Masters Tournament provides entertainment, economic boost

The Masters Tournament kicked off with a number of different events, including the Champion’s Dinner, the Par 3 Challenge and the tournament itself. While the golf club that hosts the tournament, Augusta National Golf Club, ranked as the No. 1 American Golf Course by Golf Digest in 2011, has been steeped in tradition since it’s opening in January of 1933, being.

While many may think of the tournament as merely a few days of golf, the tournament provides a great deal of leverage for both the city and state’s economy. The tournament, now in its 76th year, is widely recognized as the most prestigious tournament of the year on the PGA Tour. As the tournament bring in golf fanatics and their families, hotels, restaurants, retail shopping stores, and even the public golf courses surrounding Augusta National see a major increase in revenue.

“For us, it’s a good chunk of our annual income,” says Brian Cole, general manager of the Partridge Inn, a well-known hotel in Augusta. “We’re very fortunate to have a major each and every year,” says Augusta’s mayor Deke Copenhaver. “The international exposure it gives the city is something that is a huge benefit. It stimulates tourism – they want to see the course, they want to see our downtown, so it’s something that is impacting the city from a positive perspective throughout the year.”

The tournament is expected to bring in over $5 billion in 2011, and will also provide jobs for 60,000 in the state of Georgia.

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