Elite Sporting Tours began out of a vision to follow a dream and share the passion we had about Augusta National Golf Club and the US Masters and to attend, with friends, a “once in a lifetime opportunity”. We are now the largest and most experienced operator in Australasia with 171 clients attending in 2011. We do everything we can for our clients because we want them to love and see Augusta as we do and experience the things that we have seen over the last decade;

The 2 key principals involved in Elite Sporting Tours (and now 6 additional support staff) are business people in their own right for 51 weeks of the year in many differing ventures. We come together each April to share our love for the US Masters and to celebrate what Bobby Jones and Clifford Roberts created back in the early 1930’s;

Unlike other promoters, we do not operate the tour specifically for monetary proceeds and hence allow our clients to enjoy the benefits of better quality and closer proximity accommodation as well as over staffing our tours to ensure your needs are always met;

We access US Masters Tournament Credentials (Badges) directly from Patrons who own these Badges. We only deal with people we personally trust and who in return trust us. Elite Sporting Tours do not use a broker to help us get our Badges - we deal with the sources themselves (locals who live in Augusta) who trust us due to the enormous and numerous relationships we have built since 1998;

We access hotel accommodation and private housing which is as close to Augusta National Golf Club as you can get. Almost 100% of all the clients we have taken continually told us this is the absolute key criteria in their final decision. Clients want to absolutely limit travel time to and from the US Masters to allow maximum enjoyment at the golf course. This has been particularly important in the years where road travel times have been increased (20 minute trips can take up to 2 hours!) due to severe thunderstorms and inclement weather – there are only 2 roads into and out of Augusta National Golf Club. Our clients have never suffered as they are accommodated within walking distance of the course and do not need to rely on cars;

Our accommodation is situated within easy walking distance to fresh food supermarkets and local restaurants. Many groups and especially couples have found this very convenient as they have been able to buy fresh food when walking from the golf course to their accommodation. While some people love the "hotel" style and its offerings, others enjoy having a homely feel and control over when and what they eat and drink. Elite Sporting Tours cater for both options, all walking distance to the entry of Augusta National Golf Club;

Elite Sporting Tours invest heavily back into our business concept to ensure your US Masters experience is unparalleled. We purchased our ‘host house’ 200 metres away from Augusta National Golf Club in 2004 with the vision to create a social environment for our clients to enjoy each others company at our Great Aussie BBQ's. This has also allowed us to gain the trust of local residents who now (under long term contract) rent their private houses to us given we have supported the area financially;

Our Great Aussie BBQ's have gone from strength to strength and are starting to become well known in our area. Not only do they provided our clients with the opportunity to meet each other and share their stories of Augusta National Golf Club and the US Masters, they have also allowed clients to meet some of our USA friends who assist with our tour as well as some of Augusta's local residents who now rent their private houses to us. We have also had some special guests appear at our BBQ's such as leading authors of well known books about Augusta National Golf Club and the US Masters, caddies from Augusta National Golf Club and golfers who have been extremely lucky enough to play the course. Their stories are wonderful and are really appreciated by our clients in the social setting we create at our “host house”;

Elite Sporting Tours offer the personal touch, experience and undeniable passion for Augusta National Golf Club and the US Masters that makes what is truly the best run and most special sporting event in the world just that little bit better.

Choose your US Masters tour operator carefully. There are many many experienced and reliable operators who have been travelling to Augusta for many years but inevitably every year we hear of one or two who have not delivered what they said they would or that the organisation of the tour (down to the finite detail) was not taken care of.

Check the experience of anyone you consider and be sure to focus on those operators who concentrate on the US Masters as their primary tour (versus a standard operator who does everything – our experience is that not much of their time is spent thinking about your US Masters experience 12 months of the year).

Testimonials are critically important. Check these and more importantly the credentials and standing of the people who wrote them. They are putting their own reputations on the line as well;

Ask the operator how they source their tournament Badges and if they use a broker or source direct? Also be sure to ask the operator if they have the Badges ‘in hand’ in Australia before travelling to Augusta. Unfortunately a US Masters Badge is so lucrative that there have been some horror stories in the past of clients not ever receiving their allocation once they arrived into Augusta. The more degrees of separation the tour operator is away from the owner of the Badge the higher the risk of something going wrong;

Be sure to ask about the accommodation you will be staying in and where it is. Many operators do not have set agreements 12 months in advance and move from hotel to hotel once they have found a cheaper deal. Also ask if you can stay in private housing as well – this is much more comfortable for groups of 3 or 4 more;

Carefully consider whether you are willing to compromise staying right in the heart of Augusta and US Masters territory and as close as possible to Augusta National Golf Club. Will you be happy spending your “once in a lifetime experience” (in some cases) 40+ minutes away where some operators source accommodation. Staying as close as possible to Augusta National Golf Club allows you to set your own timetable and not rely on shuttles, buses and transport to get you to and from the event;

Take inclement weather into account. Without fail, in thunderstorm season in the southern states of the USA, Augusta will have a severe rain storm (or even tornado warning as we had in 2009 and 2011) at least once during US Masters week. Augusta National Golf Club is one of the hilliest golf courses in the world and for everyone’s safety, when it rains the club ‘clears the course’. When this occurs, traffic is chaos and a usual 30 minute trip takes up to 2+ hours. Imagine being absolutely soaking wet for 2+ hours……having the comfort and warmth of a private home or hotel within 5 minutes walking distance at this time may be crucial.

Elite Sporting Tours access US Masters Tournament Credentials (Badges) directly from Patrons who own these Badges;

We do not require a broker to get us access to the US Masters and have long standing contracts with people who live in Augusta and have been on the Augusta National Golf Club distribution list for Badges since the 1960’s and 1970’s;

Other tour operators access Badges from a broker which can mean that the ultimate source of the Badge (ie – the Patron) could be two, three or four degrees of separation away from the source. This is the most important reason as to why people don’t get their tickets on time or sometimes not at all;

We have the Badges we need for our tour in hand prior to leaving for Augusta (March each year). Our agreements with Patrons who own the Badges is that they send them to us before we leave. That way we guarantee delivery.

Elite Sporting Tours has chosen hotel accommodation at the Staybridge Suites (built 2008) which is the closest to Augusta National Golf Club, as well as having access to private housing in the estate across the road from the main gates to the US Masters;

We felt, as golf lovers, that to travel 24 hours to get to your “once in lifetime” event and then stay anywhere but as close as practical to Augusta National Golf Club, the nightlife, restaurants and experience of sharing a great event with thousands of tourists was not ideal;

Other tour operators do not choose to stay in Augusta as it is half the cost for accommodation elsewhere but importantly some do not have the ability to directly source, on a first access basis, the quantity of rooms and private accommodation we have been able to since 1998. More importantly Elite Sporting Tours passes the savings on to our clients as many operators who do stay 30+ minutes out of Augusta still charge the same as ourselves;

The weather! Without fail, in thunderstorm season in the southern states of the USA, Augusta will have a severe rain storm (or even tornado warning as we had in 2009 and 2011) at least once during US Masters week. In the 14 tournaments since we first went in 1998, Augusta National Golf Club has been ‘cleared out’ due to lightning and hail storms (and patrons asked to leave the course) at least 7 times. When this occurs, traffic is chaos and a usual 30 minute trip takes up to 2+ hours. Imagine being absolutely soaking wet for 2+ hours……having the comfort of a private home or hotel within 5 minutes walking distance at this time is critical.

Elite Sporting Tours built the concept and idea of going to the US Masters to help friends and Australians experience the “trip of a lifetime”;

We have been attending the US Masters since 1998 and do not ‘pass through’ the tour group to other USA based operators and take full responsibility for the organisation and delivery of the tour ourselves;

We have grown the tour to now enable 7 dedicated people to assist you during US Masters week to ensure all your needs are met and personally travel to Augusta the week before the tournament begins to ensure all intricate details are taken care of;

Other operators may leverage one experienced person attending with you but to make sure you experience exactly what we did when we first attended with a qualified operator in 1998, we know that we need more ‘hands on deck’ and are prepared to invest in this to make sure that your client comfort in a foreign place is first and foremost.

The Patrons in Augusta take the allocation of their Badges very seriously. Many of them have been granted the privilege of accessing the US Masters Tournament since the 1950’s and 1960’s and often have 4 or 8 badges allocated in a household. The Patrons are allowed to nominate who can use their allocation of Badges and but do insist that Elite Sporting Tours sign an agreement with them regarding the nature of use, prior acknowledgment of the rules implemented by Augusta National Golf Club as to the use of the badge and ultimately their safe return back to the owner immediately following the end of the tournament. The agreement we ask clients to sign is the same as what we undertake each year with each Patron.

Since we began travelling to Augusta we have accompanied over 500 people to achieve their “dream” of attending the US Masters. Less than 10% of these people have wanted to play golf in Augusta and most have dedicated their time to taking in the beauty of Augusta National Golf Club as much as possible;

Elite Sporting Tours passion and focus has been to attend the US Masters each year and we have found this is the goal of our clients as well. As Australians we are spoiled with some of the most breathtaking, challenging and world acclaimed courses on the planet (Royal Melbourne, Kingston Heath, Royal Adelaide, Metropolitan, Royal Sydney, Kooyonga, New South Wales, Newcastle, Barnbougle Dunes, The National, Lake Karrinyup, Royal Canberra, The Lakes, Brookwater etc etc). Simply put the golf in and around Augusta (other than the hallowed turf of Augusta National Golf Club) is not the level we expect here and you would not travel 24 hours to play these courses on their own without the allure of the US Masters;

We do offer (through Package 4) the ability to play golf as well as attending the US Masters and are also able to access tee times at 10+ leading private courses in and around Augusta during US Masters week if you wish. We can also arrange (and have done so many times in the past) travel to Pinehurst, TPC Sawgrass, Hilton Head and Myrtle Beach if you would like to extend your travel plans;

In the end Elite Sporting Tours operate and focus on our passion of delivering the best experience for you to enjoy the US Masters and Augusta National Golf Club – This is our skill. We have gained our unparalleled experience by spending 10 days a year in Augusta during US Masters week every year. This has enabled us to cement the key relationships we have and to deliver the tour that we do. This is most important to our clients and ourselves.

For those travelling from Australia and through the west coast of the USA, the easiest way is to obtain a flight to Los Angeles and then get a Delta connection from LAX to Atlanta, Georgia (Delta’s hub – therefore they fly direct);

For those travelling from or through the east coast of the USA (ie perhaps from Europe etc), the easiest way is to obtain a flight directly (or through a connection) to Columbia, South Carolina as this is much closer to Augusta than Atlanta;

Depending on the size of your group you can then either hire a car from Atlanta airport (c2 hour drive to Augusta) or Columbia airport (c1 hour drive to Augusta) or Elite Sporting Tours can put you in direct contact with a shuttle service company who we have used since 2001 who are reliable and operate direct Atlanta / Columbia to Augusta (and return) services 24/7 during US Masters week;

Flying directly into Augusta? – You can fly directly into Augusta from selected hubs in the southern states (mainly Atlanta, Georgia and Charlotte, North Carolina) however during US Masters week this leg can be very expensive and often outweighs the cost and benefits of having a car.