This article contains affiliate links; if you click such a link and make a purchase, we may earn a commission.The Real History Behind the Masters Green Jacket

Rachel KingSun, April 5, 2026 at 7:36 PM UTC

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The History Behind the Masters Green JacketAugusta National - Getty Images

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Every April, the winner of the Masters golf tournament receives one of the most recognizable prizes in sports: the Green Jacket. The tradition has its own elaborate set of rules, a single manufacturer, and an origin story that traces back nearly a century. Here’s a brief history behind the Green Jacket at the Masters.

Who wore the first Green Jacket?

Sam Snead wearing the first official Masters Green Jacket in 1949.Augusta National - Getty Images

There are a few versions of the Green Jacket’s origin story floating around. One is that the Green Jacket was inspired by an encounter American golf legend Bobby Jones had at the 1930 British Open at Hoylake. “The story goes that Jones was sitting next to a chap called Kenneth Stoker, who was captain of the club the year before,” Hoylake club historian Joe Pinnington told CNN. “All the captains were wearing their formal kit—the red coats that we have. Jones asked about it, was fascinated by it, and eventually Stoker said to him: ‘Now look here Mr. Jones, if you win the tournament this week I’ll give you my coat.’ Of course Jones won and he got the coat.” Jones, one of Augusta National’s co-founders, was therefore said to have been inspired to bring back the jackets concept, although the color changed from red to green.

Another theory is that in 1937, three years after the Masters was established, management at Augusta National’s clubhouse, the organization that runs and oversees the Masters, decided that club members should wear distinctive jackets so that guests would know whom to approach for assistance.

Regardless, the Green Jacket as part of the prize for the tournament’s champion was introduced in 1949, and Sam Snead was the first winner to wear one. After the tradition was established, Augusta National went back and presented jackets to the nine champions from 1934 through 1948.

Fijian golfer Vijay Singh, the 2000 Masters winner, helps Tiger Woods put on the Green Jacket in 2001. Woods has won the Masters five times.David Cannon - Getty Images

Per tradition, at the end of tournament on Masters Sunday, the reigning champion presents the jacket to the new winner. If the same golfer wins back-to-back Masters titles, he puts the jacket on himself, since he is already the reigning champion and presumed the only one entitled to present it. This has only happened three times in the history of the tournament: Jack Nicklaus in 1965 and 1966, Nick Faldo in 1989 and 1990, and Tiger Woods in 2001 and 2002.

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Who makes the Green Jacket?

The earliest jackets were manufactured by Brooks Uniform Company in New York. However, in 1967, following complaints from club members that the original jackets were too heavy for Georgia’s warm spring weather, Augusta National changed providers. Ever since, the Green Jackets have been made by Hamilton Tailoring Co. of Cincinnati. However, many of the specifics about what it takes to make the jackets are top secret. “We can’t talk about it,” late company chairman Ed Heimann told The Cincinnati Enquirer in 2016. “I wish I could tell you more. It would be good for our business, but I can’t.”

A closeup of the details on the Green Jacket.Michael Reaves - Getty Images

Here’s what we do know. The jackets, which look more like blazers, are made from tropical-weight wool in a specific shade of emerald green—specifically, Pantone 342, now known as “Masters Green”—sourced from the Forstmann Co. mill in Dublin, Georgia. The brass buttons are produced by Waterbury Co. of Connecticut, and the breast-pocket patch comes from A&B Emblem Co. in Weaverville, North Carolina. Each jacket costs roughly $250 to make and takes approximately a month to produce from start to finish, though no club spokesperson has publicly confirmed that figure.

Are there any rules to wearing the Green Jacket?

Actually, yes. Similar to the Masters trophy, the Green Jacket presented to the champion on Masters Sunday is not the one he keeps. Tournament officials monitor the leaderboard as the final round winds down and pull together a selection of appropriate sizes. The winner is later given a custom-made replica, with his name stitched on an interior label, to keep permanently.

2021 Masters winner Hideki Matsuyama, the first Japanese golfer to win a men’s major championship, shares a moment with 2020 champ Dustin Johnson.Kevin C. Cox - Getty Images

2022 Masters champ Scottie Scheffler throws out the first pitch before a Texas Rangers game.Tom Pennington - Getty Images

The original jacket must stay on Augusta National property, with one exception. The reigning champion is permitted to wear his jacket off the grounds for one year following his victory. In the last 20 years, it has become more common to see the defending Masters champion in their Green Jacket at media appearances or other sporting events, similar to how an Olympic champion might wear their gold medal in the weeks after the Winter or Summer Games.

Arnold Palmer (left) helps Gary Player adjust his Green Jacket in 1961.Bettmann - Getty Images

Only once has it been reported that a champion didn’t return the original Green Jacket. When asked by the clubhouse to bring it back, South Africa’s Gary Player, who became the first international winner of the Masters in 1961, later said in an interview that he replied, “If you want it, come and fetch it!” Player eventually agreed not to wear the original in public.

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