Teen Titans Dominate Giants in Epic Gnome Golf Clash!

It's no exaggeration to call Ryan Carey, founder and owner of Golden Age Auctions, the biggest player in golf memorabilia. He has all kinds of sale-price records from clubs to trophies to green jackets. But for most of the last decade, Carey has refused to deal in gnomes.

You might forgive his skepticism. In 2016, when Augusta National sold its first gnome exclusively at Berckmans Place—the fancy, semi-secret food-and-merch playground tucked beyond the tree line of the fifth and 16th holes that sometimes serves as a testing ground for new products—none of its marketing wizards thought it would become a phenomenon. Sure, gnomes are cute, and at 13½ inches look nice on a mantle.

Who could’ve foreseen they’d be treated by early rising Masters patrons the way rabid teens once treated John Lennon and Paul McCartney? Augusta National didn’t even bring gnomes back for 2017. They returned in 2018 and gained notoriety and collectible value during the pandemic, but Carey considered them a fad.

The memorabilia he prefers is “investment grade” meaning it should accrue value over time. He figured buyers would eventually come to their senses, and the gnome bubble would burst. This April, for the first time, Carey will auction an Augusta National gnome.