The world’s most expensive sporting event has the cheapest concessions - yes, you heard it right. 

The Masters takes you back in time - the no-cellphone policy, the manual leaderboards, and most importantly, the low prices.

But why do they keep the prices low? 

Back in the day, Augusta National had a simple reason to keep low prices - they needed to feed the fans.

The club did not have sufficient hotel rooms to accommodate every fan. As a result, many fans had to day-trip their way to the tournament, spending a lot.

In the 1940s, the Herndon family managed The Masters' food and drink operations. They worked out of their kitchen, transporting the food the entire distance during the tournament. 

Augusta National’s philosophy was “patron-first”. From the very beginning, the idea of “simple yet high quality” was their prototype for every decision, especially the food. 

Club founders Cliff Roberts and Bobby Jones wrote a letter to the Herndons stating the numerous compliments.

“We were particularly pleased to learn that you could provide a really good sandwich for $0.25.” 

As of today, the Pimento cheese sandwich costs just $1.25. Imported beer, white wine, and Crow's Nest craft beer are priced the highest at just $6.

Pimento Cheese Controversy

Scott Michaux, a veteran sports journalist, said, “Pimento cheese has latched on in people’s memories.” The Masters not renewing their contract with their longtime pimento cheese vendor, Nick Rangos, was the beginning of the controversy.

Rangos withheld his recipe, but Ted Godfrey, their replacement, was close to producing that taste. “I can’t tell you how many 35-dollar cases of cheese we’d been through,”

Godfrey’s attempt at recreating the taste took months. However, in 2013, when the Masters brought in in-house catering, Godfrey also refused to share his recipe, hence the hiatus.

The fans noticed the change this time more prominently as the catering hadn’t figured things out as Godfrey did. 

Eventually, the hiatus faded away over the years. The recipe and its secret ingredient were never disclosed. 

Rangos passed away, Godfrey kept quiet, but the love for the pimento cheese sandwich, among the fans, still lives on.

Written by

Avishek Sarkar

Edited by

Pulkit Prabhav