How Golf Apparel Companies Pull Off Unauthorized Masters Merch

The Masters will bring in more than $70 million in merchandise sales next week at Augusta National—but its impact on the entire golf-apparel industry goes far beyond that.

From first-time Masters participants to past champions, dozens of players at Augusta will be wearing all sorts of flowery prints and shades of green and yellow, as clothiers look to capitalize on the start of springtime golf.

LIV Golf star Bryson DeChambeau will be hard to miss, wearing Reebok’s new Nano Golf Azalea shoe, which the brand describes as having “vivid pink hues and floral touches on the outsole.”

PGA Tour winner Jake Knapp and amateur Fifa Laopakdee will be outfitted by Johnnie-O. Playing off the famous pink flowers that are synonymous with Augusta National, the clothing brand is one of many companies rolling out some version of an entire Azalea-inspired collection this year.

At the official tournament merch shops, much of the clothing is part of the official Masters Tech line. Only a few select top-tier brands get to partner with Augusta National to produce apparel sold on-site. And even those selections don’t include obvious logos—Peter Millar’s Masters polos have the brand name written only in small print inside the collar.

With the special restrictions not seen at most other tournaments—fans can buy countless polos and hats from Nike, Adidas, and others adorned with PGA Championship or U.S. Open logos—golf brands have to get creative to give their spring offerings a Masters-themed feel.

Flowery prints and pimento-cheese sandwich artwork are prevalent in Johnnie-O’s collection, and commonly seen in other Augusta National–themed offerings, such as Callaway’s new Patrons Welcome line, which homes in on the unique phrasing for Masters fans. Puma has the 30904 Collection, a nod to Augusta’s Georgia zip code. Popular golf podcast No Laying Up has The First Major collaboration with apparel brand Rhoback.

“Any kind of affiliation with the tournament instantly gives a brand cachet and a sense of class and dignity,” John Sabino, author of The Augusta Principles: Timeless Business Lessons from the World’s Premier Golf Club, tells Front Office Sports.  

Sun Day Red, the brand launched in 2024 by Tiger Woods and TaylorMade, this year opted for a Spring Traditions line—polos with a Georgia-peaches print, and shoes with floral accents—after last year offering an Azalea Gold Collection.

But not every company leans as overtly in to the Masters mania.

“We don’t want to go and do the tee and do the pin,” Dunning Golf creative director Omar Jermaine tells FOS. “To me, it becomes something that’s not inherent to the brand and not true to the brand.” 

Dunning, which will have Russell Henley and Michael Kim sporting its apparel at the Masters, prioritizes simple green and yellow colors in its Clubhouse Collection to celebrate the April festivities.

Many major sports-apparel makers like Adidas and Nike take a similar approach to Dunning, choosing Masters-themed colors over giving a specific line an Augusta-themed name. Fans won’t find Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, or Ludvig Åberg sporting egg-salad sandwich logos.

Similar to Reebok, Under Armour has a spring-themed limited-edition colorway of its Drive Pro Clone golf shoe, which will likely be worn by Masters winners Jordan Spieth and Dustin Johnson in Augusta, as well as fellow UA ambassador Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen. 

But even using a Masters-esque color palette can be a delicate line to walk: Augusta National owns a trademark for the specific shade of green (Pantone 342) used on the Green Jacket that Masters winners receive. In 2017, the club sued an auction company that was selling official Green Jackets.

“Companies have to be very, very careful because Augusta’s been very strict about protecting their brand,” Sabino says.

So, while affiliating with the Masters in whatever way possible is almost always good for business, there’s always a delicate balance at play.

“We want to make sure there’s nothing that is too close to our friends at Augusta National,” says Johnnie-O SVP Dave Neville, who adds that the company’s ecommerce sales have spiked 30% since launching this year’s Azalea Collection. “It’s challenging.”

That challenge was especially evident last year, when Jason Day had to have his Malbon Golf apparel approved by Augusta National after being asked to remove a vest he was wearing at the Masters in 2024. But company founder Stephen Malbon told FOS at the PGA Show in January he didn’t think Day’s Masters outfits this year—themed around the birds of Georgia—would garner any complaints from Augusta National.

The Masters begins April 9 with a projected field of 93 players competing for more than $4 million—and the coveted Green Jacket.