Membership has its privileges, and there may be no more desirable place to be in the club than to be among the green jackets at Augusta National Golf Club. How much would Masters participants be willing to pay to join?

The grass is greener at Augusta National Golf Club.

Is that because of all the golf fans who have left instructions to spread ashes on the hallowed grounds of the Masters site? Perhaps. There always seems to be a story about a family member coming to the Masters with an added purpose to their visit. But where would players sprinkle the ashes of a loved one at Augusta National?

The 13th ranks as one of the great risk-reward holes in golf. Going for it should be a “momentous decision,” in the words of Bobby Jones, who assisted Alister MacKenzie in its design. It originally measured 480 yards when the Masters debuted in 1934 and played to 510 yards for the 2022 Masters. But that distance is shorter than many par-4s in major championship golf these days. One year later, we asked pros what they thought of the change and the Survey says: mixed reviews at best.

Filling in the blank to “the coolest thing about the Masters is” qualifies as an all-time softball question but here’s the thing: it made pros past and present who have played in the first major of the year stop and think and consider the world of possibilities. That’s pretty cool.

Augusta National Golf Club usually gets the big things right but it is the attention to detail that separates greatness from being the absolute best.

Playing in the Masters is to check a box in the lifetime achievements category as a touring pro but to have the ability to simply go play the course as an invited guest in the lead-up to the Masters when there are no patrons or ropes or a Green Jacket on the line is a thrill in its own right.

One of the cool things to note each year is which legends of the game get asked by rookies and amateur champs if they can join them for a practice round or sometimes simply fortuitously slip into a game. Here’s who some of the pros have called on to lend a hand in efforts to learn the famed Alister MacKenzie layout and some of the tips passed down along the way. 

Three-time Masters champion Gary Player got his own survey. We had questions and he had answers.

A ticket to the Masters is one of the most coveted tickets in all of sports. Few know better than Masters contestants, who are given eight badges for their family and are allowed to buy up to four more.

There’s actually an assigned room in the locker room where players can use their phones and Will Zalatoris said it can get pretty busy during a rain delay. But several pros said that Green Jackets have loosened the policy in recent years and are more lax in allowing contestants to use their phones to film swings on the range and to take video of crossing the Hogan Bridge and skipping balls across the water at 16 during practice rounds. 

The locker room got its share of votes, including from Kevin Streelman, who liked to grab a coffee and sit on the balcony overlooking the famed Tree and first tee. “It’s pure,” Steve Stricker said of the locker room. 

Any visit to Augusta National is special, but a first trip down Magnolia Lane is something every professional player will remember forever.

The Masters does things differently. They do things the Masters way. It dates back to Augusta National Golf Club’s co-founder, Clifford Roberts, who ruled with an iron fist. There’s a reason things there run like clockwork, but it can also rub some the wrong way.

The cash register won’t stop ringing at the merchandise shop all week at the 88th Masters Tournament but if you’re lucky enough to get inside the club’s pro shop, that’s where the ANGC gear is sold. Contestants have access so we asked the pros what are their go-to items in the shop. Hoodies, hats and the club’s pin flag were among the most popular items while the run on Scotty Cameron putters back in the day, which Kevin Streelman and Will Zalatoris highlighted, was a real thing.

The Masters is the best-run tournament in golf and we can listen to pros wax poetic about how much they love Augusta National all day. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t a few things that annoy players during Masters week.

There are a lot of rules at Augusta National. From no cell phones to no running, there’s a right way and a wrong way to conduct oneself when on the grounds at Augusta National, and you better behave. That goes for the pros too. 

Augusta National is a wonderland but where should patrons go to enjoy the course during the Masters? Some of the contestants such as Harris English and Lucas Glover attended the tournament as kids and can speak from experience. Others such as Gary Player can speak best from playing inside the ropes dating to 1957.

Caddies make a living in a profession where the boss doesn’t have to give two weeks’ notice. To make it to Augusta National, a caddie has done something right to steer their player to victory or satisfy one of the other qualifying standards. All that hard work results in a bag at the Masters this week. We asked pros to name the most helpful thing a caddie ever did for them at the Masters.