'I'm going to put it in my house in a safe': How the Masters lawn gnome became so popular that it might be discontinued

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Ryan Carey is considered the world's most accomplished golf memorabilia expert. The Golfer's Journal has called him "golf's treasure hunter." The most desirable artifacts from the sport's history are bought and sold by his company, Golden Age Auctions. But there's one invaluable golf item that he didn't bother to chase after.

"I was a gnome doubter," Carey confesses.

The once-humble garden gnome has been a kitschy decorative item for centuries. They were first found in nineteenth century Germany. But in 2016, the gnome made its way to the garden section of Augusta National's golf shop, where the 13.5-inch bearded statuette, dressed in golf-themed Masters attire, was sold for about $50. Ten years later, it has become the most sought-after collectible among all the other sought-after collectibles at the Masters. It's the only item available on site that is limited to one purchase per patron.

"The number of people that care about these gnomes, that love these gnomes, that want to collect these gnomes is unlike anything I can really remember seeing," Carey said. "We sold Tiger Woods' irons from the Tiger Slam a few years ago for over $5 million. I get more emails about these damn gnomes than I do those clubs. It's unbelievable."

Augusta National couldn't have seen it coming either. It didn't even release one in 2017. But in 2018, the gnomes came back, and they've never left. There's new attire each year -- always the bearded gnome, sometimes with a coffee cup or a sandwich in hand. In 2016, it wore an argyle sweater. It has sported a caddy's outfit (2018), a Christmas sweater (2020, when the tournament was played in mid-November because of COVID-19), a shirt covered in Masters badges (2021) and last year, held one of the tournament's Georgia peach ice cream sandwiches.

Patrons now wait in line for hours to get one, many wanting to make sure they maintain a complete set. They dress like the gnomes. They become one with the gnomes. And in some cases, the gnomes become part of their family. And yet, rumors persist that this might be the last year for the gnomes.

Augusta National does not often discuss such matters and declined comment for this story. But the Masters does not need to generate interest or revenue for its merchandise. A Forbes report in 2022 estimated its annual merchandise revenue at $69 million, or about $10 million per day. Patrons regularly walk out of the golf shop with CVS-length receipts totaling more than $1,000, despite moderate pricing for most items. Masters haul videos are the ultimate flex on TikTok.

This gnome mania might be exactly what leads to its discontinuation. Carey said Golden Age is finally selling the gnomes for the first time this week in its Masters Week auction. The original edition is expected to sell for more than $10,000.

The overt consumerism, the lines of people queuing up to nab a gnome and leave are strikes against its future, with a source saying the club wasn't a fan of seeing them flooding eBay hours after their release for more than $500 each.

Nothing at Augusta National should be bigger than Augusta National -- certainly not a mythical mischievous miniature man.

KENNETH LOCKE HAS lived in Augusta his whole life. He grew up on Azalea Drive in National Hills, the neighborhood across from Augusta National, and tells stories of walking up the street to the gates, buying a pass on the spot and going in. As a teenager, he worked there, sweeping away leaves to keep Magnolia Lane, the famed driveway leading to the clubhouse, pristine.

Locke loves the Masters, and unlike many locals, he doesn't rent his house out during the tournament. He stays, because he lives for the week the world comes to his town. He wants to be part of the welcoming committee. In 2019, Locke, a jovial retiree with a beard, realized how much he looked like the gnome. And so, he decided he could best add to the Masters experience by dressing up as the collectible item from the gift shop. He just needed the clothes. That year, a bucket hat, plain polo and khakis were all it took.

In 2024, when the Masters posted a video teeing up the tournament with a video about the gnome's arrival a week before the tournament, Locke decided to get to work.

He had a cardigan that matched. He bought a matching hat at an antique store. He borrowed an Augusta National tie from a neighbor. And his wife, Tammy, who he calls "the backbone of the operation," found matching plaid pants from golfer John Daly's website and then painted shoes to match. He debuted his look at the Masters. "We went out there and it went nuts," he said. The official Masters account even posted a photo of him with the caption, "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery."

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. #themasters pic.twitter.com/t2p1eO3yBX

Locke has captured the vibe in successive years, including last year, when the look was announced just two days before he planned to attend the tournament. The gnome's 2025 shirt featured illustrations of peaches and ice cream. So Tammy hand-painted a replica.

Locke is everyone's gnomie in Augusta during the Masters. He and his son, Mitch, were driving through a neighborhood up the road when a police officer gestured to them to pull over to the side. The officer said, "Hey man, can I get a selfie with you?" Kenneth got invited to a book signing at a downtown bookstore and stood in the window, gnomed up, and even signed autographs.

On Monday, during lunch at Oliviana, an Italian restaurant in Augusta, while we discussed his alter ego, a customer walked out, stopped, and said, "Oh my god, he looks like the gnome." Another took photos of him standing with his umbrella open, just like this year's gnome with a functional umbrella. He's a walking Where's Waldo.

Whether the gnome returns next year, Locke will still be here. A little girl asked him if he's the real Masters gnome.

"Yes, I am," he said.

HANNA AND CHRIS Wallace of Augusta scored a gnome each on Saturday, meaning they now have every edition except the first one. Years ago, they were offered the 2016 one for $500, but Hanna thought that was far too much to pay. Now, an original gnome will sell for 20 times that.

John Reading, who owns Crazy Johnny's Golf Haberdashery inside the Five Fathoms Antiques and Curiosities market just down the road from Augusta National, had several gnomes for sale, including one from 2019 -- "a Tiger year" for when Woods won another Masters, which makes everything more valuable -- for $3,000. He said the OG gnome is so hard to find because it was used as intended. People bought them, put them in their yard and put them through 10 years of weathering.

"People put them in their yard or their garden, because why would you think it would be worth $10,000?" Carey said. "Think about whoever was ordering for Augusta National for the 2016 Masters. You would not have placed a massive order. You would never have suspected that this would've been a huge bestseller. There's no way. They probably were like, 'Cool, the garden section doesn't sell a lot, but let's buy some of these because they're quirky and cute.'"

Carey compared the rise of the gnomes as a collectible to Mickey Mantle rookie cards. They were something our grandparents bought, but they were cheap and nobody saved them or kept them in good condition because they weren't supposed to be valuable.

But now that their future is in doubt, that makes them even more of a curiosity. Reading said he had several customers this week come in after not being able to score one. It takes some effort.

Jackson Logan competed in the Drive, Chip and Putt national finals last year at Augusta National, and his dad Rick brought him to support his friend and rival, Texas Terry, who ended up winning this year's 12-13 age division.

Jackson, 12, was free from the pressures of the course this year, but gnome duty required its own discipline. Jackson and his sister Madison, 15, arrived from Florida late on Sunday and got less than five hours of sleep to be there before the gates opened to get in line.

No one seemed to understand the dynamics at play better than Madison, who compared the gnome hysteria to other viral trends. It's a luxury Labubu. "It's like levels of overconsumption," she said.

Still, she scored her second gnome, saying she was going to put this one next to "Mr. Peaches," her name for last year's. "These are just better," Madison said.

Robert Young III can see how the Masters would balk at the hype around the little fellas. He came to Augusta National on Sunday a little after 7 a.m. and saw people leaving with their gnomes, just minutes after the course and the golf shop opened.

Still, he joked that he got caught up in the frenzy himself. He asked why everyone had gnomes and was told they were the thing to get.

"So I need one of those now," he said.

But he said he was staying for the golf. And he wasn't looking to flip his gnome for a quick buck.

"I'm going to put it in my house," he said. "In a safe."

IF THIS IS it for the gnome, Hanna Wallace says, she'll be surprised and probably a little sad. She grabbed several of this year's new offerings, including a gnome sweatshirt, and said there's also a gnome watch. She said she has heard for the past couple of years that the gnomes were going extinct. But here she was again, hauling one around in its box. So, she's not sure if it's all rumors, all a part of the mystery and mystique of Augusta National.

For the Wallaces, the gnomes are family. They're displayed prominently in their home and are part of the morning routine for their 3-year-old daughter, A.J.

Every morning, Hanna said, A.J. asks the gnomes if she can have coffee with them. She sits and pretends they have theirs in their tiny cups. "She has grown up with the gnomes," her mom said. Chris says he couldn't have imagined that his family would've ever wanted to have a garden gnome in their house, but the niche appeal lured them in, and now the figurines are a part of their home decor. They're not the only ones.

"If you could go in there and buy a hundred, somebody would go in there and try and see if they could buy two hundred," he said. "The rules that they put in place just to buy one is indicative of just how crazy people are about them."

Carey said he is no longer a doubter, that these are real things in the collecting world, and he hopes this won't end. He wants families to be able to collect them for decades to come.

Locke envisions a day when the gnome dons the iconic Masters green jacket, forcing him to up his game to continue his newfound tradition. "I think I could get one," he said.

Carey's Golden Age Masters auction is up and running. There are several putters made by the legendary club designer Scotty Cameron, including one made for President Donald Trump. There are personal Tiger Woods items, including his autographed driver and some of his earliest golf trophies from the 1980s, and several items signed by 2025 Masters champion Rory McIlroy. Right there, among the items with the most bids, is the 2016 Masters gnome.

"I know there's going to be lots of our customers, especially that skew older in age, going 'Wait, what the hell's going on?'" Carey said.

But Madison Logan knows the allure. "Feel the power of the gnome," she said. "It's magnificent."

Robert Young played right along with Augusta National's mystery around the gnomes, telling everyone that his score was important.

"I got the last one," he said. "Whether it's true or not, everybody thinks it is right now."