Do Masters-winning caddies get a Green Jacket?
Put simply, no, but they do get their own sartorial award as a commemoration. Like many of the traditions of Augusta National, the Green Jacket is greatly revered. Yet it used not to be the case that the winner got given a Green Jacket; indeed it used not even to be the case that Augusta members wore a Green Jacket.
The Green Jacket was introduced in 1937 and the reason its shade of green is so distinctive is that it was designed to stand out. The idea was that those attending the 1937 tournament would be able to spot easily who the members were if they needed to ask someone for help or directions.
The tradition of awarding the winner of the tournament a Green Jacket began in 1949. This does not however mean that Masters winners become members of Augusta National. The winners get a jacket which they can wear away from the club for the 12 months following their triumph, and from then on the jacket is the property of the club and can only be worn on Augusta National premises.
Equally striking are the caddie uniforms at Augusta National, white boiler suits or jumpsuits. These are owned by the club, in various sizes, and are allocated to caddies when they register. A number and name is velcroed onto the suit to denote the player the caddie is working for. The defending champion gets allocated number 1 for his caddie – although in 1966 Jack Nicklaus requested the number 90, as his caddie had worn this the previous year.
The caddie suits are owned by the club and after each round they are returned to the club, which washes and dries them and hangs them up ready for the caddies to collect and wear the next day.
One of the traditions of the Masters is that the winning caddie is allowed to have his caddie uniform. It is still returned to the club and cleaned, but if the winning caddie requests in writing that he wishes to have his uniform, the club will send it to him. Unlike with the winner's Green Jacket, there are no restrictions on where and when the winning caddie can wear the white jumpsuit.
Who can wear the Augusta National Green Jacket?
Members of Augusta National can wear the Green Jacket. So, too, can the winners of the US Masters. Winners are sent a jacket in their size which they can wear off the club premises for the twelve months after their victory, From then on, the jacket is to be kept on club premises and only worn on club premises. However exceptions can be made - the 1970 Masters champion. Billy Casper was buried in his Green Jacket, after his wife asked permission from the club.
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