U.S. Open merch: $178 belt, $70 hats for sale at Shinnecock event

One week before the 126th U.S. Open tees off at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, fans filled the tournament's Merchandise Pavilion, trying on apparel, browsing hats and buying souvenirs.

The pavilion opened Thursday morning, allowing fans to get on the property for the first time by shopping inside the 34,000-square-foot tent. This is the U.S. Open’s sixth time being played at Shinnecock with the last in 2018. 

The pavilion is open to the general public from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Thursday to Sunday, and shoppers can buy Shinnecock-branded T-shirts, polos, quarter zips, sweatshirts, skirts, belts and hats. Additionally, accessories range from $5 slim-can koozies to a $178 belt. Fans are not allowed to enter the course. 

Hats and T-shirts ranged from $30 to $70, depending on the brand. Most of the other apparel was at least $100.

“It's what you expect,” said Mary Gleason, 72, of Southampton. "It's expensive."

Gleason and her husband, Andis Akerfeld, walked to Shinnecock from their Southampton home. They bought a poster with the history of the U.S. Open, which features all the clubs and winners. This year, world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler will try to etch his name on that list and become the seventh golfer to complete the career Grand Slam.

“Well, you know,” Lynn Arthur, 69, of Southampton said of the prices, “Everything has the emblem on it. It's the whole excitement of being here at the Open with all the people and the celebrities.”

Arthur, an avid golf fan, bought a matching skirt and top and two shirts. Meanwhile, her friend, Romy Danz, 61, also from Southampton, bought hats for some of her friends who live in California.

When customers walk inside the pavilion — which they get to by taking a shuttle after parking at Stony Brook Southampton and walking a few minutes toward the facility — they’re greeted with merchandise from Peter Millar, which is the official outfitter of the U.S. Open.

As customers progress around the pavilion, shelves are stocked with a wide range of other brands, including Nike, Vineyard Vines, Barstool Golf, ‘47, G/Fore and Ralph Lauren.

“The Peter Millar stuff, and the G/Fore, I've known from personal experience to be well-made quality merchandise, and they're on sale for the people to buy if they so choose,” said Tom Sullivan, 65, of Floral Park, and a volunteer for the tournament.

The store also has teddy bears, mugs, candles and a Father’s Day card with Shinnecock’s clubhouse in the background — the U.S. Open’s final day is on Father’s Day.

Some customers, such as Danz, who bought hats for her friends in California, went shopping for others. David Kies, 82, from Mamaroneck and Southampton, made the trip to buy merchandise for his sons, who live in Manhattan and Chadds Ford, Pa.

Beyond locals, the merchandise store’s debut day attracted Eric Magid, a 22-year-old from Michigan. Magid was wearing a Shinnecock-branded pullover he’d already purchased online, but was looking to potentially buy a towel, polo and ball marker.

“I'm out visiting my girlfriend out here, and I don't think I could pass this up,” he said. “I had to come out here.”