Golf memorabilia can be a hot commodity, mostly ancient clubs but every once in a while, something significant goes up for sale.
Green Jacket Auctions has been pretty successful at rounding up all sorts of items to offer the well-heeled collector.
One of the biggest ticket items the company sold was the Green Jacket won by Horton Smith back in 1936. That went for a whopping $682,229.
The company hit another bonanza when it recently sold off a replica Masters Trophy.
Let’s start by giving you a little background here. The Masters Trophy itself is quite large and impressive, it is a sterling monument of the Augusta National clubhouse, with all the winners’ names engraved. It stays there in the Valhalla of Golf.
Masters winners can purchase a smaller replica of the trophy. Most have and the late Arnold Palmer had purchased three. He won the Masters in the even years — ’58, ’60, ’62 and ’64.
We all know that Palmer had a very successful golf design business and one of his designs was the Bay Creek Resort in Virginia where Palmer designed the course that was opened in 2001. Perhaps it was part of the deal or an “enticement” to get the business, if you will, but Palmer authorized the resort to purchase a replica Masters Trophy. Palmer was led to believe that it would be the centerpiece of a museum of sorts at the resort.
Well, those type of businesses, anything golf course related can experience financial problems and maybe that’s what led to the resort’s decision to “sell” the trophy to a private collector. After all, the resort had forked out $17,000 to buy it back in 2005. Maybe it was an unsolicited offer but some foreign collector nabbed it in 2013, didn’t tell Palmer or anyone else.
That is the trophy that sold last week for a smidge over $444,000.
It was a trophy Palmer never owned. They’re not saying who bought it.
It will be interesting to see if it ever shows up in public.
