Closed blinds and 12-hour shifts: Behind the production of the Masters’ Pimento Cheese sandwiches

AUGUSTA, Ga. — To hear them talk, Masters Tournament patrons can never get enough of the tasty sandwiches sold in the concession stands around Augusta National Golf Club each year.

But if you’re making them all night, as Dougie Milne did for the first time during the 2022 Masters, you can get too much of a good thing.

“I’ve seen so much of those sandwiches in the last week I probably couldn’t eat any of them,” said Milne, a junior at Florida State who is from Jacksonville, Florida.

That includes the Masters Club, which he says was “delicious” until he had too many of them.

The Masters Club is one of the six offerings that come in the famous green wrappers at the concession stands. The others are the Pimento Cheese sandwich, Egg Salad sandwich, Ham and Cheese on Rye sandwich, Chicken Salad on Brioche and the Classic Chicken sandwich.

Pimento Cheese, the tournament’s most famous sandwich, is also the hardest to make, Milne discovered.

“It’s hard because after they make (the pimento cheese), it sits in a freezer and if it isn’t thawed out enough, it gets tough and thick,” he said. “Sometimes you have wait for it to thaw out and get a little softer. Because if it’s too thick when you scoop it, it can rip the bread.”

To ensure that each sandwich is fairly uniform, they are weighed, he said.

“The entire sandwich is supposed to weigh about 4.25 ounces, but sometimes that bread is a little thicker and it’s going to weigh more,” he said. “Normally, I don’t exceed 4.5 ounces and I won’t go anything less than 4 ounces. Sometimes you get too big a scoop and have to cut some of it off.

“At this point,” he said, “it’s not too challenging to make them; it’s the quantity we have to make.”

Milne worked in tournament operations, making sandwiches starting Thursday night through Sunday morning. The sandwich-making operation is housed in a shopping center on Washington Road. It had been anchored by a Food Lion grocery store, and included shops and restaurants. Now, it has been gutted, and blinds hide the work going on inside.

“It’s one big building; it kind of looks like a Publix,” Milne said. “Half of it is just for sandwiches and a couple of big coolers to keep the food. There is a big kitchen and a dining area.”

On Sunday, Augusta National would not disclose where the sandwiches are made.

“I’m sorry, we would not comment on that,” said Regina O’Brien, the club’s Director of Marketing and Communication.

Milne said he worked at one of 40 tables, each consisting of seven workers making sandwiches. He estimates his table produced “six or seven thousand” sandwiches each night. He didn’t work the practice-round days.

Starting with his shift Thursday night for Friday’s second round of the Masters, he said the operation made “probably well over 100,000 sandwiches” per night.

To ensure freshness of the sandwiches, Milne and the other workers started at 7 p.m. and worked until about 7 a.m.

“They don’t really tell you when to leave,” Milne said. “If you get loopy (because of the predawn hours) and you can’t work, then you can leave. Or if you have a ride, you can leave. A couple of nights people got off early and I worked from 7 p.m. to 8:30 a.m. (to cover for them).”

Milne said he never left early, and working 12 hours straight – and overnight – was a shock to his system.

“Maybe it’s just me because I’m a college student, but it’s been challenging working for 12 hours straight, especially overnight. I’ve met some people who have been doing this for the last 20 years.

“I’m glad I pushed myself,” Milne said. “There have been some days I get back home and wake up and I’m exhausted and know it’s going to be a long night (coming up). I bought a big case of Red Bull to power me through the night.

“Honestly, it’s been an amazing experience,” he said. “I’ve met so many great people that worked for the Masters for years on end.”

It even ended on a high note. It didn’t look like Milne was going to be able to attend the tournament, but at the last minute he got a ticket.

“One of my good friends in Tallahassee has an aunt and uncle who love the Masters and always go on the weekend,” Milne said. “They were unable to go on Sunday so they offered him their two passes and he texted me and said ‘Hey, I know you’re out there working hard, and my aunt said you can use her pass.’ So he drove up from Tallahassee.”