To golf fans everywhere, a simple yellow rendering of the US with a red flag atop a flagstick is synonymous with one event – The Masters.
On one level, what it represents is clear - the tournament’s geographical location, Augusta in the US state of Georgia, where the flagstick is placed. However, on another, it represents something more intangible…
The origins of the famous logo accompanying the Augusta National Major are unclear, although it has been around as long as the tournament itself.
Back in 1934, The Masters wasn’t even called The Masters. It was called the Augusta National Invitation Tournament, but the front cover of the official programme featured a strikingly similar logo to the one so familiar today.
The design has not been without its critics, with some pointing out inaccuracies in earlier iterations of the map’s design, from the absence of the Great Lakes in the North to the angle of Florida in the south, but regardless of its perceived faults, it does its job brilliantly, instantly capturing the connection to The Masters in any fan who sees it.
This is helped by its prominence in almost every aspect of the Augusta National experience, from the tightly protected branding on the official merchandise, its appearance on the left chest pocket of the Green Jacket and even in the flowerbeds on the mound in front of the clubhouse known as Founders Circle, filled with yellow chrysanthemums in the fall before giving way to pansies by Thanksgiving.
All of that is why, like the Green Jacket, The Masters logo represents not just location, but the history and traditions of a tournament and venue unlike any other.
