GREENWOOD, S.C. —The City of Greenwood says golf fans are taking advantage of its proximity to Augusta National and a wide range of local restaurants to make the most of their Masters week.Wednesday was an unforgettable trip to Augusta National for Zach and Rob Hamrick. The duo were among the hundreds of Masters guests staying in Greenwood this week, just an hour's drive from Augusta."Everything's so expensive over there for the week. And, and Columbia still, you know, pretty stiff for the wee...
GREENWOOD, S.C. —
The City of Greenwood says golf fans are taking advantage of its proximity to Augusta National and a wide range of local restaurants to make the most of their Masters week.
Wednesday was an unforgettable trip to Augusta National for Zach and Rob Hamrick. The duo were among the hundreds of Masters guests staying in Greenwood this week, just an hour's drive from Augusta.
"Everything's so expensive over there for the week. And, and Columbia still, you know, pretty stiff for the week," Rob says, "it is still about the same distance for us away as Columbia. So it works out good for us.
According to Kelly McWhorter with Discover Greenwood, tourists looking for a more affordable place to stay help drive in over a million dollars in economic impact each year.
"For the hospitality and lodging industry, it's one of our biggest weeks of the year," she says.
She says the city is using multiple strategies to attract golf fans, including an interactive scorecard that includes 18 local places people can visit, where they're given a special golf tee for stopping by. McWhorter also says that they're using location-specific ads.
"We are geofencing all of the cell phones that are coming in and out of Augusta National with our own digital advertising," she says.
Having so many visitors is a major leg up, especially after being rocked by Hurricane Helene.
"Your economy takes a significant hit from something like a natural disaster, and we're starting to wake up and become Greenwood again. And we're excited to have folks come through here and and see us in a really good light," McWhorter says.
Over at Inn on the Square, we're told they nearly sell out when the Masters crowd visits.
"A lot of these people end up staying here every year. So a lot of these faces actually are familiar faces to us, which is really nice," explains Joanna Gillespie with the hotel. She says, "This is kind of like home away from home for people. They can go somewhere and have fun and be close to the masters without feeling like they're stuck in traffic all day, every day."
More information for visiting Greenwood can be found here.