In the wake of the Masters, we felt this was an appropriate time for a little bit of fun...
Among many fascinating distinctions, here's one you may not have considered about Augusta National:
Is there any course in the world whose logo is worn by more people who have never played the golf course?
That golden outline of the continental United States with the flagstick emanating from a certain famous town on the Georgia-South Carolina border is so recognizable that even non-golfers know exactly what it signifies. It's timeless.
How Do You Logo?
The Nike "swoosh." The Starbucks sea maiden. The BMW wheel. In the same way that these huge brands' art draws in customers, golf course and resort logos help to make the experience of playing feel everlasting.
Whenever I visit a course - municipal, daily-fee, resort and private alike - I head straight for the pro shop to scope out the merchandise.
As we've discussed before, golfers love "stuff" from golf courses. In addition to scorecards, I'm personally a hat junkie.
Having collected hats from dozens of courses I've played, my favorites tend to be the simplest: just a logo on the front, not too big, with no writing (maybe on the back of the cap, if anything).
Golfers love to gab about the places they've been, and I'm no different. A logoed golf hat is a great conversation starter; it's fun to talk about golf courses, and there's no better way to recognize a fellow golfer than by noticing a piece of logoed swag he or she is wearing.
Here are some of the highlights from my own collection, and that of Golf Vacation Insider Editor Craig Better:
Private Golf Course Logos
The Masters and Augusta National logos may be the most famous, but we think you'll agree these two aren't too far behind:
In general, private clubs tend to have the most serious logos, and they seem to be easy to separate into a few categories.
For instance, there are many classic golf logos that are simply the club letters in a certain arrangement and font, with or without club founding years involved:
Top Left: Old Town Club, Winston Salem, North Carolina
Top Right: Mid Ocean Club, Tucker's Town, Bermuda
Bottom Left: Timuquana Country Club, Jacksonville, Florida
Bottom Right: Glen Arven Country Club, Thomasville, Georgia
Then, there are clubs whose memberships want to invoke nature with their logos, whether flora...
Top Left: Mountain Lake, Lake Wales, Florida
Top Right: The Orchards Golf Club, South Hadley, Massachusetts
Bottom Left: The Olde Farm, Bristol, Virginia
Bottom Right: Orange Tree Golf Club, Orlando, Florida
...or fauna - in this case, birds:
Left: Lost Tree Club, North Palm Beach, Florida
Top Right: Brays Island Plantation, Brays Island, South Carolina
Bottom Right: Robert Trent Jones Golf Club, Gainesville, Virginia
Other clubs have their own symbols:
Left: Mayacama Golf Club, Santa Rosa, California
Top Right: Daniel Island Golf Club, Daniel Island, South Carolina
Bottom Right: Secession Golf Club, Ladys Island, South Carolina
Finally, some clubs will incorporate their initials or names with some other creative element...
Top Left: Hackensack Golf Club, Oradell, New Jersey
Top Right: Hop Meadow Country Club, Simsbury, Connecticut
Bottom: Creek Club at Reynolds Lake Oconee, Greensboro, Georgia
Top: Bulls Bay Golf Club, Awendaw, South Carolina
Bottom: Old Tabby Links at Spring Island, Spring Island, South Carolina
Public and Resort Golf Course Logos
While private clubs still tend to rule the logo game, resort, public and even municipal courses have recently begun to notice that by fashioning their own interesting and attractive logos, they'll be able to move more merchandise in their pro shops.
Here are some courses whose logos are very much inspired by their private counterparts:
Top Left: SentryWorld Golf Course, Stevens Point, Wisconsin
Top Right: Sand Valley Golf Resort, Rome, Wisconsin
Bottom Left: Pawleys Plantation Golf & Country Club, Pawleys Island, South Carolina
Bottom Right: Wintonbury Hills Golf Course, Bloomfield, Connecticut
Then there are other resorts that maintain their distinctive, sometimes kitschy-charming logos, which tend to be larger and/or lean heavily on the actual name of the facility.
Top Left: Timberlin Golf Course, Berlin, Connecticut
Top Right: Oglebay Resort, Wheeling, West Virginia
Middle: Sea Island Resort, St. Simons Island, Georgia
Bottom: Sweetgrass Golf Club, Harris, Michigan
What are your favorite golf course logos? Want to share photos of your favorite logoed swag with your fellow GVI readers?
what club has the logo of a horse head and below it is the number 1890
Philadelphia Country Club
What course has a logo with a drawing of a boy (caddie or player?) with a golf bag and holding an open umbrella
what course is the one with the leaf tailed snake
I think you're talking about Streamsong, Barbara.
What is the orange snake, light blue line, & leaf logo above the Wisconsin logos? I have a vest with the logo on it & I can’t find the course name anywhere.
I believe that is Streamsong logo. Central FL
Streamsong!
Merion's iconic wicker flag stick logo and Sawgrass Country Club's sprig of Sawgrass.
I'm surprised you don't have the Oakmont Squirrel!
Love that little guy.
PGA West has a image of the sun setting behind a mountain range.
One name: Merion
I would suggest showing the logos of Winged Foot Golf Club Mamaroneck NY and Burning Tree Golf Club,Bethesda Maryland. No words needed-the logo's speak for themselves.
You'll want to add Myopia, South Hamilton, MA, Kittansett Club, Merion, MA, The Country Club, Brookline, MA. Many others, but it's cool to check all the logos out.