Winning The Masters Tournament comes with one of the most recognizable prizes in sport, the green jacket. But the real story starts after the ceremony ends.

A champion keeps the jacket for one year. After that, it must be returned to Augusta National Golf Club. From that point on, it never leaves the club and can only be worn again on Augusta grounds. Still, returning it does not mean losing it.

“You go to your locker, and you open your locker a bit like Christmas morning, really,” Nick Faldo said while speaking to Rick Shiels. “They’ve got one. The one you were presented with.”

Every past champion has a locker inside the clubhouse. Their green jacket is stored there, monogrammed and ready each time they return. It is not treated like a personal item, but something tied to the club.

Even multiple winners do not build a collection they can access. Jack Nicklaus has six Masters titles. Tiger Woods has five. Yet the jacket in their locker reflects that original presentation, not a growing set.

Faldo once tried to change that. After multiple wins, he pushed Augusta on altering the design, fewer buttons and a wider lapel, closer to European tailoring. The club considered it, but nothing changed.

He returned expecting something different, opened his locker, and found the same jacket.

That moment explains more than any rulebook. Augusta does not adjust its traditions around players. The jacket remains a symbol controlled by the club, not customised to the champion.

Nick Faldo on the Champions Dinner Nobody Outside Augusta Ever Sees

That same approach carries into one of the most private traditions in golf, the Champions Dinner.

Held during Masters week, the dinner includes only past winners and the club chairman. No media, no guests, and no outside access.

Faldo described it as a private corner for champions, separate from everything seen during the tournament.

“It’s just the champions and the chairman. That’s our little private corner, and it’s very special,” he said.

Each defending champion sets the menu. Faldo once brought fish and chips from England, including Sarson’s vinegar. Ben Crenshaw served Texas barbecue. Bernhard Langer introduced sushi, which has remained since.

Past champions are not allowed to walk onto Augusta alone and require a member to accompany them. Winning secures a place in Augusta’s history. The club controls the rest.

What do you think about Augusta's green jacket traditions? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by

Sneha Abraham

Edited by

Pulkit Prabhav