Augusta keeps cheap concessions
The Masters is still selling food at prices experts call more like 1996 than 2026, and the tournament expects roughly $70 million in merchandise sales over the week despite having no online store. Augusta also made a course tweak this year — the par‑4 17th was lengthened from 440 to 450 yards — and organizers confirmed prize money continues to climb after the 2025 winner earned a record $4.2 million. (businessinsider.com) (wfmd.com) (nytimes.com) (golfweek.usatoday.com)
At Augusta National, a pimento cheese or egg salad sandwich still costs $1.50 in 2026, even as Masters merchandise sales are projected to hit about $70 million this week. (usatoday.com) The 2026 menu added a Masters candy bar for $2.25, while staples such as Georgia peach ice cream sandwiches, barbecue, chips and soft drinks remained priced far below what fans see at most major sports venues. NBC New York reported the signature sandwiches have held at $1.50 since 2002. (nbcnewyork.com) The low food prices sit next to one of the biggest retail operations in sports. Front Office Sports, cited by WFMD and Golf Digest, put 2026 Masters merchandise sales near $70 million, with Augusta selling logo gear only on site and not through an online store. (wfmd.com) That split helps explain one of Augusta’s oddest business models: cheap concessions for patrons inside the gates, and a scarcity-driven merchandise market that sends fans into long lines for hats, gnomes, tumblers and other limited items. Golf Digest described the merchandise tent as a roughly $70 million operation during Masters week. (golfdigest.com) Augusta also made one competitive change for the 2026 tournament. The club lengthened the par-4 17th hole, called Nandina, to 450 yards from 440 yards by reducing the front of the tee box and repositioning the tee marker. (golfweek.usatoday.com) The adjustment came on a hole that already played tough in 2025. Golfweek reported the 17th ranked as the fourth-hardest hole last year, averaging 4.230 strokes. (golfweek.usatoday.com) Prize money kept rising too. Augusta National announced a record 2026 purse of $22.5 million on Saturday, with $4.5 million to the winner after Rory McIlroy earned a then-record $4.2 million from a $21 million purse in 2025. (golfchannel.com) (golfweek.usatoday.com) So the Masters in 2026 is still selling $1.50 sandwiches, stretching holes and raising payouts at the same time. Augusta has kept one of its most visible traditions cheap while the rest of the week keeps getting bigger. (usatoday.com) (golfchannel.com)
