For lovers of Masters Tournament history, it is hard to top this piece. Offered here is a collection of original Augusta National Green Jacket patches - some of the only examples in existence. This collection spans the history of Augusta National, including the initial 1930s "ANGC" patch, the full United States patch, and an early variation of the current patch.

Instead of explaining these patches in our own words, we'll leave it to none other than Clifford Roberts to explain the patches and the history of their changes:

"The Augusta National Golf Club emblem is one of the most recognizable in the world. As you might expect, it has gone through an evolution that includes at least five different versions. The first was very crude, according to Clifford Roberts, who explained to me: 'The map of the United States looked as though it came from an ancient drawing,' he said. 'The members thought it was crude, and someone suggested that the English made nice patches, so I told them to go ahead and design another version. It had a very nice map of the United States, with the flag coming out of Augusta, and it also had beautiful silver and gold silk braid. But, the metallic strands frayed, and we didn't like that, so another attempt was made, but that, too, always seemed to fray. Then, someone had the idea for a completely new design, using the map of the United States without a circle around it. This proved too bulky, so we decided to return to the original soft patch, with a more accurate map.'" (A Photographer's Scrapbook by Frank Christian, page 89)

This historic set of Augusta National patches comes with a remarkable handwritten letter from Frank Christian himself (seriously, it is a must-read!). The only reason that these patches still exist is that Christian saved them from the trash heap in the 1960s when Clifford Roberts ordered old green jackets be destroyed to make run for new ones!

According to Frank Christian, he only had enough patches to create 5 sets (some contain 4 patches, and others 5 patches). One of those patch sets belongs to Augusta National Golf Club, another is in a museum, and the 2 others are believed to be in private collections. Also, the background of this patch display is actually cut from a green jacket!

Letter of Provenance from Frank Christian