“It was a bloodbath,” is how one hospitality company executive described the scenes at the North and South Gates this year. As Rory McIlroy was preparing to experience the time of his life inside the Augusta National Golf Club, outside was a scene nobody had expected—multiple customers turned away from the gates or before they even reached the venue.

Historically ignorant of the rampant resale market that sets shop at gas stations, motels or restaurant parking lots around the area every April, 2025 was the year the club decided to enforce its rules. What exactly happened? Let’s take a look.

But before that, let’s explain why ticket reselling has become an issue in the first place. Well, it’s about the high demand-limited availability rabbit hole that third-party sellers capitalize on. Already a hot commodity, the Masters Tournament’s practice-round tickets this year sold for $100, and tournament day badges went out for $140 on the official website. And not to mention the infamous lottery system that awards an unspecified number of tickets to an unspecified number of recipients, the odds of receiving which are at a lowly 0.55 percent as per bookies.com. Notoriously, in secondary ticketing platforms like Stubhub, a weekly badge for Monday through Friday cost $22,646, with single-day tickets available from somewhere around $2,000 to $9,000.

No wonder people would go to any lengths to get their hands on badges, which unfortunately didn’t fare well this year. Course officials have reported that hundreds of fans were caught carrying passes they didn’t purchase directly from the portal. And they have faced the consequences of the same. Front Office Sports tweeted on April 18, “Hundreds of Masters ticket holders were pulled aside by Augusta National reps and questioned about where they bought their tickets—and many even had their passes canceled. The course cracked down harder this year on third-party ticket sales than it had in years past.”

Why? You see, the golf course has a longtime ban on electronic gadgets and as a result, digital tickets. Traditionally, it also has a ban on reselling, with “holders of Tickets acquired from third parties, by whatever means, may be excluded from attendance to the Tournament.” As per the media house, the ticket holders were also questioned “whether they had a direct connection to the original badge holder.”

The report also stated that massive changes are in the making for the Masters Tournament next year. It reads, “Sources in the ticketing and hospitality business widely believe it was all part of preparation for big changes to the Masters ticketing process coming next year, including a larger role for hospitality giant On Location.” Well, Paige Spiranac is surely going to have a good night’s sleep listening to this, as it was long ago that she had demanded, “Hot take, but I wish all sporting events banned phones. It was so special to see everyone enjoying the moment and be present…I also think ticket prices for sporting events need to be more affordable. And resell at 5x the price should be banned.”

Having said that, even in April 2011, Augusta had cracked down heavily—11 people were busted scalping Masters tickets within 2,700 feet of the course. With prior warnings ignored, they faced $750 fines and possible lifetime bans. Then, in 2020, another Texas man, Michael Freeman was sentenced to 28 months in prison, while his parents and sister received three years probation after admitting to wire fraud and running an elaborate scheme to “fraudulently obtain tickets to the Masters and resell them for a profit”. The quartet was also ordered to pay over $275,000 in community restitution.

Masters tightens rules: No digital tickets, no resale, no exceptions

Further explaining the rules of the course, the article mentions, “To understand why this is such a big deal, one must first understand the steadfast traditions and restrictions of The Masters. The golf course has a long-running ban on phones and thus does not accept digital tickets. All tickets are physical badges—either lanyard or paper passes that must be displayed around a person’s neck or on their belt loop, wrist, etc.—distributed directly by Augusta National, with strict rules against reselling.” As per the regulations, patrons should not keep their passes or tickets hidden at any time. Authorities have the right to demand the permits to verify them.

As stated in the official Masters Tournament website, “As a reminder, Augusta National, Inc. is the only authorized source/seller of Masters® Tickets. The resale of any Masters Ticket is strictly prohibited. Holders of Tickets acquired from third parties, by whatever means, may be excluded from attendance to the Tournament.” The article mentions how officials overlooked the breach in the past, but as the tournament and the sport get more popular, they need to tighten the locks to ensure everyone pays the same price to visit the course and watch the best play in the Masters Tournament.

Patrons might learn what steps the Augusta National is planning to take to crack down on the illegal reselling of tickets. But they are still not pleased with how expensive it is to purchase tickets for the Masters.

What are your thoughts about the reselling of Augusta National tickets for the Masters Tournament? Let us know in the comments section.