columbia’s Cobblestone Park Golf Club.

“Their eyes are like saucers. They’d hitchhike here if they had to.”

Here in the Midlands, 85 miles east of the center of the golf universe, there’s interest in another type of green this week: the color of money that the first major championship annually brings to Midlands hotels, restaurants and, no surprise, golf courses.

While Augusta and Aiken reap the largest bounties from thousands who flock to the area, Columbia in recent years also has benefitted financially. A growing number of visitors accept the relatively short daily drive down Interstate 20, in exchange for less expensive (and less crowded) accommodations, food and beverage – and golf.

That’s a boon for the area’s private and semi-private courses, which open their doors to outside play during Masters Week to cash in on that demand. Most clubs charge about twice their regular rate during the Masters, helping pad club coffers and keeping members’ annual costs down.

“I think every club would echo me (in saying) it’s by far the biggest week of the year, revenue opportunity-wise,” said Graber, whose rates run $89-$99 starting the Saturday before Masters Week and running through Masters Sunday. “We just pray for no rain.”

The impact on clubs varies. For Matt McCarley, head professional at Camden Country Club, Masters Week means “a couple of extra foursomes a day” – though, he says, the $75 price (vs. a normal $50 guest fee) “is nice revenue.”

David Lackey, director of golf at Orangeburg Country Club – like Camden, about an extra half-hour away from Augusta than Columbia courses – says his facility “will be slammed full on Tuesday and Thursday,” less so other days. “I can’t say they all have badges (to the Masters), but we’ll be extremely busy,” he said.

“It lowers your members’ costs year-round,” Lackey said. Orangeburg also books non-member rounds all year through package groups Santee Cooper Golf and Golf Santee.

On the other end of the spectrum, Cobblestone Park and Windermere Club – both previously private clubs, now semi-private – and The Members Club at Woodcreek and WildeWood say they have reservations for 1,000 or more outside rounds each year.

“(Players) come from various states – Louisiana, Wisconsin, Ohio – and we get groups out of the UK (United Kingdom), 60 at a time,” said Blake Cathey, director of golf at Woodcreek and WildeWood. “(The income) is nice and is a big deal for the club as a whole, since we do catered meals, full service.”

Cathey has the luxury, with two 18-hole facilities, to offer up the more expensive Woodcreek, a Tom Fazio design, for visitors. “We keep one (course) open for members unless we sell out Woodcreek,” he said. Fees run $125 at Woodcreek, $100 at WildeWood, vs. a normal guest rate of $60.

Ken McCarthy, general manager for The Woodlands and a native of Australia, has used connections with booking companies in the UK to bring in 200-300 extra rounds a year. In years past, he said, the club has become a home for visitors from overseas, who don’t mind spending top dollar; tour groups have provided off-course entertainment, including a trick-shot artist.

“One of the English guys, Alan Davis, who also sells tickets for World Cup rugby, brings a couple of hundred here for the Masters,” McCarthy said. “They pay $5,000 for the week (hotels, food, golf), so do the math on a couple hundred tickets.”

Scott Arquilla, a golf staffer at Windermere, says his club also caters to international visitors. “I’ve seen our (booking) sheets for that week, and it’s ‘England, England, England,’” he said. “A lot of them come from the Northeast and Midwest, but it’s a lot from England, too.” Windermere’s rates this week are $80 vs. $42-$48 normally, and the club expects 100-plus outside rounds each day.

Rohan Allwood, head professional at The Woodlands and, like his boss, an Aussie (Brisbane), says what golf fans from his homeland are willing to pay is staggering. “They’ll pay extreme expenses to go to the Masters, even for one day,” Allwood said. “$10,000-$15,000. It’s huge there.”

Often, fans arrive without tickets for all four days of the Masters. A dozen might have six tickets, meaning they go to the tournament twice. The other two days? They play golf, of course.

This story was originally published April 5, 2016 at 11:37 PM with the headline "On every Masters fan’s wish list: Watch golf, then play golf."