‘We Made Augusta’: Gary Player says denied family round, criticizes club’s leadership

Gary Player has issued a rare public rebuke of Augusta National, saying the club turned down his request to play a fourball with three of his grandsons and lamenting that decision as a “sadness” after a lifetime devoted to the Masters.

The request that sparked a rare rebuke

The three-time Masters champion said he asked to play one round at Augusta National alongside his grandsons so he could share personal history from the course where he cemented much of his legacy. The answer, he said, was no. “I have been an ambassador for Augusta for all these years, yet they won’t let me have one round of golf in my life with my three grandsons, ” Player said, adding, “My grandsons are dying to know about their grandfather’s episodes on that golf course. ” He framed the refusal as a reflection of “current management, ” saying he accepts the decision “with sadness. ”

‘We made Augusta’: Player’s broader point

Player praised Augusta National’s co-founders Bobby Jones and Clifford Roberts, as well as President Dwight D. Eisenhower, for laying the club’s foundation. He then expanded his case, asserting that the epic battles he staged with Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus in the 1960s and 70s elevated the Masters into a global spectacle. “They basically made Augusta. Then Arnold, Jack and I came along and we fought it out every year, and then we made Augusta thanks to the coverage and publicity we generated around the Masters, whether the club likes to admit it or not. They won’t admit it, but we made Augusta. ”

Honorary starter, but not a member

Player, 90, is entwined with the Masters as tightly as any figure in the tournament’s history. He captured green jackets in 1961, 1974 and 1978, became the first international winner of the event, and holds the record for most Masters starts with 52 between 1957 and 2009. In 1998, at 62, he became the oldest golfer to make the cut. Since 2012, he has served as an honorary starter, continuing in that role alongside golf’s modern greats and keeping the tournament’s traditions in the spotlight each April (ET). Despite that stature, Player was never invited to join the club, a distinction that sets him apart from his “Big Three” contemporaries: Palmer was a member, and Nicklaus is a member.

Why guest play at the club is different

Outside Masters week, Augusta National’s policies around access are famously strict. Past champions like Player retain playing privileges, but only full members can bring guests. That means even legends need a member host to set up a casual round with friends or family. Player has aired frustration about those limits before, saying last year he was “disillusioned” by how hard it is to arrange a game with a guest. He emphasized that other major-championship venues would accommodate a family fourball, contrasting that openness with Augusta’s stance.

The line between tradition and flexibility

Augusta National’s guarded approach is part of its identity, and its overseers historically make few exceptions. Player’s comments, though, tap a deeper question that periodically surfaces around the club: how a place so devoted to tradition balances that ethos with the personal legacies that helped build the Masters. By spotlighting his grandsons’ wish to learn the course through his eyes, Player pushed the conversation beyond access and into legacy—who gets to share, and on what terms, the stories that shaped a cornerstone of golf.

What it means ahead of the next Masters

Player remains one of the game’s most visible ambassadors, and his voice carries weight across generations. Whether his public disappointment prompts any shift at Augusta is unclear. He underscored his respect for the club’s historical leaders while laying blame at the feet of current leadership, and he ended by accepting the decision—“with sadness. ” For now, his honorary starter role is part of Masters tradition, and his place in tournament lore is unshakable. The remaining tension is personal: a grandfather’s wish to walk one more meaningful loop with family on the stage where he became immortal.