What the Masters Can Teach You About Building a Culture of Excellence

“You don’t need millions of dollars. You just need standards.” - Shawn Dill

There’s something magical about The Masters.

If you’ve been, you know what I’m talking about. The moment you walk onto the grounds at Augusta National, you feel it. It’s pristine. It’s polite. It’s purposeful. Everyone—guests, staff, players—knows the rules, and more importantly, they follow them.

Now compare that to your business.

Do your clients show up on time?

Do your team members know how to interact with clients?

Do people understand what’s expected of them—or are you constantly cleaning up messes?

If you’re like most service entrepreneurs, you’re trying to create an amazing experience without setting the rules of the game.

But here’s the truth:

Elite experiences don’t happen by accident—they’re designed.

Culture is Engineered, Not Hoped For

At The Masters, they don’t allow cell phones. You don’t see selfie sticks or influencers disrupting the vibe. Why? Because they decided what kind of environment they wanted to create, and then they enforced it—ruthlessly.

Same thing at Delilah in Las Vegas or Los Angeles. Dress code. No rowdy behavior. It’s a vibe—and people either respect it or they don’t get in.

You want your business to feel premium? Then it has to be premium.

And that starts with culture.

5 Ways to Engineer Culture in Your Business

Here’s how you take the lesson from Augusta National and make it real inside your business:

1. Define the Experience You Want to Create

Start with clarity. Do you want your brand to feel relaxed? Elite? High-energy? Educational?

Until you know what you want people to feel, you can’t expect anyone to deliver on it.

2. Establish Non-Negotiables

At The Masters, the non-negotiables are clear: no phones, no running, no disrespect.

What are yours? Maybe it’s punctuality. Maybe it’s tone. Maybe it’s how clients are onboarded.

But they need to be explicit, and they need to be enforced.

3. Train Your Team to Live It

Culture doesn’t live in a document—it lives in people.

Teach your team why your cultural rules exist and how to enforce them, respectfully but consistently.

4. Educate Your Clients

Don’t assume clients know how to behave. Set expectations from the first interaction.

Let them know how to contact you, how cancellations work, how they should show up.

It’s not about being rigid—it’s about being clear.

5. Protect the Vibe at All Costs

This is the big one. You have to be willing to say no.

No to clients who don’t align. No to team members who break the vibe.

Because once culture breaks, trust me—it’s hard to get it back.

The Bottom Line

If you want your business to feel like The Masters—or Delilah, or any other elite experience—you have to design it that way.

That’s how you create something that commands respect. That people want to be a part of. That grows—not by hustle, but by reputation.

Start acting like your business is Augusta National.

You don’t need millions of dollars. You just need standards.