Alligator coasters trending in golf shop

While helping a woman pick up some dropped merchandise inside Augusta Na­tio­nal’s golf shop Monday, David Fields came across an item he had never seen in more than four decades of following the Masters Tournament.

On the floor was a pack of alligator-skin coasters embroidered with the tournament’s famed logo.

“Wow, these are cool,” Fields, 52, of Nash­ville, Tenn., said he told the woman. “I have to get some.”

Fans say the coasters are a new item in the golf shop, along with Tervis tumblers featuring tournament badges from the 1970s. Fields said he remembers many of the badge
designs inside the outer layer of the insulated drinkware from his days growing up in Au­gusta.

“Those badges were plastic,” he said. “Not many are around anymore.”

John Hudson, 51, also of Nashville, bought a tumbler but said he was most impressed by the shop’s staff, who helped him select a navy Magnolia Lane ladies golf shirt made of quick-drying material and featuring a zip-down collar.

“They were very friendly and helpful,” he said. “I went through two or three different items before they helped me find the right shirt for her.”

Chris Folland, 36, of Chicago, originally bought a Masters onesie for his daughter, who turned 2 months old Monday, but he had to exchange the item for a green dress after calling his wife from the car.

He said the lines for the regular shopping and exchanges were efficient and quick, unlike when he visited Medinah in 2012 for the Ryder Cup.

“It was not as organized,” he said of the Illinois golf course. “The gift shop was the size of a football field and the line moved from one end to the other. It was much better here.”