As the days get longer and the weather gets warmer golfers can dust off their clubs and get ready to hit the links. This weekend marks the first major golf event of 2014 with the Masters in Augusta, Georgia.
The Masters dates back to 1949 and is considered by many as the most prestigious of the four majors. With great memories including Jack Nicklaus’ win at age 46 in 1986, Tiger’s incredible win in 1997 and Phil’s epic shootout in 2004 each year brings a new story and more excitement.
Augusta National Golf club is the host venue for the Masters every year. Members of the course include some of the most powerful businessmen of the world. While Bill Gates and Warren Buffett top the list, Pete Coors, Jack Welch, Lou Holtz and Frank Boyles are some of the other influential members of Augusta National.
With this wealth naturally comes a large influx of private jets. While most choose to fly into Augusta Regional Airport or Daniel Field whose runways run along the edge of the city’s municipal golf course, others will fly into Aiken Municipal Airport across from the Savannah River in South Carolina horse country, where families like the Whitneys and the Vanderbilts escape for the winter. If these options don’t work, there are four other airports located within 50 miles of Augusta National across Georgia and South Carolina.
A couple of the aircraft that we can definitely expect in attendance this year are Adam Scott’s Gulfstream G450 and Phil Mickelson’s Gulfstream GV. Many of the other golfers who aren’t fortunate enough to own their own aircraft will be traveling through their jet card, fractional ownership or simply chartering a jet.
PHIL MICKELSON’S GV PHOTO CRED BUSINESS INSIDER
Last year the amount of private aircraft in attendance was through the roof. In fact, it was so high that Augusta Regional Airport actually had to put a cap on the amount of private jets that could come in for the first time ever. NetJets reported more demand from this event than the Super Bowl- one of the heaviest traveled private jet events of the year.
The crowds this year are expected to be a little more tame with Tiger Woods missing his first masters since 1994. Despite this, we can definitely expect solid numbers while the world’s best like Adam Scott, Phil Mickelson, Jason Day, and Sergio Garcia battle for the green jacket. Who knows, maybe Ryan Moore, Wednesday’s par 3 winner will break the curse and end up on top. One thing is for sure, we can expect an exciting weekend and a lot of private jet travel
This article was written by Johnny Sengelmann, COO and co-founder of Fresh Jets. Fresh Jetsaggregates private jet schedule and pricing information in real-time matching inventory to the travel needs of businesses and individuals instantly. Want to know what is so great about flying private? Find out for yourself here.