Masters attendees will have twice as much room to shop at Augusta National (Photo JEFF HAYNES/AFP/Getty Images)
Of the many unique aspects that come with attending golf’s Masters Tournament in person, the fact that you can only purchase tournament-related merchandise on the course remains a mainstay. That on-site shopping experience has just received a significant upgrade.
Augusta National Golf Club, home of the Masters, opened a new and expanded Main Golf Shop on April 1, doubling the size of its previous main merchandise building. Official practice rounds for the Masters begin Monday, April 2, with the first of four competition rounds scheduled to tee off Thursday.
Take a look inside the state-of-the-art facility providing a much-enhanced shopping experience this year at #themasters. https://t.co/dvsSYIABYZ
— Masters Tournament (@TheMasters) April 1, 2018
The new facility is located in a walkway area between the tournament’s practice facility and the No. 1 fairway. It replaces the previous merchandise building, which the private club knocked down in May, about a month after Sergio Garcia captured his first major victory at the 2017 Masters. The construction took 20 weeks, the club said on its website.
The new facility provides a “much-enhanced shopping experience and more options,” club officials said.
Among those options are:
- 125 different styles of hats — the most popular item sold — on a “headwear wall” at the back and throughout the shop
- Temperature-controlled cups
- Gnomes dressed in caddie jumpsuits
- Infant caddie jumpsuit onesies
- Masters playing cards
- Pajama pants, hoodies, vintage signage, and coasters
Along with a wider variety of items for sale, the club said there is twice as much floor space as the previous shop. A total of 385 mannequins, including a dog mannequin, will be used to display those items. A total of 64 registers will now be used to check guests out.
Unlike most popular sporting events, Masters merchandise is only sold on-site. The club has said it has no plans to sell merchandise online. Because of that, many Masters attendees spend thousands on merchandise and ship the merchandise home. For convenience, an expanded shipping facility is attached to the building.
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