The Augusta National Golf Club is renowned for its strictly applied rules and its determined commitment to exclusivity.
The Masters venue has a reputation for old-fashioned stuffiness but when we look down the other end of the telescope at the environment created for members as a result of the rules applied to visitors, there's no denying the rarefied air must be some good breathing.
Augusta National members have a degree of access most visitors to the iconic club can only dream about and one area in particular is closed off to all comers.
"Tucked away in the back of the Augusta National pro shop is an unmarked wooden door," writes Sam Farmer of the LA Times.
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"Behind it is a staircase that used to lead to an underground storage room. Now, it’s a portal to an inner sanctum."
The LA Times was granted exclusive access but no photographs or footage were permitted.
Behind that wooden door, in a secret area accessible only to Augusta club members and Masters champions rewarded with the iconic green jacket, are more green jackets and a whole load of green jacket lore.
"Constructed in 2021, the Green Jacket Experience and Green Jacket Vault were heretofore accessible only to club members and their guests," adds Farmer.
"The green jacket is worn by club members and Masters champions, who first slip it on during the traditional winner’s ceremony at Butler Cabin, mere steps from the 18th green.
"So synonymous are the coats and the club that members are referred to as simply 'green jackets.'
Inside, the LA Times discovered the upshot of extreme exclusivity. The Green Jacket Experience starts in style and Augusta wouldn't be able to maintain that mystique by allowing selfie-takers, sand-grabbers and creek-piddlers behind the velvet rope.
"The vault is located beneath the pro shop, which is accessible to members and their guests. On the other side of the door are 24 steps down, with motion-sensitive lights that gradually illuminate the room below," continues the LA Times exclusive.
The whole heady experience sounds spectacular and must be as impressive for new members as the fact that the Augusta National Golf Club has its own tailors to get their green jackets just right.
"When a new member joins the club, he or she meets with club chairman Fred Ridley and a tailor in the vault and is fitted for a jacket, which features the logo on a patch over the left breast pocket. Behind two panels are hidden liquor cabinets, one for Scotch and the other for bourbon.
"Members buy their own jackets, and there are different tiers, tailors and fabrics, depending on price. They typically own more than one, which comes in handy on those warm Georgia days.
"The jackets are not supposed to leave the club. Only the current champion can take it home for his reign."
After Thursday's opening round of the 2025 Masters, England's Justin Rose topped the leaderboard in his quest to earn a green jacket of his own.
Topics: Golf
Chris Nee