When the gates of Augusta National open this week, thousands of patrons will enter with one goal on their minds…and it’s not a pimento cheese sandwich. Pursuit of the year’s souvenir garden gnome transforms even genteel Masters patrons into K-Pop-level obsessives. But it’s not necessarily the manicured beard, stylish golf fashion, or ever-so-slightly twinkling eyes that drive the frenzy.
“When you look at items tied to the Masters, it’s really hard to get a match-worn shirt or a club used at the event from one of the players,” says Mike Provenzale, production manager at Heritage Auctions. “[The gnome] is something that, while limited, is a collectible that’s easier for a fan to acquire and thus resell.”
The first argyle-sweater-wearing variant of the gnome appeared without fanfare in 2016. Most Masters patrons who claimed one simply tossed the box and plopped the little fellow in their garden or placed it on a den shelf. (If you’re one of those patrons, you probably should simply enjoy your well-loved gnome and not read any further.)
After a year off, the gnome returned in 2018, and he’s perched atop every Masters patron’s shopping list ever since. Each year brings new garb, like a caddy outfit, plaid pants, and a golf shirt and khaki shorts showing off chubby gnome knees. This year’s model even sports a working umbrella.
Retailing for $49.50, limit one per patron, the gnomes vanish from the shelves as soon as they’re placed. Augusta National doesn’t provide information on merch sales, but anecdotal estimates put the number of gnomes sold per day at around 1,000—meaning only a small fraction of each day’s estimated 40,000 to 50,000 patrons can even claim one.
“People tend to throw them up on eBay as soon as they can,” Provenzale says. “They want to get it up there while the Masters is happening and sell it immediately.”
See for yourself. The eBay market for gnomes is nuclear, with asking prices in the four and five figures. The Golf Auction lists several gnomes in its April Masters auction, and once hosted an original argyle model that sold for about $10,000.
That kind of speculation, combined with a gold-rush mentality, doesn’t exactly jibe with Augusta National’s ethos of the ideal Masters experience. (This is a place, remember, that will ban you for life if you bring a cell phone onto the property.) The club is now taking steps to curb gnome fever, not allowing patrons to even park before 6:00 a.m.
Rumors swirl that this will be the last year Augusta National will offer the gnomes. That would be both a drastic and perfectly in-character step for the club, which has no need whatsoever of the gnomes’ extra revenue or publicity. (The club declined to comment.)
Whether the threat to end the gnome run is real or just a market-juicing rumor, patrons will flood the merch palace every day of Masters week. Oh, and if you can grab one for me, let me know. I’ll Venmo you.
Jay Busbee is an Atlanta-based writer for Yahoo Sports. His latest book is Iron in the Blood, the story of the Alabama-Auburn football rivalry. Send him barbecue recommendations on X, Instagram, TikTok, or Facebook at @jaybusbee or at jaybusbee.com.
