Beyond the bans on phones and running, Augusta National has another unwritten rule. If you want one of its famous garden gnomes, you need more than luck. You need to be there before sunrise, and even that might not secure the coveted collectible.

Former ESPN sportswriter Gene Wojciechowski has covered The Masters for over three decades. He knows the grounds better than most. Still, when it came to the gnome, even he had to admit the odds aren't in the media's favor.

"It's hard to get the gnome if you're going as media because they sell out within the first 15 minutes," Wojciechowski said on The Golfer's Journal podcast, published on March 24, 2026.

For those unaware of these gnomes, these are extremely rare memorabilia items that first went on sale back in 2016. While it didn't return in 2017, subsequent years saw it grow in popularity and value. In fact, there's one at auction this year, and it's predicted to be sold for over $10,000. That's why Wojciechowski wrote:

"You've got to know somebody to get a gnome. Someone's really got to hustle." Credentialed press don't get early shop access the way patrons do. By the time media members are free to make a move, the shelves are bare.

Wojciechowski did get one, though. Years ago, when nobody else wanted it. "The first year, nobody wanted them," he said. "It's like, what the heck, I'll take one."

That first-edition gnome, the one dressed in a caddie jumpsuit, now sits in the corner of his office. He's not letting it go anytime soon, either. "That's my retirement plan over there," he said.

The Masters Shop Opens at 8 A.M., and the Gnomes Are Gone Before 9

It's not just a media problem, and Today's Golfer Digital Editor, Rob Jerram, attended The Masters and wrote about the experience.

The shop opens at 8 a.m. and fills up fast. After a short detour down to Magnolia Lane around 9 a.m., he came back to find the gnomes already cleaned out, while the queue was still snaking out the door.

Thirty minutes of waiting, gone for nothing and at least gnome-wise. “How long will the people at the back be waiting?” he asked one of the attendants.

“Oh, this is about a 90-minute queue, sir.” The rest of the shop is worth the trip, with caps, apparel, and flags, all fairly priced for what is arguably the most exclusive tournament in golf. But the gnome operates on its own economy entirely.

Have you ever managed to get your hands on a Masters gnome? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by

Sneha Abraham