News
Analyzing The Cost of Attending Golf’s Four Major Tournaments
Growing up, James was fascinated with watching sports. This led to an interest in research and stats and writing betting analysis for a variety of sports. James has graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business.
All posts by James BoutrosPublished15 May 2024
Key Highlights:
- PGA Championship concessions are the most expensive on average
- The US Open has the highest drink and alcohol costs; alcohol costs 2.57 times more than the Masters
- Masters’ lowest ticket price is more than 3x the cost of the highest ticket price for the three other golf majors
Golf has four major events that every golf fan looks forward to yearly.
The Masters, PGA Championship, US Open, and The Open are the four major events that have an undeniable place in golf history.
Fans who want to attend these events might have to choose wisely, as the cost of tickets, food, drinks, and alcohol varies at each event. To help, the data analysts at SportsTalkPhilly.com have gathered data on the cost of attending each of golf’s four major tournaments.
Here is a chart detailing the average price (USD) of food, drinks, snacks, alcohol, and ticket prices for the four major golf events.
| Masters ($) |
PGA Championship ($) |
US Open ($) |
The Open ($) |
|
| Food | 2.56 | 10.69 | 6.44 | 11.42 |
| Drink | 1.88 | 6.00 | 7.17 | 2.76 |
| Snacks | 1.81 | 3.00 | 2.00 | 2.60 |
| Alcohol | 6.00 | 14.75 | 15.44 | 9.42 |
| Tickets (Cheapest – Most Expensive) |
1,414 – 4,341 | 48.00 – 448.00 | 18.00 – 440.00 | 31.41 – 138.19 |
Below, we will discuss the cost of food, drinks, snacks, alcohol, and ticket prices for the four major golf events.
Masters Has Highest Ticket Prices But Lowest Food & Beverage Costs
Ticket prices for the masters are astronomically high compared to the other three major golf events.
The lowest ticket price at the Masters averages $1,414, which is 3.156 times more than the average highest ticket price for any of the other major golf events.
While the Masters is the most prestigious event in golf, fans are paying a premium to attend the event.
However, food, drinks, snacks, and alcohol costs are the lowest at the Masters compared to the other major golf events.
Alcohol at the Masters costs 2.573 times less than the US Open.
While eating and drinking at the Masters will not cost much, fans will be paying a hefty price to attend the event.
PGA Championship Concessions Are The Most Expensive On Average
The PGA Championship ticket prices are a lot more reasonable than the Masters, but fans can still expect to pay a lot to eat and drink at the event.
Food at the PGA Championship is more than four times the cost at the Masters.
Alcohol at the PGA Championship is 2.458 times more than the cost of alcohol at the Masters.
To analyze which golf major was the most expensive to attend, we calculated the cost of buying one food item, one snack, one drink, and two alcoholic beverages. We omitted the cost of tickets to level the playing field, as Americans would have to travel overseas to attend The Open.
| Masters ($) | PGA Championship ($) | US Open ($) | The Open ($) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Food Item | 2.56 | 10.69 | 6.44 | 11.42 |
| 1 Drink | 1.88 | 6.00 | 7.17 | 2.76 |
| 1 Snack | 1.81 | 3.00 | 2.00 | 2.60 |
| 2 Alcoholic Beverages | 12.00 | 29.50 | 30.88 | 18.85 |
| Total | 18.24 | 49.19 | 46.49 | 35.63 |
All things made equal, the PGA Championship proved to be the most expensive tournament to attend in terms of buying food, drinks, and alcohol. Patrons can expect to pay around $49.19 for food and drinks on the day of the event.
On the other hand, patrons at the Masters will only pay around $18.24 for food and drinks in a single day. However, they will have to fork over an astronomical $1,414 for tickets to enter Augusta National.
In fact, the cheapest Masters ticket is more than 3x more expensive than the most expensive ticket to attend the other three major tournaments.
US Open Has The Highest Drinks & Alcohol Costs
The US Open has the highest drinks and alcohol costs of any of the four major golf events.
The US Open’s ticket prices are similar to those of the PGA Championship, but the lowest average ticket price is lower. That’s because tickets to the US Open start at just $18 USD.
Food at the US Open is also reasonably priced, with the second-lowest average cost of the four major golf events, but prepare to pay up for drinks and alcohol.
Alcohol at the US Open is 2.573 times more than the cost of alcohol at the Masters.
With an average price of $7.17 for drinks and $15.44 for alcohol, this marks the highest cost for beverages of any of the four major golf events.
The Open Has The Lowest Ticket Cost But Highest Food Prices
The Open has the highest food cost but the lowest premium ticket price of any of the four major golf events.
Prices range from $31.41 – $138.19 USD for tickets to the Open.
This is far more reasonable than the three major events in the US.
The highest average ticket price for The Open is 10x less than the lowest average ticket price to attend the Masters.
Drinks and alcohol are the second lowest average price of the four major events.
However, fans will pay for food and snacks.
Food and snacks at The Open have the highest average price of any of the four major events.
Despite having the highest food and snack prices, this is the most economically feasible event for fans to attend price-wise as tickets are the cheapest and drinks and alcohol are reasonably priced as well.
Which Golf Major Offers The Most Expensive Food, Drinks, & Alcohol?
| Most Expensive Golf Major | ||
| Item | Tournament | Cost ($) |
| Tickets | The Masters | 1,414 |
| Food | The Open | 11.42 |
| Snacks | PGA Championship | 3.00 |
| Drinks | US Open | 7.17 |
| Alcohol | US Open | 15.44 |
