This year's going rate for badges is way better than par for the course

Demand for tickets to the Masters Tournament is up this year and people are prepared to pay top dollar for a chance to walk the event's famous fairways, according to online ticket traders.

"The Masters has just become such a big event," said Carl White, the chief ticket officer for Webtickets.com in Atlanta.

"Everybody wants to be here, and they have figured out this year that they aren't going to be broke and have survived the economy," White said.

White said demand is stronger than in 2010 and it's being reflected in the prices for tickets.

On Monday, two badges for the four tournament days were selling for $6,690 on White's Web site. Two tickets for just Thursday, the start of the tournament, were selling for $3,440.

The online auction site eBay had Thursday tickets for $1,600.

"Despite the lack of the 'Tiger Effect' this year, we're seeing strong demand -- even higher than last year or any previous years," said Joellen Ferrer, a spokeswoman for the online ticket marketplace StubHub.com. "As a result, prices are trending higher than last year."

On Monday, a four-day competition package of badges was selling for $3,414 atStubHub.com. Last year, the same package sold for more than $1,000 less.

"What's interesting is that the Masters follows a similar pattern we've noticed this year: Ticket prices for marquee events -- including the BCS National Championship, Super Bowl, Daytona 500 -- bounced back to prices we saw pre- recession," Ferrer said.

While sales are brisk online, deputies are keeping a watchful eye within the 2,700-foot zone surrounding Augusta National Golf Club where ticket selling is prohibited.

Starting this morning, deputies will begin issuing tickets to anyone caught trying to sell Masters tickets near Augusta National.

Anyone caught selling a ticket could be subject to a fine as high as $750.

"Normally on the first day we warn a lot of people," said Powell, who spoke Monday from the Richmond County Sheriff's Masters Command Center at Augusta National.

Sellers won't be able to get closer to Augusta National than Sherwood Drive to the west, Calhoun Expressway to the east and Ingleside Drive to the south.

Those spotted trying to sell their tickets will, at the very least, have them taken away.

For 20 years, the application process for tournament badges was closed, meaning that for many, the only chance of snagging the coveted tickets was to look for someone willing to sell them.

On Monday, officials announced that golf fans will be able to apply to Augusta National to buy two daily tournament tickets for the 2012 Masters.

Tickets for the practice rounds are sold through a lottery conducted by Augusta National. The club prohibits resale of tickets, and anyone caught selling them runs the risk of having them permanently revoked.

Reach Adam Folk at (706) 823-3339 or adam.folk@augustachronicle.com.