Augusta National Golf Club's governance mechanism

A sign next to an unassuming gate on bustling Washington Road reads, "Augusta National Golf Club, Members Only." There are only two kinds of people in the world who can swing a club on the Augusta course's lawn - top golfers invited to play in the Augusta Masters and members of Augusta National, of which there are only 300 in the world.

In 1930, at the age of 28, Bobby Jones won the U.S. Amateur Championship, the British Amateur Championship, the U.S. Open, and the British Open in a single year as an amateur, an unprecedented feat in the history of golf. After his triumph from England, he announced that he was closing his golf clubs to realize another dream - to build his own golf course, where he could escape from the excessive attention of reporters and fans, and play with his friends. The course was officially inaugurated in 1933 and has been managed very privately since then, just as Jones intended. The course is open only during the season for invited players, and the rest of the year it is always closed to the public for the exclusive use of members. The doorman in the guardhouse at street level has memorized the 300 members who are eligible to enter the clubhouse through gate No. 2 on Magnolia Lane.

The Augusta club is so private that its green fees and membership list are kept secret. It is said that Augusta now **** has 300 members, are the top of the United States political and economic elite. In addition to possessing sufficient financial strength, understanding and contribution to golf, as well as the ability to blend in with the traditional atmosphere of the club, are all essential vetting criteria. Membership can only be applied for by recommendation of a member, and an applicant's status can only be regularized by the withdrawal or death of an existing member. The Augusta Club's scarce membership quotas and harsh membership system have unceremoniously turned away countless business tycoons. So far, Tiger Woods is only an honorary member of the club; Bill Gates, who is rich and powerful, waited in line for nearly 10 years before he was allowed to join the club, because some members thought that he "did not have enough understanding of golf, and there was some copper in his body".