I attended the Masters for the first time. From phone bans to $1.50 sandwiches, here’s what it’s really like.

Buying branded merch at the Masters is no joke: It’s available only at the tournament and not online.

To prepare and make a wish list, I watched lots of Masters merch hauls before I left. The store is well-organized, but there are a lot of people frantically shopping around it — it’s wise to go in with a game plan.

This year’s hottest item, the Masters gnome ($50), was already sold out when I got to shop at 8:15 a.m. on Friday, and so was the viral white pullover ($88) I’d seen across social media.

Still, I found lots of great things, like socks, scarves, cups, and hats with the Masters logo.

My husband and I had merch requests from 14 different people, so our bill was close to $2,500. Based on the huge hauls I witnessed, I imagine most patrons were buying for friends and family as well.