No roaming: Patrons head straight for the gnomes as they enter Augusta National
By 8 a.m. Saturday, ahead of the Augusta National Women's Amateur, the line to the Masters Main Golf Shop stretched towards the practice range.
All Lucy Miller wanted was a gnome.
“I didn’t mind waking up at 5 a.m.,” said Miller, of Los Angeles, who arrived at Augusta National Golf Club by 5:30 a.m. “I told my kids I was bringing home that gnome.”
The craze for the bearded wonder began in 2016, when the Masters Tournament introduced a gnome wearing an argyle cardigan. In 2023, he resembled a Masters patron, donning a blue shirt and carrying a stack of green and white cups.
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This April, he’s topped with a bucket hat, wearing a blue sweater with plaid pants and carrying a bag of clubs.
“The Masters made an Instagram post about him last week, and my family said, ‘That’s all we want,’” Miller said.
The gnome was one of many popular items in the shop, which includes new designs of Peter Millar shirts for 2024. The brand introduced a blue floral pattern this year which displays azaleas.
Other novelty selections include a navy Smathers & Branson belt with various famed items from the Masters Tournament. Included are the Hogan Bridge, the clubhouse, a pimento cheese sandwich and a white arrow pointing toward Amen Corner.
“I’m trying to limit the spending, but I had to splurge on a few shirts,” patron Tom Westmoreland said of the $110 Peter Millar polos. “You could spend hours in this pro shop, and still not see everything.”
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Masters merch 2024: Gnome popular again in new merchandise selection
