Before the world’s best golfers even take the course at Augusta National Golf Club for the Masters, past champions of the tournament attend a dinner honoring the previous year’s winner, who chooses the menu.
In recent years, the Masters Club, which consists of the champions, began sharing the dinner menu on social media, inspiring much engagement with fans.
As each menu is analyzed by thousands of viewers, debates rage in the comments, and the criticisms from some can get downright ugly.
The menu selections tend to be highly personal, reflecting the golfer’s nationality, upbringing and taste. They provide a rare moment of personal vulnerability for the Masters champions, a tiny fraternity of wealthy, famous and ridiculously talented men.
Those ingredients create a perfect storm for keyboard warriors to hurl their vitriol, though many of comments reveal a lack of discernment when it comes to food.
Perhaps that’s why 28-year-old Scottie Scheffler, last year’s winner and a two-time Masters champion, chose mostly to reprise his menu from the 2023 dinner for this year’s meal, to be held April 8, following the second day of practice rounds at the Augusta course. Scheffler, the top-ranked golfer in the world, added a third appetizer and changed only the first course.
The appetizers include firecracker shrimp and cheeseburger sliders served “Scottie-style,” with french fries accompanying the burger between the buns, both repeats from 2023. This year’s menu adds another meaty starter, “Papa Scheff’s” meatball and ravioli bites. For the first course, Scheffler, who grew up in Dallas, swapped 2023′s tortilla soup for Texas-style chili.
The rest of Scheffler’s dinner is a repeat of 2023; the Masters champions can choose a cowboy rib-eye or blackened redfish for their entree, while dessert is a warm chocolate chip skillet cookie.
Scheffler’s copy-and-paste menu won’t score points for originality, but his nostalgic choices fit neatly with his low-key, family-oriented personality. The chili was inspired by his longtime golf coach, Randy Smith, while the meatball appetizer is a favorite dish made by Scheffler’s father, known to the family as Papa Scheff.
Family-style sides with the main courses provide some much-needed vegetables and a nice range of flavors: macaroni and cheese, jalapeño creamed corn, soy-glazed Brussels sprouts and chipotle-lime roasted sweet potatoes.
AJC dining critic ranks the 5 best Masters Club Dinner menus of the past decade
- 2022, chosen by Hideki Matsuyama. Highlights: assorted sushi, miso-glazed black cod, Miyazaki wagyu
- 2024, chosen by John Rahm. Highlights: Iberian ham, Idiazabal cheese with black truffle, Mama Rahm’s classic lentil stew, Basque crab salad, Basque rib-eye
- 2016, chosen by Jordan Spieth. Highlights: Texas barbecue, including brisket, chicken and pork ribs
- 2014, chosen by Adam Scott. Highlights: Artichoke and arugula salad with grilled calamari; Australian wagyu New York strip; Moreton Bay bugs, a type of lobster from the South Pacific; strawberry and passionfruit pavlova
- 2018, chosen by Sergio Garcia. Highlights: A Spanish saffron rice and lobster dish called arroz caldoso de bogavante, Angela Garcia’s tres leches cake
Sign up for the AJC Food and Dining Newsletter
Read more stories like this by liking Atlanta Restaurant Scene on Facebook, following @ATLDiningNews on X and @ajcdining on Instagram.
About the Author
Keep Reading
The Latest
Featured
