Courtesy cars given to Masters players at Augusta National have changed dramatically over the years

Courtesy cars given to Masters players at the Augusta National sure have changed a lot over the years.

Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia hosts a Masters Tournament each year, in which golf’s best players go head to head.

But victory isn’t the only perk of playing, as the players also get courtesy cars during their stay.

However, don’t think they were always so glamorous – there have been some interesting choices over the years.

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The cars that have graced the Augusta National over the decades

The Masters Tournament has been happening since 1934, which is a really long time.

And courtesy cars for the players are now something of a tradition during the contest, which takes place each April.

As you might expect for a bunch of pro-golfers, there have been some stellar cars over the years.

After all, these are high-earning athletes, as Rory Mcllroy’s garage demonstrated.

And even the end of careers can sometimes come with car bonuses.

In fact, Bernhard Langer was honored with a bespoke S-Class from Mercedes-Benz for his last appearance at Augusta.

But what about the cars that the golfers get loaned for their time at the competition?

This year’s cars are all from Mercedes-Benz, a Champion Partner of the Masters Tournament.

The cars this year include the AMG CLE 53 Cabriolet, the EQS 450+ SUV, the G 550 SUV, Mercedes-Maybach S 680 4Matic, and the GLE 450E 4Matic SUV.

All very fancy, right?

No ordinary courtesy cars

This classy car scheme has a long history, going back to the 1973 game when Arnold Palmer turned up in this red Cadillac convertible.

Very dapper, very James Bond.

But if we go a few years ahead to 1981, we’ll see that things weren’t always so pretty.

This shot shows Johnny Miller departing from his courtesy car, which appeared to be a station wagon.

Not exactly the epitome of high class, huh?

It looks a lot like the car driven by Clark Griswold in National Lampoon’s Vacation, we’re just waiting on Christie Brinkley and her Ferrari to class the joint up a bit.

Surely things have only improved since 1981, right?

How things have gone in the years since 1981

Things were looking a little better in 1982, if this brown car is anything to go by.

Cadillac was a big presence at the Masters for 40 years, as it was the sponsor before Mercedes-Benz took center stage in 2008.

Phil Mickelson showed up in a very nice white Cadillac for the 1996 competition.

His caddy’s all-white get up even matched.

The Masters runs until April 13th.

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