The spiraling costs of attending a major golf championship

If you regularly attend sporting events in this country you will be all too aware of how expensive it can be.

A pint of beer will routinely set you back £8, and you are highly unlikely to get any change from £20 for a portion of fish and chips. 

And that is without the eye-watering ticket prices. My wife and I attend a lot of gigs at the O2 Arena in London and I am here to tell you that we almost never get change from £200 for two tickets. Throw in transport and hotel costs and a night out can easily set you back £500.

I have attended many Open Championships, Ryder Cups and BMW PGA Championships in Scotland and England and my overwhelming sense is that the concession stands are only interested in charging as much as they can possibly get away with.

Another huge outlay is, of course, accommodation. Have you ever tried to find a hotel, B&B or anywhere else to stay during the week of a major sporting event? Unsurprisingly, prices go through the roof.

How Expensive Accommodation is During Major Sporting Events 

And if you wanted to find accommodation during Masters week then you were going to have to fork out some serious money.

Rotogrinders.com analysed more than 1,000 accommodation listings in Augusta and its surrounding areas on Booking.com and Airbnb - and the costs were eyewatering.

According to the results of the analysis (when looking at accommodation for two adults during the Masters between the 8th and 13th of April in Augusta and its surrounding areas):

• A 5-night stay on Booking.com during The Masters cost (on average) $5,643, which is 150.4% more than the week before and a staggering 537.7% more than the week after.
• A 5-night stay on Airbnb during The Masters cost (on average) $7,844, which is 23% more than the week before and 175.9% more than the week after.

The Open Championship takes place at Royal Birkdale in July. The cheapest accommodation I could find is a one-bedroom cottage in nearby Formby that is asking £6,000 for the week. 

Why The Masters Deserves Real Credit For Prices

But as the dust settles on another Masters, the organisers of the season’s first major deserve a pat on the back for taking a very different approach. They insist that the concession holders treat their "patrons" with respect, and woe betide anybody who tries to charge too much - they will never be allowed back.

Every year, The Masters takes special pride in not ripping off those who attend the tournament. That even applies to tickets. Put simply, prices for concessions remain the best value in sport. Whether it's the pimento cheese and egg salad sandwiches or the Georgia peach ice cream sandwich, Augusta National is one of the few places in sports where fans do not have to break the bank.

And please don’t assume that low prices equates to poor quality because that is most definitely not the case. This is really good food.

If you attended The Open Championship in 2025 you would have paid £7.75 for a pint of beer. And if you went to Wimbledon last year you would have paid £8.85 for a pint of Stella Artois and £8.45 for a pint of Guinness. A bottle of Champagne would set you back in excess of £100.

So the obvious question is: if they can do it at The Masters, why can’t the rest follow suit?