Bag Drop – Masters 2011 Edition

Last night, Stewart Cink tweeted “The Masters is the SWAG season”, and that’s probably the understatement of the week. In the past 24 hours, details and pictures of loads of limited edition apparel and accessories have made their way out into the public’s eye and it looks like the goods this year is going to dwarf that of last year.

Though most of it is given only to Tour pros participating in the year’s inaugural major, some of it is going to be released in limited numbers to the public, but all of it is extremely cool. I thought this would be a great time to wrap a lot of it up in one cohesive (though likely not comprehensive) post for your enjoyment.

I’ll give you fair warning that we won’t be spending a lot of time on minute details like we normally do, since, as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, and I’ve got a lot of pictures.TaylorMade
For a number of years, TaylorMade has created a commemorative logo (past logos can be found here at TaylorMade’s Facebook page) for the Masters, which they call “Season Opener.” The logo isn’t just a pretty design; it contains a number of features and symbols that have Augusta and Masters-related meanings.

At the top of the building, you’ll notice “FN.” That refers to Fruitland Nurseries, which resided on the land now occupied by Augusta National. The shield located in the bottom-center symbolizes Gary Player (a play on his Black Knight nickname), who took the Green Jacket 50 years ago. It seems that the the 61 in the middle would refer to 1961, the year of Player’s aforementioned win, but it’s actually a reference to the 61 magnolia trees (which date back to pre-Civil War days) that line Magnolia Lane.

TaylorMade has sewn this new logo on a number of items for this year’s event, as you’ll see below.

Special Edition driver headcover you’ll likely see on a number of R11’s and Burners in the field this upcoming week, featuring TaylorMade’s 2011 Season Opener logo.

Special Edition putter headcover featuring TaylorMade’s 2011 Season Opener logo, likely to be seen on the putters of TaylorMade’s staffers this weekend.

The third piece of TaylorMade equipment could actually end up in your hands, as it will actually be given away as part of a giveaway thanks to the Augusta Chronicle. I’m talking specifically about a special edition staff bag decorated in green and white, and of course with their Season Opener logo featured prominently on the front.

FootJoy
The special edition FootJoy Icon (pictured below) has gone on sale in very limited numbers as well. This gorgeous shoe, decorated in dark green crocodile print, will get its moment in the spotlight this weekend, as it will be found on the feet of a number of FootJoy Tour players at the Masters this weekend. Starting on April 8th, at 8 AM, get to MyJoys.com, they will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. This special leather can be ordered on all FJ Icon and FJ Professional (spikeless), including traditional sport thin saddle. Standard pricing applies here, set at $250 per pair. If you’re not quick enough to catch them when they go on sale, four additional pairs will be given away, one pair for each day of the Masters. The winners will be drawn on 4/11/11.

Scotty Cameron
Famed putter craftsman Scotty Cameron has also created a limited run of putter headcovers commemorating Augusta National and the Masters tournament. Though I haven’t been able to locate the 2011 version at this point, I will continue to watch Scotty’s site and post a link in the comments if/when they are released.

Scotty Cameron’s 2010 commemorative Masters putter headcover.

Scotty Cameron’s 2009 commemorative Masters putter headcover.

Nike
Nike also takes good care of their Tour staffers, just take a look at all of these goods. Not only do they get a great looking jacket that features an emblem representing Augusta National, each participating play also receives a pair of custom shoes. These shoes look to be a one-off of their popular Air Max, as it features the 360 Air sole, and yellow accented Flywire is visible in some areas as well. And of course, as you’ll see in the pictures, each pair is completely customized with the player’s name stitched in yellow on the heel. Along with a deep, lush green body, the white swoosh is outlined with yellow to match the yellow midsole, airbag, and outsole. Also noteworthy is the Augusta Georgia 2011 tag on the tongue. The two pictured below belong to Anthony Kim and Paul Casey.

Custom Nike jacket and shoes given to Anthony Kim, as you can see from the name on the heel

This set was custom made for the current number 6 player in the world, Paul Casey

Beginning on Thursday morning, April 7, a limited number of these special Masters Nike Lunar Control shoes (release covered here, and reviewed here, by me) will be available at regular price ($150). As you can see in the picture, this is the regular white colorway, but with a green midsole in honor of the Masters.

The following pictures come courtesy of Stewart Cink and Nike’s Twitter feeds, and give us a little closer look at these commemorative shoes. Look closely and you can see alternate yellow laces tucked into the shoe.

Stewart Cink’s custom Masters edition Air Max shoes

Stewart Cink’s custom Masters edition Air Max shoes

True Linkswear
TRUE Linkswear is also getting into the game with a very limited release (only 100 pairs were made available) of TRUE Tour shoes in a white and green colorway to commemorate the first Major of the year. Each pair also includes green and white laces to further accentuate the special color scheme. These same shoes will be worn by Ryan Moore as he takes on Augusta National this week.

Unfortunately, they sold out amazingly quickly, but hopefully you were able to secure a pair before there were none left.

Have you seen any other cool commemorative Masters apparel or equipment? If so, let us know by leaving a link in the comments section.