Cartoon stick figure holding a golf club next to a whiteboard with an image of a yellow United States with a hole and flag — representing a blog post about the MASTERS trademark registrations.

Trademark: Masters

First Used: 1938

Registered: 1977

Current Owner: Augusta National, Inc. [1]

Trademark Type: traditional trademark; word mark; design mark

Primarily Associated With: conducting, organizing, promoting, and sponsoring golf tournaments [2]

Also A Trademark For: playing cards, umbrellas, drinking glasses, and towels [3]; prerecorded video tapes related to the game of golf [4]; golf clubs and golf balls [5]; salted peanuts, potato chips, crackers, sandwich crackers, and crackers with peanut butter and flavored cream filling [6]; sunglasses, books, souvenir programs, key chains, banners and flags, clothing, Christmas tree ornaments, nut-based snack foods, ice cream, and broadcasting sporting events [7]; and computer game software [8]

Brief (and likely incomplete) History [9]:

The MASTERS® Tournament was first played in 1934 at Augusta National Golf Club, a course co-founded by amateur legend Bobby Jones and investment banker Clifford Roberts. Originally called the Augusta National Invitation Tournament, the event was created to bring the world’s best golfers to a course designed by Jones and Alister MacKenzie, with an emphasis on shot-making and strategy. The tournament quickly gained prestige, adopting the name “Masters Tournament” in 1939 as a nod to the golf masters participating, and introducing traditions that still define it today, including the infamous 12th Hole that forms the heart of AMEN CORNER® and the iconic GREEN JACKET® awarded to each champion (both so famous they are non-traditional trademark registrations!).

The Masters tournament is the only major championship played at the same course every year, which means every record, comeback, and collapse happens on the same familiar stage. Jack Nicklaus holds the record for most wins with six (1963, 1965, 1966, 1972, 1975, 1986), while Tiger Woods sits close behind with five. The lowest 72-hole score in tournament history is 268 (−20), set by Dustin Johnson in 2020, while the largest margin of victory remains Woods’ 12-shot win in 1997. On the other end, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, and Tom Weiskopf share the record for most runner-up finishes with four each.

MASTERS® [10] (for golf tournament services), THE MASTERS® [11] (for shirts), MASTERS TOURNAMENT® [12] (for a wide range of goods and services), and AUGUSTA NATIONAL® [16] (for a wide range of goods and services) are all registered word marks. The Masters tournament is also well known for its cheap food offerings: MASTERS AMERICAN CRAFT® [13] (for beer) and TASTE OF THE MASTERS® [14] (for a wide range of foods) are both registered word marks. And finally, the tournament has two of the most widely known taglines across sports: ROAD TO THE MASTERS® [15] (for a wide range of goods and services) and A TRADITION UNLIKE ANY OTHER® [17] (for golf tournament services) are both also registered word marks.

Augusta National also owns a variety of design mark registrations, most of which include an outline of the mainline United States. The Country Logo design mark [18], Augusta National Golf Club Country Logo design mark [19], Augusta National Country Logo design mark [20], and the Masters Country Logo design mark [21] are all registered for a variety of goods and services. And finally, the Augusta Cursive Logo design mark [22] is registered in connection with golf tournament services.

Interested in learning more about other 2026 sporting events? Check out our 2026 posts on the College Football National Championship, Team USA in the Winter Olympics, Super Bowl, and Final Four.