AUGUSTA, Ga. José María Olazábal hit the 12th hole of the Augusta National Golf Club one day this week, jokingly bowed in front of the spectators and meandered to the green of one of the big holes in golf.
A large part of the gallery is fast approaching one of the big bargains in sports: the Amen Corner franchise stand, where fans at the Masters can get a meal – sandwich, soft drink and a cookie – for just $ 5.
The famous controlling club has spent decades unable to control the weather. But economic forces surrounding the tournament are well within reason, so the price of a pimento sandwich since 2003 has stood at $ 1.50. Adjusted for inflation, and assuming the sandwich was initially priced, it should be around $ 2.14.
Economists believe the lasting bargain, which is at odds with an era of squatter shock prices at many athletics events, is not just a matter of southern hospitality. Instead, they see a hard, gentle power genius: a frugal way of cultivating the mystique that helped make the Masters brand one of the most valuable in sports.
“They want to take you back to the days of Bobby Jones – the good old days, if you will,” said John A. List, a professor of economics at the University of Chicago, referring to Augusta National’s co-founder. ‘They did not follow the prices, and they realize that their real result is over years. I think they are not deliberately following inflation and economy, and that makes the message even stronger. ”
“Economically,” said List, who attended the Masters in 2019, “I actually thought it was brilliant.”
While Augusta National is the most popular venue for cheap concessions, it can also offer broader lessons for the sports industry. Georgia, with its moderate cost of living and high-watt sporting events, has emerged as something of a case study. About 145 km to the west, the Atlanta Falcons lowered prices a few years ago when they moved into the Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The franchise, realizing that most of the money in the NFL comes from media rights deals and ticket sales, has put in positive news coverage and ultimately more spending by fans.
The concept has spread slowly in all sports. The Baltimore Ravens, San Francisco 49ers, and Charlotte Hornets, among other professional teams, introduced their own so-called fan-friendly concession pricing initiatives, which helped attract spectators to stadiums earlier and encouraged others to attend in the first place. .
At Augusta National, the cost of a pimento cheese would be reduced by 50 cents, to $ 1, as the first presidency of George Bush. The club, which wraps its sandwiches in green packaging that blends in with the course, is unlikely to go the other way and raise prices sharply, meaning the strategy it has long been dressed in the language of gentleness and wholesomeness sail.
“We want the experience to be not only the best, but also affordable,” said Billy Payne, who spent 11 years as chairman of the club, in 2007. ‘We take certain things very, very seriously – like the cost of a pimento cheese. sandwich is just as important as how high the second cut is going to be. ”
Fred S. Ridley, the successor to Payne, also said that Augusta National’s goal is to provide food at a reasonable price.
Ridley said the cheap sandwiches add a bit to the feeling of sandwiches, though he did not want to identify which one he prefers. (“I like everyone but try to stay away.”)
Of course, people will still eat. But the prospect of higher profit margins, List suggested, is almost certainly in the minds of Augusta National’s green-jacket members, who are often titans of business or politics. Whatever quarters are on the table is an investment, experts say, while also aligning well with the ethos of the club and the state.
“They want to shock and arouse you on the low side, and they can double, triple or quadruple the prices,” List said as he headed to a Chicago White Sox game this week. ‘I would have noticed it and thought it was normal. And I do not think the Masters want to do anything general. ”
Exactly how much money runs through Augusta National is unclear, a million-dollar mystery that complies with a tradition of privacy at a club that has long been accused of racism and sexism.
Augusta National does not say how many tickets it sells for $ 75 for practice rounds or $ 115 for competition days, or how much it earns if the business fans, who are definitely not cheap, buy in clear plastic bags. His television deal with CBS has long been a series of one-year contracts that are apparently not very lucrative for the network or the club. It only accepts a handful of blue-chip sponsors, and Ridley said this week that the club will donate its proceeds from a new video game partnership with EA Sports to a foundation that promotes golf.
And Augusta National is not afraid to use its food when it comes to places outside its gates. This year, fans can have Masters rates delivered to their doorstep, including pounds of pimento cheese, pork and chocolate chip cookies. For a good deal, the $ 150 packages contain 25 of the dishwasher-safe plastic cups that are the tournament’s top memorabilia.
But whatever Augusta’s money figures look like, it’s almost certainly helped by the simplicity of the club’s menu. Along with the pimento cheese, which is served between two pieces of white bread, there is an egg salad sandwich for $ 1.50. This year, a new sandwich, chicken salad on a brioche sandwich, took place for $ 3. The most expensive choice on the menu is the beers, served in green plastic cups for a regal amount of $ 5.
Pimento cheese, an important part of Southern events, from backyard gatherings to weddings with black ties, has been on Augusta National’s menu since the early days and is best known for the club’s culinary offerings.
Nathalie Dupree, the cookbook author and leading Southern chef, said the acid in the mayonnaise serves as a preservative, paving the way for golf lovers to enjoy a few hours of sandwiches in a bag or purse and snack on it under Georgia’s hot spring sun. .
“It’s a kind of southern genius that they’re going to invent a sandwich for the heat,” Dupree said. “You always work around the heat, especially before air conditioning.”
The sandwich appeared prominently in newspaper reports of the tournament against the 1970s, which was also when the Junior League of Augusta published its recipe book ‘Tea-Time at the Masters’. The club’s pimento cheese recipe is not included, but a step – by – step guide to a cake paste dipped from the mixture made from cheddar, cream cheese and pimento cheese – at room temperature – does.
The woman who submitted it? “Mrs. Arnold Palmer,” said Winifred Palmer, whose husband had already won his four Masters titles.
“My mother especially loved the pimento sandwiches at Augusta,” said Amy Palmer Saunders, president of the Arnold & Winnie Palmer Foundation. “She would have liked to experiment with something like that in the kitchen.”
The players also honor the food, just as it is.
Bubba Watson, who won in 2012 and 2014, said he prefers the sandwiches for braai and pimento cheese, and asked the club staff to keep the egg salad in and slip in more pork when making a trio called Taste of the Masters order. And before he won last year’s tournament, Dustin Johnson simply said, ‘My favorite thing about the Masters is the sandwiches.’
Walking the course this week is a chance to hear, no matter the time, anyone they want to eat. The cashiers who only accept credit or debit cards due to the coronavirus pandemic are waiting.
“They’re fulfilling a kind of dream you have,” List said, describing Augusta’s approach as “Adam Smith in his glory.”
“When you see it on TV, you think it’s a wonderland,” he said. “And Disney looks like a wonderland until they stick it to your wallet.”