There’s gnome place like the Heritage: why are these earth-dwellers flying off shelves?

HILTON HEAD, Ga. (WTOC) - A tradition that makes it from Augusta to Harbour Town is gnome sales!

“It’s the hottest selling item we have here…no one’s completely sure why,” said golf shop manager Joe Perota.

The earth-dwellers started rapidly gaining popularity after appearing as an Augusta National item in 2016.

Collector frenzy

David Broecker – a Heritage regular – said the gnomes have become sought-after collectibles.

“It’s become a collector item amongst our family,” Broecker said.

Demand surged amid rumors alleging that the gnomes may be discontinued at the Masters.

For some, obtaining them is an investment. One person sold their original Masters gnome for over $28,000 — that’s more than enough to buy a brand new car.

This year, Broecker said he lined up hours in advance at Augusta National to try to purchase one.

“There was a 50 minute line to get into the merchandise store, needless to say by the time we got to the front of the line — they didn’t have any gnomes for sale,” Broecker said.

He was able to purchase the Heritage edition near his home in the lowcountry.

“This one is really unique, I think it truly characterizes harbor town,” Broecker said.

Not all golfers have embraced the trend. Max Homa, a 13-year pro competing in the Heritage, said the gnomes are not for him.

“This proves that I’m not anti-plaid, but we’re just not gnome people,” Homa said.

Still, they’re flying off the shelves so fast that the shop needed to put limits on ambitious collectors.

“We have to limit it to 2 because one of the first few people we had in here, they were grabbing 4, 5, 6 of them,” Perota said. “It’s a collectable, they want to hold onto them, see if they increase in value. I was a collector of baseball cards and things like that, some of them increased in value so I get that of it but it’s also something you just like to have,”

The harbor town edition sports a plaid outfit complimented by the Heritage’s signature knickers that are worn during opening ceremonies.