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Augusta National Golf Club in 1991.
- Over the course of two decades, Augusta National Golf Club, which hosts the Masters, has purchased 270 acres of land totaling $200 million, according to The Wall Street Journal.
- The exclusive club rarely purchases under its iconic name, instead opting to use LLCs in order to keep deals secretive.
- Augusta National's purchases have made many homeowners instant millionaires, as their homes have been bought for way more than their estimated worth.
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Augusta residents are selling their homes to golf's most exclusive club, and it's turning some of them into millionaires.
In a recent report by The Wall Street Journal, a map shows that over 100 properties across 270 acres have been purchased by Augusta National Golf Club since 1999. These deals have increased the golf club's total land size by 75% for a total price of $200 million - and several of them have made residents very wealthy.
"They've made quite a few homeowners millionaires," Augusta realtor Venus Griffin told The Journal.
The 86-year-old course - and infamous member club for the rich and famous - is consistently ranked among America's top greens, and hosts the Masters Tournament each year, an event where fans spend as much as $6,000 for a ticket.
When purchasing, Augusta National does not use its name. Instead, The Journal reports, it opts for one of a dozen names of limited liability companies connected to the club. A recent deal - rumored to be around $20 million - involved LLCs on both sides: buyer Augusta National Golf Club and seller Augusta Country Club. The system is completely legal and "hardly uncommon" for companies looking to keep transactions under wraps.
Some homeowners aren't budging. An April 2018 article by Business Insider's Cork Gaines reported that a couple was refusing to sell, though a nearby relative had received over $3.6 million for his properties. At the time, the couple themselves were already millionaires - after selling their property across the street for $1.2 million.
The majority, though, accept offers, as their homes - whose median price is around $125,000 according to Zillow in The Journal's report - will receive millions of dollars instead of thousands when they sell to the golf behemoth.
"You know they're good for the money," said Augusta-native Madeleine Liles, who sold her family home to Augusta National for $1.1 billion.