AUGUSTA, Georgia (Reuters) – For die-hard golf fans a ticket to the U.S. Masters may be precious but in a biting recession there is a limit to what they will pay to watch Tiger Woods fight for a Green Jacket.

While the world economy withers, there are no signs of a recession inside Augusta National Golf Club where the Azaleas are in full bloom and the 63 cash registers at the merchandise shop hum from dawn to dusk.

Outside, however, the economy that operates on the fringes of one of the world’s most famous golf clubs is spluttering as ticket touts slash their prices and corporate hospitality businesses scramble to unload an inventory of homes.

Dianne Starr, president of Corporate Quarters Inc., which hires houses to companies and golfers in Masters week, said business was down 20 percent in the last year mostly due to crippled carmakers, banks and financial institutions slashing their hospitality budgets.

According to Starr the biggest fall has been in the “high-end” homes that go for $20,000 to $30,000 for the week, though deals could be found across the board.

“Business is the worst in 30 years,” Starr told Reuters. “We have definitely seen a decrease in the number of companies coming in big numbers and the companies that are coming seem to be bringing fewer people.

“There are some good deals; the cost of homes is lower simply because so many are available. Some of the big carmakers are not here and the banks.”

MASTERS BADGES

Ticket touts were also feeling the pinch with Masters badges going for less than half compared to 2008.

The Masters remains one of the best bargains in sport, with patrons paying $200 for a four-day pass.

On the resale market badges are like gold, selling at huge multiples of face value.

Last year the average price of a four-day pass sold on Stubhub (www.stubhub.com) was $3,930. As of March 30, the average was down to $1,944.

A day pass to Sunday’s final round averaged $1,045 in 2008 but this year they are being offered for as little as $370.

“Everything across the board has dropped at least 50 percent,” Stubhub spokesman Sean Pate told Reuters.

“If seeing the Masters is on your bucket list (things to do before you die) then this is the year to do it.

“Prices have come back into the range of the average person. In the 10 years Stubhub has been doing this I have never seen prices this low.”

From hotel rooms to parking to dining, those making the trip to Augusta are finding good deals.

Inside the golf club though, there is no hint of the economic storm raging beyond its walls.

With an elite membership that includes some of the world’s wealthiest men, club chairman Billy Payne said careful planning had ensured the smooth-running of the Masters for years to come.

“It (the recession) has not yet affected the club,” Payne added. “I think we, as would all events or endeavors, if it is prolonged for multiple additional years, would of course expect to be impacted.

“But based on our conservative planning that’s gone on now for several decades we expect to be here every year and do it at the same level that we have been able to do it for prior years.”

(Editing by Tony Jimenez)