Masters’ ‘green jacket’ is an iconic sports prize

Golf’s Masters Tournament, played annually in Augusta, Ga., awards its champion one of the most recognizable prizes in sports: the “green jacket.”

 

American golfing legend Bobby Jones got the idea when was competing in 1930 at The Open at the Royal Liverpool Golf Club at Hoylake in Merseyside, on England’s west coast, overlooking the Irish Sea.

 

During one of the ceremonial meals, Jones was seated next to Kenneth Stoker, the immediate past captain of the club.

Hoylake historian Joe Pinnington said: “All the former captains were wearing their formal red coats. 

 

Jones was fascinated by it. Stoker said to him: ‘Mr. Jones, if you win the tournament this week, I’ll give you my coat.’”

Of course, Jones won and got the red coat…along with the coveted sterling silver Claret Jug.

 

Bobby Jones’ red jacket is on permanent display at his home club, the Atlanta Athletic Club in Johns Creek, Ga., in the “Hoylake Room.”

When Jones collaborated with Clifford Roberts to form Augusta National Golf Club in 1933, he pitched the idea of members’ jackets. 

The colors red, yellow and “Georgia peach” were floated, but the club eventually settled on the “verdant green displayed by the azalea bushes.”

 

The precise color is known as “Masters Green” (PMS 342) on the Pantone Matching System, a standard used by graphic designers and printers to ensure uniformity in color.

By 1937, every Augusta National member attending the Masters donned a snappy, woolen green jacket.

With his win in 1949, Sam Snead became the first Masters champion to be awarded a green jacket. All past champions dating back to 1934 were retroactively given one as well.

 

Today’s green jackets are made from a tropical-weight woolen fabric woven at the Victor Forstmann Inc. textile mill in Dublin, Ga. The stamped brass buttons are produced by Waterbury Button Company, now based in Chester, Conn. The breast-pocket patch comes from A-B Emblem Company of Weaverville, N.C.

The jackets are custom-made by Hamilton Tailoring Company of Cincinnati, Ohio. Here, the winner’s name is also embroidered on the inside lining. Each jacket costs approximately $250 to make.

The club has jackets of various sizes on standby for winners, and one of these jackets is presented to the tournament winner during the ceremony that occurs at the legendary Butler Cabin. The ceremonial jacket eventually gets swapped out for a customized jacket that is sized specifically for the winner.

When they register, players are requested to include their proper jacket size. The champion gets to wear his green jacket whenever he chooses for a year-long “victory lap.” 

But then, he is supposed to return the jacket to the clubhouse for storage in a “climate-controlled cloakroom,” along with those of all other past champions.

If a player becomes a “repeat champion,” officials pull out his original jacket from the racks and reuse it.

When Tiger Woods won his first green jacket in 1997, he was 21, the youngest champion in tournament history. He purposefully ordered a jacket that was too large. 

He told reporters that he had heard stories from other Masters’ champions that over time, the jackets “shrink” while “resting within the cedar-lined vault.”

South Africa’s Gary Player created a bit of a flap in 1962, when as defending Masters champion, he “forgot” to bring his green jacket back to Augusta. 

Player received a telephone call later from golf club co-founder Clifford Roberts reminding him of “protocol.”

 

Player responded: “Well, Mr. Roberts, if you want it, why don’t you come and fetch it?” Roberts came up with a “compromise” with Player, instructing him: “Don’t wear it in public.”

 

 More Masters’ golf-related stories of interest:

Suppliers are prohibited from discussing their contracts with The Masters Tournament, which is hosted by Augusta (Ga.) National Golf Club.

A-B Emblem Company of Weaverville, N.C., has fully complied.

Kudos to the company, which was selected as a “Small Business of the Year” in 2025 by Business North Carolina magazine. The company’s primary business is manufacturing embroidered patches and insignia, including the Masters’ emblem sewn of the legendary green jackets.

A-B’s largest customers are the U.S. military and NASA. A relatively new client is the United States Space Force (USSF), established in 2019, as the sixth branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, focused on securing national interests in, from and to space.

 Space Force “Guardians” (personnel) manage GPS, missile warning systems and satellite communications, providing essential capabilities to joint military operations. As a unit of the U.S. Air Force, the Space Force motto is “Semper Supra” – “Always Above.”

A-B Emblem is a family-owned business, employing about 100 people.

E. Henry Conrad founded the company in 1941 near the Hudson River in West New York, N.J. He named the company in honor of his children, “Annerose” and “Bernhard” (he went by Bernie).

Conrad relocated the entire operation to Weaverville in Buncombe County, N.C. (north of Asheville), in 1963, which provided a “better business climate for future growth,” removed from the pressures of an urban environment.

Principal owners today are Paul Conrad and Lisbeth Nagle, grandchildren of Henry Conrad. Lisbeth’s husband, Andrew Nagle, and Paul Conrad have been co-CEOs since 2017.

Kevin Ellis, managing editor at Business North Carolina, quoted Lisbeth Nagle: “We want to leave the company stronger for the next generation.”

“She finds inspiration daily as she walks past her grandfather’s photograph in the business office,” Ellis wrote. She says: “Opa (German for grandfather), I hope we make you proud.”

 

Paul Conrad (left) with Lizbeth and Andrew Nagle of A-B Emblem

So, what’s the significance of the Butler Cabin at Augusta National Golf Club?

The facility was constructed in 1964 and named after Thomas Butler, a member at Augusta at the time. He was a regular playing partner of U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Eisenhower joined the club in 1948, five years before occupying the White House and remained a member until his death in 1969.

The club built the Eisenhower Cabin in 1953, a seven-room cabin for him and his wife, Mamie, near the 10th tee. He frequently used the property as a retreat.

 

The Butler Cabin is much smaller. Each year, the Butler Cabin is transformed into a TV studio during the Masters. At other times, the Butler and Eisenhower cabins and 10 others on the grounds are available as rentals to members and their guests.

One of the cherished landmarks on the course was a century-old, giant loblolly pine that stood on the 17th hole, approximately 210 yards from the tee on the left side of the fairway.

While playing the course, Eisenhower hit the tree so many times that, at a 1956 club meeting, he proposed that it be cut down. 

(Eisenhower served as U.S. president from 1953-61). Club chair Clifford Roberts adjourned the meeting rather than reject the president’s request. From that point forward, the tree was known as “Eisenhower’s Tree.”

Shortly thereafter, bumper stickers began to appear: “Ben Hogan for President. If We’re Going to Have a Golfer – Let’s Have a Good One!”

Eisenhower wasn’t terrible at golf; his handicap hovered between 14 and 18 his entire life.

In 2014, the Eisenhower Tree was removed from Augusta National after suffering extensive damage during a major ice storm. 

Club chair Billy Payne reported: We obtained opinions from the best arborists available and…were advised that no recovery was possible.”