Augusta National-branded coffee? The club has something brewing

Augusta National always has something brewing, and this time it might be coffee. At least that’s what recent trademark filings suggest.  

The world’s most famous golf club does not comment publicly on its business operations, but those boundaries get erased whenever ANGC looks to commercialize its offerings (i.e., earn more revenue during Masters week). To protect its exclusivity, Augusta National, Inc. files trademarks with the U.S. government, for anything from the green jacket to the phrase “A Tradition Unlike Any Other.” It’s in those filings that we get a tiny window into the club’s next frontier. Right now, that includes Augusta National coffee. 

In June 2023, the club filed an application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for “Clubhouse Select” under the category of “Coffee, ground coffee, and coffee sold in single-serve containers for use in brewing machines.”

That sounds a lot like an Augusta National-brewed cup o’ joe — possibly one that slips into a Keurig — even if it hasn’t quite become a reality yet. First, the club needs trademark approval, which has proven difficult. 

While two years may feel like a long time, trademark certification often takes many months, if not years. Ask Augusta National; the club only recently completed a six-year journey of trademarking its signature vodka-lemonade-and-grenadine cocktail, the Azalea. The process requires checking many clerical boxes, and, in particular, demonstrating that commercialization of a mark will not (1) lead to buyer confusion about the source of the good, nor (2) create adverse commercial impact for any other trademarks.

In other words, the Azaleas served at the Masters had to be unique. The same standard applies to ANGC’s java pursuits, and so far the USPTO has balked on grounds that “Clubhouse Select” has the potential to confuse buyers with “Clubhouse Coolers,” a flavored-drinks company headquartered in western Illinois. GOLF.com readers may not be confused, but the USPTO can be a tough crowd to convince, especially at first.

“I’m a little surprised at this refusal,” said Alexandra Roberts, a trademark law expert and professor at Northeastern University in Boston. “I’ve joked with my students a few times that [earning a trademark] is a bit like the ‘Wizard of Oz’ situation, where you have to knock a few times before the Wizard will appear.

“It’s not uncommon at all to get these initial refusals and these different bases cited for refusal. If you can satisfy them — which, frankly, the wealthiest and the biggest parties tend to be able to do. . .if you have the legal team and want it, then a lot of the time it’s doable.”

The club certainly has legal support. Trademark filings show that after a year of back and forth with the trademark office, ANGC’s representatives requested an extension to file a new response in early June. It was promptly granted, giving the club until early September to plead its case again. But part of the club’s argument thus far has been that, when you add that iconic Augusta National logo to the word “Clubhouse Select,” there’s no confusing who is behind this product.

Maybe you’re thinking, All this for a cup of coffee? Yep, Augusta National does all this for mostly everything. The restaurants in Berckman’s Place, the on-site hospitality center that only the luckiest patrons access? They’re all trademarked. The famous stretch of the course known as “Amen Corner.” That’s trademarked, too. The architectural design of the cupola atop the clubhouse, known as the Crow’s Nest? It’s trademarked as the logo for a specific branch of the club’s merchandise. (In total, ANGC holds 71 “live” trademarks, six of which — coffee included — are “pending.”)

A major, if figurative, part of Augusta National’s business hinges on uniqueness. The club doesn’t want to see anything similar to its trademarks popping up elsewhere, and to afford these protective services, ANGC files Intent to Use applications before they have even fully realized these goods or services. Ultimately, those ITU apps provide glimpses into what future Masters Tournaments (or their commercial branding) may look like. For example, ANGC applied for a “Map and Flag” trademark in December 2023 before debuting a lavish hospitality space, Map and Flag, just months later. The club applied for a “Road to the Masters” trademark in December 2021, more than a year before the announcement of the popular EA Sports video game of the same name. 

As for coffee, a more generic brew has been on the tournament concessions menu for at least the last 10 Masters — under the guise of “Masters Blend Fresh Brewed Coffee” — but it has never been trademarked. Could it be replaced? Or could Clubhouse Select be a brew only for those patrons with clubhouse access? The club quietly reserves plenty of its tournament-week offerings just for members and their guests. (Azaleas, for example, are not available at concession stands.) 

We’ll know soon enough. In the meantime, golf fans can salivate over the potential of Clubhouse Select joining the popular “Taste of the Masters” bundle that ANGC sells to the public every March.

That would be a seasonal blend of the highest order.