The Masters: Where the Food — and the Food Prices — Are Out of This World

It’s Masters Week, which is like a secular holiday for me. I don’t even follow golf that closely outside of this week every year.

There’s nothing like the Masters, and if you’ve ever been, you can see why. It’s similar to a Disney theme park in that Augusta National transports you to a place that can make you forget the outside world for a little while. You can’t take your cell phone in — which was remarkable to me even when I went in 2008 when smartphones were far less prevalent. The natural beauty is second to none, especially the azaleas. I’m convinced that Augusta National is the closest thing to heaven on earth.

The Masters makes you forget the real world in two other places and in opposite ways. The first is the merchandise tent, where clothing prices have definitely kept up with inflation and then some; the other is at the concession stands, where food prices feel like a time warp.

Here’s $10. What are you getting for lunch at #TheMasters? pic.twitter.com/Uo8WqhJTjX

— 960 The Ref (@960theref) April 9, 2024

To answer 960 the Ref’s question, I can’t make my order fit for only $10, so I’ll kick in 50 cents of my own and get two pimento cheese sandwiches, a chicken salad on honey wheat, a Coke, and a peach ice cream sandwich. Later on, I might shell out another $2 for cheese straws.

Flashback: WATCH: Patrons Scramble as Trees Fall at the Masters

The food at the Masters is wonderful, so it’s not like you’re getting what you pay for. Instead, your food order is a steal at those prices. The pimento cheese recipe is a closely guarded secret, and it’s almost as good as my family’s recipe (sorry, I gotta call it as I see it). Because the prices are so good, it’s easy to gorge yourself for next to nothing, as 2023 rookie Tom Kim discovered last year.

Pimento, egg salad, peach ice cream sandwich. A trip through Masters concessions with Tournament rookie Tom Kim. #themasters pic.twitter.com/iroNrmwMY0

— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 5, 2023

Augusta National has stubbornly refused to keep up with the price increases for food everywhere else. Though the first pimento cheese sandwiches sold on the course for 25 cents way back in 1947, changes have been minimal for nearly 80 years. According to The Great Golf Blog:

So how many times did the price change over the course of 4 decades? We’ve confirmed the $1.50 price as of 2003 from a New York Times article. Some patrons we spoke to recall $1.25 in the late 1990s and before that, one dollar during the first George (H.W.) Bush administration. That means over forty years, the price increased by a meagre $1.25. If the sandwich had followed the consumer price index from 1945, it would cost $7. Another way to look at it: adjusted for inflation, in 1945 a quarter would be worth $3.45 in 2023, so even by today’s standards, the $1.50 pimento cheese sandwich is worth half its real monetary value when it was first debuted at the Masters.

It's worth noting that inflation has hit the Masters just a little. Golf Digest points out that:

The Crow’s Nest signature beverage and domestic beers have both gone up a dollar while the Georgia Pecan Caramel Popcorn and Georgia Peach Ice Cream Sandwich have both been raised 50 cents. Still though, the average beer at an MLB ballpark will run you more than double what Augusta National charges while a gas station hot dog will make a bigger dent in your wallet than the egg salad sandwich.

By the way, you can buy the entire menu for $69, even though egg salad is gross. I should probably also mention that the cups that Augusta National serves its drinks in are a coveted souvenir.

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Why does Augusta National offer its food for so cheap? The answer is simple: tradition and reputation. Besides, the merch tent makes up a lot of the difference, as do member dues for the other 51 weeks of the year.

Golf Digest reports that “the beauty of being one of the most elite private clubs on the planet is that the dues don’t come cheap and the clientele’s pockets are bottomless. The fact they choose to pass those profits down to the golf fans that attend the Masters year-in, year-out is one of the rare good things left in sports, and we should savor that just like one of those ice cream sandwiches.”

If you can get your hands on a ticket, the food is definitely worth savoring. The Masters even sells party packs a few weeks before the tournament, and fans can order some of the food, cups, and decor to enjoy at home. It's a fun way to bring a piece of Augusta National into your kitchen.