5 off-limits places at Augusta National you want to see (but can’t)

AUGUSTA, Ga. — This week, lucky patrons have the golden ticket, a grounds pass that grants them access to the Masters and Augusta National Golf Club. They get to explore the Golf Shop, Amen Corner, the Par-3 Course — all that good stuff.

But that doesn’t mean they get access to everything. For all the roaming to be had on these grounds, there are several places that are still strictly off-limits to patrons (and sometimes media members). These spots are usually only unlocked by staff, Masters members and their guests.

Like the wine cellar, for example. We’ll let Rory McIlroy explain. Back at the 2020 Zozo Championship, he was asked what the Augusta experience is like the few times he’s visited as a guest.

“I think for a golfer, the greatest experience in golf is being invited to Augusta by a member, staying in one of the cabins, doing the dinners at night, going down to the wine cellar, picking your bottle of wine, all that sort of stuff,” he said. “They are the cool things about Augusta that a lot of people don’t see.”

That’s a great segue. Speaking of the coolest, most exclusive parts of Augusta National that patrons don’t get to see, here are the five most fascinating spots, starting with the aforementioned wine cellar.

The Augusta National wine cellar

McIlroy, as he alluded to above, has sampled a few bottles. Patrons have hard enough time getting into the clubhouse, and the wine cellar is underneath it.

“Jeez, we’ve drank all sorts of wine there,” he said, back at the Zozo five years ago. “I do remember, we went with Jimmy Dunne one time. There’s a winery, Dunn Vineyards, so we had a bottle of that. The cool thing about Augusta, their wine selection is unbelievable and the prices that the members pay for the wine is very reasonable compared to what it would be in restaurants and other places. If you’re an Augusta member and you’re a wine lover, you’re in luck.”

Champions Locker Room

Not even McIlroy can get in here (yet). The Champions Locker Room is on the second floor of the clubhouse and looks over Magnolia Lane. Win a Masters to gain entry, where you’ll share a locker with a previous champ. It’s nothing fancy up here, but it doesn’t need to be. Just gaining access means you’ve done something special.

Berckmans Place

Technically, you can get in here, but it’s going to cost you big-time bucks — or you need to know someone. Berckmans Place is the ultimate on-site Masters hangout, an exclusive building with high-end restaurants, TVs galore, its own merchandise and replica putting greens. It’s off to the right of the fifth fairway, but not just any patron can enter.

Green Jacket Vault

Sam Farmer of the LA Times wrote about this secret spot two years ago, which until then no one knew existed. But the “Green Jacket Vault” and “Green Jacket Experience” was built in 2021 under the members’ pro shop and is only accessible to members and their guests. Inside is part museum, part lounge and part tailoring station, where new members get fitted for jackets and where current members store theirs. There’s even hidden liquor cabinets stocked with Scotch and bourbon. You can read Farmer’s complete piece here.

Butler Cabin

Built in 1964 — and named after member Thomas Butler, a former chairman of Mercantile Bank and Trust in Maryland — it was used for the first time as a TV studio a year later in 1965. It’s inside here where the Masters winner meets the Augusta National chairman and is presented the green jacket from the previous winner immediately after the tournament finishes. The other 51 weeks of the year the cabin is used as lodging for members and guests.