How to Navigate Shopping the Merch Tent at a Major

Merchandise tents at majors can get dangerous. You walk in thinking you’re going to buy a hat and leave with a quarter-zip, two T-shirts, a Tervis that sits on the cupboard next to a cast of mismatched cups and a credit card notification asking if everything is okay.

So before you start grabbing anything with a Shinnecock logo on it, let’s make a gameplan. And for those texting friends at the tournament this weekend, help them out instead of the “just grab whatever looks cool” asks. With over 500,000 items from 45 brands, you'll want to be prepared.

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Before any big decision or shopping venture, my best advice to you is to take a lap. Don’t grab the first thing you see upon entering the 34,000-square-foot merchandise tent. Take a beat, take in the scenery, take your time.

Image Credit: USGA

These temporary shopping structures are often crowded and chaotic so don’t make the mistake of panic buying something you’ll leave the tags and shove in the bottom drawer. Buy the thing you’ll regret not buying, not the souvenir you think you’re supposed to buy. If you’re holding something and immediately thinking, “I guess I could wear this,” put it back.

Everyone leaves with a hat, most people leave with a polo and those kickballs that resemble a golf ball are in every parent's cart. But if there’s a unique graphic tee, a quality piece of outerwear or a logo treatment you’ve never seen before, that’s usually the item you’ll wish you grabbed six months from now.

And speaking of regret, don’t wait to stop at merch. Yes, it is annoying to lug around a bag walking the course but the good stuff goes fast and rarely makes it to Sunday. Take advantage of bag checks when you can. I’ve purchased a drawstring or tote bag or two in my day for this exact reason and they make great gifts for friends that don’t mind if they come with a few hours of wear.

Generally, the best merch tent purchases are the ones you know you’ll wear before you even look at the price tag. That said, prices range drastically across the shopping floor so be sure to set a rough budget per piece or per haul to help from a jaw-drop at the register.

After years of browsing merch tents, most of my purchases are for people back home. So in addition to setting a gift versus personal budget, I make sure to prep my people to know when I’ll be shopping and to be ready for a few photos and “this or that” options.

For hats I ask everyone on my list to find a hat from home and send the brand and shape to me so I can easily wade through the massive (and crowded) hat wall to grab my brother a low profile performance tech Imperial cap with the course logo, my dad a cotton Ahead rope hat with vintage styling and my toddler nephews the floppiest bucket hats I can find.

Image Credit: Brittany Romano