Augusta National’s Patch Project: A Masterclass in How Golf’s Elite Can Actually Help the Game Grow

I’ve been covering professional golf for 35 years, and I’ve seen Augusta National do a lot of things well. They run the Masters like clockwork. They protect their brand with the precision of a championship putter. But what they’re doing with The Patch—the reimagined Augusta Municipal Golf Course—that’s something different. That’s them using their considerable leverage not just to protect the game’s prestige, but to genuinely expand access to it. And in an era where public golf is struggling, that matters more than you might think.

Let me be straight with you: Augusta National didn’t have to do this. They certainly didn’t have to partner with Tiger Woods and Tom Fazio to redesign a municipal course three miles from their gates. But they did, and the reasoning—outlined in a new 50-year lease with the city—reveals something worth paying attention to. This isn’t charity. It’s strategic community investment dressed in the language of job creation and public access. And honestly? That’s exactly the kind of thinking the golf industry needs right now.

The Historical Context You Need to Understand

Here’s what casual golf fans might miss: The Patch has been Augusta’s escape valve for decades. While Augusta National’s gates remained symbolically—and literally—closed to Black golfers for generations unless they were carrying somebody’s bag, The Patch offered an alternative. It was affordable. It was accessible. It was home to legends like Jim Dent, one of the best Black golfers of his era, who called Augusta home and built a community around that little municipal course.

The entrance road was renamed Jim Dent Way in 2020. That’s not just a nice gesture. That’s institutional acknowledgment of a complicated history.

“Its affordability has made The Patch a longtime home to Augusta’s public golfers, particularly Black golfers who for many years couldn’t find access to the most famous private club in town unless they were donning a caddie bib.”

That line from the source material stopped me cold when I first read it, and it should stop you too. It’s describing not just a golf course, but a social safety valve. And now Augusta National is essentially saying: we’re going to make it better, not just for nostalgia’s sake, but because this community deserves quality golf infrastructure.

The Numbers Tell a Story

Look at the pricing structure for the reopening on April 15th:

• Local resident (weekday): $25 for 18 holes
• Senior/Junior resident (weekday): $20 for 18 holes
• Non-resident: $85-$95

In my experience, that’s genuinely affordable public golf. Not cheap, but fair. The weekday rates especially—$25 for locals—that’s the kind of pricing that gets regular people out to play. And the senior/junior rates? That’s how you build the next generation of golfers.

What strikes me most is the partnership structure. Augusta National didn’t just write a check. They partnered with Augusta Tech’s golf-course management program and the First Tee of Augusta to handle operations. That’s investment in human capital, not just concrete and fairways. They’re creating jobs in a community while simultaneously building pipeline pathways for young golfers and aspiring course professionals.

The Design Story Matters

Having caddied in the ’90s and spent countless hours studying course architecture, I appreciate what they’re attempting here. Tom Fazio and Tiger Woods—working with Beau Welling—have maintained five original holes entirely, incorporated elements from six others, and added seven new holes entirely. The routing has been completely reimagined, with the clubhouse relocated and a new short course called “The Loop” added.

“A 12-hole putting course also is coming to The Patch, and will be free of charge.”

Free putting course. Let that sink in. That’s not something you see often anymore, and it speaks to a philosophy about golf access that feels increasingly rare among course operators focused purely on revenue.

The course appears to play as a par 73 with five par-5s, four par-3s, and nine par-4s—a routing that should play interesting without being brutally difficult. The addition of Trackman Range technology modernizes the practice facility in a way that appeals to current golfers without losing the essential character of a public municipal course.

Why This Matters Beyond Georgia

I think what’s happening at The Patch is actually a template that the golf industry should be watching. Augusta National could have let this course deteriorate. Instead, they’ve invested real resources—including the time and expertise of Tiger Woods—to make it better.

That’s a statement about where golf’s power structures see the game’s future. It’s not just about championship golf and majors and television ratings. It’s about making sure there are golf courses for regular people to play on, at prices they can actually afford, in communities that have historically been excluded from golf’s benefits.

In 35 years of covering this game, I’ve watched public golf courses close at an alarming rate. I’ve seen municipal courses abandoned, sold off for development, or priced so aggressively that they stop functioning as public assets. The Patch’s reopening—with those price points and that community partnership—pushes against that current.

The soft launch begins next month, with full reopening April 15th. I plan to get down there and play it myself. Not because it’s connected to Augusta National or because Tiger Woods had a hand in redesigning it, but because what The Patch represents—accessible, quality golf infrastructure built with intentional community partnership—feels like something worth celebrating in 2024.

That elephant-shaped routing? That’s just whimsy. But the vision behind it? That’s the good stuff.