Each year, as Augusta National prepares to host The Masters, the conversation inevitably returns to one thing: the green jacket. For the players competing, it transcends prize money, trophies, and even world ranking points. The Masters green jacket history spans nearly 90 years and is woven into the fabric of the sport itself. But why is it so significant, where did the tradition come from, and what are the rules around it?
Bobby Jones & the Origin of the Green Jacket
The Masters green jacket history begins not in Georgia, but on the west coast of England. In 1930, while attending The Open Championship at Royal Liverpool Club, Augusta National co-founder Bobby Jones noticed that all of the club captains were dressed in matching red jackets. The story goes that Royal Liverpool club captain Kenneth Stoker was sitting beside Jones at the pre-tournament dinner, and told him that if he won the tournament that week, he would give him his jacket.
Jones did win and Stoker made good on his word. That gifted red jacket planted the seed for what would eventually become one of sport’s most revered garments.
When Augusta National opened its doors in 1933, Jones pitched the idea of members wearing distinctive jackets. Several colours were reportedly considered, including red, yellow and “Georgia peach”, before the club settled on the verdant green that echoed the azalea bushes surrounding the course. By 1937, every Augusta member attending the Masters wore a green jacket so that patrons could easily identify them and ask for directions around the grounds.
When Did the First Winner Receive a Green Jacket?
For over a decade, the green jacket was exclusively for Augusta National members. From 1937 to 1948, no champion was awarded one. That changed in 1949, when Sam Snead became the first Masters champion to be presented with a green jacket after his victory. All past champions were retroactively given one, and so the tradition that has captured the imagination of the golfing world ever since was born.
Winning the jacket also confers an honorary lifetime membership in Augusta National Golf Club, one of the most exclusive clubs in the world, making the prize about far more than a piece of clothing.
The Green Jacket Ceremony
The post-tournament jacket ceremony is one of the most watched moments in sport. Each year, the previous champion presents the new winner with his green jacket in Butler Cabin. It is a ritual that connects generations of champions, with many former winners on hand to welcome the newest member into their exclusive club.
The rules around the jacket are strict. Champions may not take their jacket off Augusta National’s grounds, with one exception. For the twelve months following their victory, the defending champion is permitted to keep their jacket and take it home. After that year, it must be returned to Augusta for safekeeping alongside the jackets of all other past champions.
The defending champion traditionally makes the most of that freedom. Nick Faldo began wearing his jacket during media appearances after his victories and the trend caught on. Champions like Trevor Immelman, Zach Johnson and Jordan Spieth have all taken their jackets on a post-Masters “car wash” through New York, appearing on chat shows, visiting the Empire State Building and ringing the opening bell at the Stock Exchange. Zach Johnson even took his to see the Boston Celtics play at Madison Square Garden, while 2016 champion Danny Willett wore his to Wimbledon.
Why Is the Masters Jacket Green?
The official shade is “Brilliant Rye Green Pantone 342”, widely referred to simply as “Masters green”. The colour was inspired by the leaves of the azalea plants that grow in abundance throughout Augusta National, giving the jacket an immediate visual connection to the course itself.
Who Makes the Masters Green Jacket?
The jacket’s construction is steeped in American heritage. Originally sourced from the Brooks Uniform Co. in New York, the green jacket has been made by the Hamilton Tailoring Company in Cincinnati, Ohio since 1967. The wool-polyester fabric blend is produced locally in Dublin, Georgia, and the custom brass buttons, each embossed with the Augusta National logo, are manufactured by the Waterbury Company in Connecticut.
The design is a single-breasted, single-vented blazer with three buttons and an embroidered Augusta National logo on the left breast pocket. Each owner’s name is stitched into the inside lining. Each jacket takes approximately one month to produce and costs around $250 to make, though their true value is, of course, immeasurable.
Despite its careful construction, the jacket is not without quirks. Two-time champion José María Olazábal discovered his 1999 jacket was the same one presented to him in 1994, identifying it because the name inside was still misspelled both times (“Olazabel”). Repeat winners are awarded the same original green jacket, not a new one.
Who Has Won the Most Masters Green Jackets?
Jack Nicklaus leads all players with six Masters victories (1963, 1965, 1966, 1972, 1975, 1986), making him the record holder for the most green jackets. Tiger Woods is second with five titles (1997, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2019), including his famous comeback win in 2019. Arnold Palmer and Phil Mickelson each won four Masters titles.
When Tiger Woods claimed his first jacket in 1997 at just 21 years and 104 days old, he became the youngest Masters champion in history, a record he still holds. (Jordan Spieth, who won in 2015, was 21 years and 244 days, making Woods still the youngest by some margin.)
Scottie Scheffler joined the elite multiple-winners club with victories in 2022 and 2024.
The Jacket’s Rules & the Famous Exceptions
The strict rule that champions must return their jacket after one year has produced some memorable moments of defiance and comedy over the decades.
When two-time champion Seve Ballesteros was asked to return his jacket in 2002 by Augusta Chairman Hootie Johnson, he simply declined. Gary Player, the first international winner of the Masters in 1961, was approached by Chairman Clifford Roberts with a similar request. His reported reply: “Fine, Mr. Roberts, if you want it, come and fetch it!” Player eventually agreed not to wear the jacket in public.
The jacket’s one-year freedom has also produced some endearing stories. When Zach Johnson arrived in Times Square in 2007 with his jacket concealed inside a white bin bag, his wife Kim explained: “We don’t have a garment bag. We didn’t plan on winning the Masters.” Back home in Australia, 2013 champion Adam Scott suffered a near-disaster when an over-excited friend ripped off one of the buttons, fortunately, Scott was able to patch it up without lasting damage.
The jacket even inspired one champion’s final wishes. 1970 Masters champion Billy Casper requested to be buried in his.
Memorable Green Jacket Moments
The Masters green jacket history is rich with personal stories that reveal just how much the garment means to those who win it.
When a 21-year-old Tiger Woods won his first Masters in 1997, he reportedly fell asleep fully clothed, holding the jacket like a blanket. Hideki Matsuyama, who in 2021 became the first Japanese player ever to win the Masters, went the entire first year without having his jacket dry cleaned. His reason: “I just was so worried that something might happen to it. I didn’t want to let it out of my sight.”
Not everyone handles their jacket with such reverence, at least in terms of fit. Jack Nicklaus was presented with a size 46 jacket by Arnold Palmer after his 1963 win. “It hung on me like an old blanket,” Nicklaus recalled. Winning again in 1964 and with no replacement ordered, he used a loaner jacket for his next three victories. In 1975, a replica jacket of entirely the wrong cut and colour was presented to him and nobody noticed. It wasn’t until 1997 that he finally received a proper, official green jacket from Chairman Jack Stephens, some 35 years after his first win.
Jordan Spieth had a similar fit issue after his 2015 win. Having never submitted his jacket size in advance, he wore the one handed to him on the 18th green and never had it tailored. “It’s huge,” he later admitted and he still refused to let anyone alter it.
Fashion & the Green Jacket
The green jacket has also been the backdrop for some bold fashion moments. Bernhard Langer made headlines in 1985 when he became the first champion to pair the green jacket with a bright red shirt and trousers, lighting up Augusta like a Christmas tree. “I felt comfortable in red,” Langer said. “It’s an aggressive colour.”
Nick Faldo accepted his 1989 jacket wearing a white sweater with green geometric patterns over a light blue polo, later accessorising with a Union Jack-patterned cap. And in 1995, Ben Crenshaw wore a final-round shirt printed all over with photographs of Bobby Jones, the very man whose red jacket inspired the whole tradition.
The Masters Green Jacket: Worth More Than Gold
A jacket that costs $250 to produce has sold at auction for far more. When two-time champion Horton Smith’s jacket went under the hammer in 2013, it fetched over $680,000, underlining how far the garment’s symbolic value has outstripped its material worth.
The Masters green jacket history is ultimately a story about what sport’s most coveted prizes really represent. As long-time CBS commentator Jim Nantz put it:
“It represents the greatest victory in golf. It represents history, tradition, heritage. It connects the generations of champions… it’s the richest reward in golf. It’s not about the money. It’s about the green jacket.”
Going to The Masters
For many, watching the Masters live at the tournament is a bucket list experience. We at Your Golf Travel are excited about stepping foot in Augusta once again.
“It was Easter Sunday 2015, as a family we were having lunch in a local pub. My dad said to me ‘would I be watching The Masters’ which was due to start the following week. ‘Of course,’ I said, ‘I’ll be all over it’. Then from nowhere, my dad said ‘Why don’t we go’? Now, my dad’s not a golfer, never has been, but he wanted to see for real from what he’d seen on TV, the colours, the course, the roars and the overall excitement the event at Augusta bring. I must admit so did I.”
Dave Donovan, multiple Masters Patron with Your Golf Travel
Read about his experience >>
