The Master’s

All sports have their obvious points of ascension, the place that you reach the pinnacle and etch your place into the history of the respective sport that you are playing. Football has the Super Bowl, Baseball has the World Series, and Golf has the series of four majors that will determine who is the crème of the crop, the best of the best. You don’t have to have any complicated formulas, ridiculous statistical booklets or self-important critics telling you who is the best and why, it is quite simply the person that emerges at the top of each of these four contests. Win at the Masters and you have etched your name into the history of golf as one of the best to swing a club.

The Augusta National Golf Club was opened in 1933 and soon after began to make a name for itself as one of the most important spots in the history of golf. Alister Mackenzie designed a course with a little help from legendary golfer Bobby Jones that would eventually be looked at as the center of golf in a sport that has elevated itself from an “also ran” in the sporting field, to a premier sport. From Jack Nicklaus dominating the course for year after year to Tiger Woods breaking into the field with his victory in 1996, the Master’s has provided the images that are everlasting and branded the sport as a frontrunner in the industry.

One of the most curious and defining products of the Master’s is the green jacket given to the winner of the tournament, a strange gift to a winner amongst the other sports that simply give a trophy or ring. The green jacket was originally worn by members or staff of the club to stand out and give assistance during the tournament. The jacket eventually became the gift to the winner and is given to the winner for one year following the victory. After that, the jacket is returned to Augusta and can be visited and worn by the winner whenever they choose, of course returning it when finished.