Augusta National is about to have a new famous member

Augusta National membership is largely a closely-guarded secret.

The club, which hosts the Masters each year, generally has around 300 members at any given time, and there is no application process to join.

Being a member of the most famous private golf course in the world is – just like the opening men’s major of the season – strictly invitation only.

As for how much you’ll need to part with to get your hands on one of those famous green jackets – the joining fee, depending on where you look, is estimated to be anywhere from $100,000 to $300,000, while annual dues are believed to be between $30,000 and $50,000.

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Famous members include billionaire businessmen Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Dirk Ziff and Stanley Druckenmiller, as well as Pete Coors, the former chairman of the Coors brewery empire, and Hugh McColl, the first CEO of the Bank of America.

In 2012, former secretary of state Condoleeza Rice and businesswoman Darla Moore became the first women admitted to Augusta National’s membership. Former members include the 34th US president, Dwight D Eisenhower.

Masters champions, of course, are only awarded ‘honorary membership’, though six-time Masters Jack Nicklaus is a full member.

Other members from the world of sport include LPGA legend Annika Sorenstam and NFL superstar Peyton Manning.

And it looks like there will be another Manning sporting a green jacket from next year, with Peyton’s brother Eli leading the Class of 2025 list of inductees.

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According to the Sports Business Journal, Manning will be joined by former CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus, Amazon CEO Andy, Jassy and Delta Airlines CEO Ed Bastian on next year’s Augusta National membership.

The 43-year-old, like his older sibling, is a two-time Superbowl champion and was awarded the MVP in both those games. Manning, who spent his entire career with the New York Giants, is also a nominee for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2025. If inducted, he’ll receive the coveted gold jacket.

We hope he’s got space in his wardrobe for all this new clobber…

Alex Perry is the Associate Editor of bunkered. A journalist for more than 20 years, he has been a golf industry stalwart for the majority of his career and, in a five-year spell at ESPN, covered every sporting event you can think of. He completed his own Grand Slam at the 2023 Masters, having fallen in love with the sport at his hometown club of Okehampton and on the links of nearby Bude & North Cornwall.

Associate Editor