Posted November 15, 2020, 10:30 am

6 facts you should know about the Masters green jacket

The green jacket is the ultimate symbol of success at the Masters Tournament.

A golfer wearing the single-breasted, single-vent garment has achieved something special: a victory at Augusta National Golf Club.

Augusta National members began wearing the jackets in 1937. The idea was to have them be easily identifiable so they could answer questions from patrons.

Brooks Uniform Co. in New York made the original jackets, which featured heavy wool material.

Those soon gave way to a lightweight version that could be custom-ordered from the club’s pro shop.

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Here are some facts you should know:

1 How it started

1937 Bobby Jones' personal green jacket (File)

Augusta National members began wearing the jackets in 1937. The original purpose of the green jacket, as envisioned by Cliff Roberts, was to identify club members as "reliable sources of information" to visiting non-members - and to let waiters know who got the check at dinner.

2 What it means

Sam Snead, left, shakes hands with Ben Hogan after Snead won the Masters in Augusta, Ga., April 12, 1954.(AP/File)

A golfer wearing the three-button style, single-breasted and center-vented garment has achieved something special: a victory at Augusta National Golf Club. The first green jacket was awarded to a winner when Sam Snead won the tournament for the first time in 1949, to make him an honorary member. It was then awarded to all past champions retroactively.

3 Who presents it

Phil Mickelson helps Tiger Woods into the green jacket in 2005. (File)

Traditionally, last year's winner presents the jacket to the new champion at the tournament's end. In case of a repeat winner, the Masters chairman presents the jacket to the winner.

4 Don’t take it home

Gary Player at the 1961 Masters. (File)

The green jacket is reserved for Augusta National members and golfers who win the Masters. Jackets are kept on club grounds, and taking them off the premises is forbidden. The exception is for the winner, who can take it home and return it to the club the following year. Gary Player reportedly got into a heated exchange in 1961 with Cliff Roberts after he mistakenly took his jacket home to South Africa.

5 Who makes it

(File)

For three decades, Cincinnati-based Hamilton Tailoring Co. has made the traditional blazer worn by Masters Tournament winners. It uses wool fabric produced at the Victor Forstmann Inc. mill in the central Georgia town of Dublin. The company takes about a month to produce each blazer, which is fitted with custom brass buttons inscribed with the Augusta National logo. The owner's name is stitched on a label inside.