A 93-year-old woman who lived less than a mile from Augusta National Golf Club refused to sell her property to the club until her dying breath, rebuffing years of expansion efforts by the golf club that hosts the celebrated Masters Tournament.
A spokesperson for Augusta National did not respond to Fortune’s request for comment.
Through its buying frenzy, the golf club has targeted homes like that of Thacker and her neighbors, many of which sold their properties to Augusta National. In 2018, one neighbor sold her three-bedroom ranch home, which is only an 11-minute walk from Thacker’s home, to the club for $1.1 million, the Journal reported. And the Thackers themselves sold another home they owned to Augusta National for $1.2 million, Fox Business reported.
The properties the club buys are mostly razed. Steps away from Thacker’s home, an unpaved parking lot welcomes visitors just outside of the north gate. As attendees visit the club for the Masters this weekend, many will likely walk right by the Thacker home to enter the club near the clubhouse and tournament practice area.
Still, her daughter, Thacker Rinder, said Augusta National hasn’t approached the family with new offers in the past year since the elder Thacker died, she told Fox Business. She would only sell, she says, “if the price is right.”
Thacker Rinder is now living in the house, and, like her mother, plans to keep the home in the family and is “taking good care of it,” she said.
A version of this story was published on Fortune.com on April 12, 2025.
