Onsite Insight: April in Augusta is Above Par

Augusta is a prime destination in April for travel participants looking to check out The Masters of Golf Tournament.

I always get the same question from my clients who work as meeting and incentive planners. They ask me: What is the best sporting event to wrap an incentive around?

The answer is The Masters Golf Tournament, which of course will be played this April at the famed Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. “Excuse me,” you say. “What about the World Cup or even the Super Bowl?” Now those are great events and certainly worthy of a number one ranking, but the Masters is magical. I am not even a golfer but I simply fell in love with this event—as so many do—when I walked the course for the first time.

It’s hard for me to even describe the sheer beauty of the “National” with all the Azaelas and Magnolias in full bloom. As a golf tournament, the players all know that the Masters is the one they want to win more then any other. You can ask a professional golfer from Europe, Asia or the United States and they will all tell you that the highlight of their career would be to one day wear the green jacket as a Master’s champion.

The city of Augusta is about two hours from Atlanta and offers the perfect back drop for this four-day tournament, which also includes three days of practice rounds earlier in the week. Many groups who come to the Masters will even rent out beautiful private homes in the surrounding neighborhoods of the golf club. Although there are a lot of hotels in Augusta (and it seems like they keep building more), the option to stay in some of these incredible homes is hard to pass up. In addition, Augusta has really started to come around with its dining options, which I feel nowadays is on par with many major cities.

The Masters is what has made Augusta famous and the people in town do their best to offer “southern” hospitality to all the visitors who take over the area every April. I really can’t think of a better place to spend that first or second week of April then in Augusta. You still might be scratching your head and wondering what it is about this event that makes it so special if you have never been. All I can say is that it’s really hard to explain in words. Its one of those things in life where you just have to go experience it yourself… then you’ll will see what I am talking about.

Note: For more of the top sporting events you’ll want to incorporate into your incentive regimen, take a look at my new book, 100 Sporting Events You Must See Live.