Old Barnwell is one of the private clubs in the Augusta area that is allowing limited non-member … [+] play during the week of the Masters Tournament.
Morgan Purvis | Old Barnwell
The week of golf’s Masters Tournament is a spectacle on many levels. In early April, thousands of patrons and avid golf fans from around the country descend on Augusta, Georgia, whether for a few days or a week-long celebration geared around the year’s first major championship. Many might have tickets for just one competition day, and possibly only a practice round, for an opportunity to see one of the game’s most storied venues.
Many, in addition to watching golf, will get out on the links to play themselves. Along with the public golf offerings around the Augusta area, a handful of exclusive private clubs offer select tee times to non-members during the week of the Masters.
One of the newest and more celebrated golf courses in the U.S. is among them.
Old Barnwell, just outside Aiken, South Carolina, about 45 miles east of Augusta, welcomes limited public play over an eight-day stretch to help subsidize the mission-based club’s programming. Last year, Old Barnwell was able to raise nearly $175,000 from guest play, welcoming about 500 guest players in total.
The goal is higher this year, says Old Barnwell founder Nicholas Schreiber, who calls it a “powerful opportunity” to raise around half of the club’s annual budget for mission-based programming in an eight-day window. Schreiber expects the guest count to be around 800 this year, with players paying $575 (or $2,300 for a foursome) to experience a walking-only course already ranked as high as 51st in the nation by Golf.com since debuting in 2023.
Old Barnwell, rated as one of the Top 100 courses in the country, is planning to welcome as many as … [+] 800 non-members during Masters week in helping raise funding for its programming efforts.
Morgan Purvis | Old Barnwell
The fee includes green fees, lunch and drinks (excluding alcohol). The public access window at Old Barnwell opens April 6, a day after the conclusion of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, and runs through Sunday, April 13, the final round of The Masters.
“We are very fortunate that many corporations and individuals who are in the area to witness the world’s best female amateurs and most accomplished male pros play at one of America’s great clubs are willing to support our efforts just down the road at Old Barnwell,” said Schreiber.
Other private clubs close to Augusta with select non-member access include:
Champions Retreat
About 15 miles northwest of Augusta National in Evans, Georgia, three of the game’s greatest champions – Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player, who have 13 Masters Green Jackets between them – teamed to create Champions Retreat. Each of them designed one of the three 9-hole courses that wind through 365 acres of Georgia pines and wetlands. Every year during tournament week, a limited number of non-member Masters patrons are invited to enjoy exclusive golf, dining and entertainment at Champions Retreat – the only time all year the club is open to the public. Champions Retreat hosts the opening 36 holes of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur the week ahead of The Masters, with the first two rounds this year scheduled for April 2-3.
Palmetto Golf Club
The first four holes of this historic club in Aiken, roughly 25 miles east of Augusta, were laid out in 1892. It was expanded to a full 18 in 1895, and club records suggest that Palmetto is the oldest, continually operated 18-hole course in its original location in the Southeast, and possibly the second oldest under those criteria nationwide behind only Chicago Golf Club. Either way, there’s a lot of history. Alister MacKenzie of Augusta National fame helped convert Palmetto’s original sand greens to grass and lengthened the layout. In the years since, golf architects Rees Jones, Tom Doak and Gil Hanse have done work on the course. During Masters week, Palmetto Golf Club has limited public availability from Sunday, April 6 to Monday, April 14, for $1,700 per foursome.
The Tree Farm
The Tree Farm, which debuted in 2023, is another of the new high-end private, destination golf experiences just outside Aiken. The entire experience – club, clubhouse, lodging and dining – was the vision of professional golfer Zac Blair, who teamed with Tom Doak to create a walking-only course for “discerning golfers from across the world” who appreciate the camaraderie and traditions of the game. From April 5-14, The Tree Farm welcomes limited public play at a rate of $650 per round, or $2,600 for a foursome. That fee includes golf, lunch, drinks (non-alcoholic) and snacks, with the base caddie fee running another $140 per 18 holes that’s paid in cash to the looper. There are also opportunities to stay overnight on property, with a two-night minimum and rooms for guests going for $700 per night for a single and $1,000 for two people, breakfast included.
