The Masters have stepped up efforts to stop fans sneaking in AI glasses that allow them to circumvent Augusta’s strict no-phone and no-camera policy, the Daily Mail understands.
Over recent years, brands such as Oakley and Ray-Ban have released Meta AI glasses that contain mini speakers, microphones and cameras that allow users to send and receive messages, listen to music and capture photos and video. Their popularity has surged among influencers in recent months.
The technology, which can cost up too $800, can be difficult to detect to the untrained eye and in recent years, some fans have brought the glasses into the Masters before posting videos online.
There have also been reports of a number of fans wearing the gadgets this week, prompting calls for the club to add them to the banned list.
And a source told the Daily Mail that the glasses are now among the club’s top priorities when briefing security staff, with officials learning how to spot the hidden cameras.
Fans are allowed to bring cameras inside Augusta for practice rounds but as soon as the tournament starts on Thursday, the club bans electronic devices such as ‘cell phones, laptops, tablets, beepers, drones and other electronics… including devices capable of transmitting photo/video.’
Earlier this week, former Open champion Mark Calcavecchia was reportedly thrown out of the Masters after he was caught on his phone, while Kai Trump sparked allegations that she had broken the club’s golden rule after the president’s granddaughter posted pictures from behind the scenes at Augusta.
Calcavecchia refused to elaborate on the incident, telling Golfweek on Wednesday: ‘I’ve got nothing negative to say about Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters, so I think we should literally hang up right now.’
But the incident involving the 13-time PGA Tour winner shows just how seriously organizers enforce their rules – and how much of a concern the glasses are.
A source told the Daily Mail that after smart glasses first emerged, security staff sometimes struggled to detect them, given how similar they look to regular sunglasses.
But now they are said to be one the biggest things that security is told to look out for.
On one recent occasion, a source revealed, a fan was caught trying to bring the glasses in to the first round of the Masters.
They had used them for a practice round and were shown some mercy – the club confiscated the gadget but the fan was able to collect them as they left.
But should anyone attempt to sneak them in for Sunday’s final round, they would risk being kicked out and banned from the tournament, the source added.
It is also claimed that officials keep an eye out online for fans posting content using the glasses. At the time of writing, Augusta National had not responded to a request for comment.
The tournament enters its final day on Sunday with defending champion Rory McIlroy tied for the lead alongside Cam Young of the United States on -11.
Young’s fellow American Sam Burns is a shot behind, while McIlroy’s Europe Ryder Cup teammates Shane Lowry and Justin Rose also feature in the chasing pack.
McIlroy went into his round on Saturday with a commanding six-shot lead but on a day where many others went low, he only managed to grind out a one-over par score of 73.
