Plaid Jackets At The Colonial

While eating the traditional quail breakfast at our 2011 trip to the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial  Dean & Deluca Invitational, Mrs GolfBlogger and I were treated to a talk by Tournament Director Chuck Scherer, who spoke on the history of the club, and of the signature red plaid jackets.

Members’ jackets extend back to the Colonial’s beginnings in 1936, when founder Marvin Leonard decided the club needed a jacket such as those worn by the members at Augusta. The original jacket was blue, but Leonard switched to a plaid, which he said reminded him of when he had played in Scotland. The fabric is a real Scottish tartan, and has SEVENTEEN colors in it.

The members wear them for the tournament (and I assume on other important occasions) and they’re not nearly as garish in person as they seem in many photos.

The plaid has been continuously in use, and awarded to tournament winners with one exception. The club went back to the blue for one year in honor of the tournament’s 30th anniversary.