What Would You Sacrifice to Attend the Masters? Some People Would Donate a Kidney
Those of you with golf fans in your lives may want to strongly consider them when you schedule any significant life events.
Nearly a third of the more than 2,000 respondents who participated in Sportsbook Review's latest survey say they would be willing to miss a friend's wedding in order to attend the Masters. And if that weren't enough, nearly three percent of participants say they would even skip their own wedding in exchange for tickets to the most prestigious tournament in men's golf, which kicks off Thursday at Augusta National Golf Course in Georgia.
Here's a detailed look at the answers to the question: What would you be willing to do to attend the Masters?
Would you ... | Yes responses |
---|---|
Give up beer for a year? | 54% |
Give up cheese for a year? | 33.3% |
Miss a friend's wedding? | 32% |
Give up social media for a year? | 27.9% |
See your mother-in-law every day for a year? | 27% |
Give up your smartphone for a year? | 4.1% |
Quit your job? | 3.9% |
Miss your own wedding? | 2.9% |
Donate a kidney? | 1.1% |
A few thoughts ...
- Given the survey demographic (provided in detail at the bottom of the article), it's at least a mild surprise that more than half of respondents would be willing to nix beer for an entire year. But that tells you all you need to know about how popular the Masters is.
- Giving up social media for a year might not seem like a big concession to those who don't frequent it, but its vice-like hold on the more active segment of the population makes this result make a lot of sense.
- To the 2.9% of survey respondents who would be willing to skip their own wedding for a spot on the Augusta grass ... that's definitely a choice. But on the bright side, they'll almost certainly need just the one ticket.
More than four-in-10 voters choose Masters tickets over a Super Bowl win
Golf fans are almost unanimously sports fans, as well – and we wanted to know how participants would feel about choosing between Masters weekend attendance and seeing some of their favorite sports teams win a championship.
Masters weekend or ... | Result |
---|---|
A Super Bowl title | 56.8% Super Bowl title | 43.2% Masters |
An NCAA football title | 63.7% Masters | 36.3% NCAA title |
An NCAA men's basketball title | 69.6% Masters | 30.4% NCAA title |
In one of the more intriguing results, a slight majority of participants say they would prefer to see their favorite NFL team hoist the Vince Lombardi Trophy over attending the first major of the PGA season – more proof that pro football rules the U.S. sports landscape.
As for deciding between an NCAA football or men's basketball championship and a trip to Augusta, a large majority would rather be at Amen Corner than celebrate a national title.
Show me the money: Most respondents opt for cash over Masters attendance
Next, we posed this hypothetical: What size of cash prize could sway participants from opting to attend the Masters?
Masters weekend or ... | Result |
---|---|
A $5,000 lottery win | 85.4% lottery | 14.6% Masters |
A $50,000 lottery win | 96.4% lottery | 3.6% Masters |
I thought that maybe a larger share of the voting contingency would opt for attending Masters Saturday and Sunday over winning $5,000; a weekend pass costs just north of $3,500, and when you factor in flight or other travel means, accommodations, food and other expenses, the weekend bill probably isn't far off that figure.
As for the 72 respondents who said they would give up a $50,000 cash prize to go to the Masters ... I'm guessing that more than a few of you have carded a birdie when you actually shot par. Either that, or you're actually in the tournament field.
Two-thirds of participants pick politics over putts
American political lines have never been more clearly drawn – and those stark divisions have no doubt impacted the results generated by the following two questions:
Could you accept your rival party winning your state election if it meant you could attend the Masters?
Answer | Result |
---|---|
No | 62.5% |
Yes | 37.5% |
Could you accept your rival party winning the presidential election if it meant you could attend the Masters?
Answer | Result |
---|---|
No | 71.7% |
Yes | 28.3% |
It's impossible to know whether these results would be less emphatic were it not an election year, but it's clear that a trip to the Masters isn't nearly enough of a carrot to entice the participants in this survey to see their rival political party in control.
Methodology
Sportsbook Review surveyed 2,009 respondents representing all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Here's a look at the breakdown:
Age Group | Respondents | Share |
---|---|---|
25-34 | 578 | 28.8% |
35-44 | 560 | 27.9% |
45-54 | 406 | 20.2% |
55-64 | 259 | 12.9% |
65 and over | 117 | 5.8% |
18-24 | 89 | 4.4% |
Political Affiliation | Respondents | Share |
---|---|---|
Democrat | 996 | 49.6% |
Republican | 546 | 27.2% |
Other/Not Stated | 467 | 26.2% |